closing the findability gap: 8 better practices from information architecture
Post on 29-Jan-2018
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Closing the Findability Gap
Lou Rosenfeld • Rosenfeld Media • rosenfeldmedia.com
Hello, my name is Lou
www.louisrosenfeld.com | www.rosenfeldmedia.com
The state of contemporary
findability
Some questions that you probably can’t answer
• Who are your content’s primary audiences?
• What are the five major tasks and needs each has?
• Are you satisfying those tasks and needs?
• What data support your thinking?
• How do you measure success?
Why can’t we get findability right?
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
• We don’t know how to measure
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
• We don’t know how to measure
• Siloed organizations
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
• We don’t know how to measure
• Siloed organizations
• Ill-equipped decision-makers
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
• We don’t know how to measure
• Siloed organizations
• Ill-equipped decision-makers
• Short-term thinking
Why can’t we get findability right?
• We don’t know how to diagnose
• We don’t know how to measure
• Siloed organizations
• Ill-equipped decision-makers
• Short-term thinking
• Semantic illiteracy
Why can’t we get findability right?
Data is binary
Information isn’t
Data is binary
Information isn’t
Information architecture: 8 better practices for findability
1. Diagnosing the important problems
2. Balancing our evidence
3. Advocating for the long term
4. Measuring engagement
5. Supporting contextual navigation
6. Improving search across silos
7. Combining design approaches effectively
8. Tuning our designs over time
#1Diagnosing the important problems
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiencesAll queries
aren’t equally distributed
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
Nor do they diminish gradually
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
80/20 rule isn’t quite accurate
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)The Long Tail is
longer than you’d suspect
Zipf Distribution in text
It’s Zipf’s World; we just live in it
A little...
• queries
• tasks
• ways to navigate
• features
• documents
...goes a long way
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
not even once
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
not even once
TAKEAWAY:
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
not even once
TAKEAWAY: FOCUS ON
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
not even once
TAKEAWAY: FOCUS ON
THE STUFF
UNVERIFIED RUMOR:90% of
Microsoft.com content has never been accessed...
not even once
TAKEAWAY: FOCUS ON
THE STUFF THAT MATTERS!
#2Balancing our evidence
from Christian Rohrer: http://is.gd/95HSQ2
Balanced research leads to true insight, new opportunities
Lou’s TABLE OF OVERGENERALIZED
DICHOTOMIESWeb Analytics User Experience
What they analyze
Users' behaviors (what's happening)
Users' intentions and motives (why those things happen)
What methods they employ
Quantitative methods to determine what's happening
Qualitative methods for explaining why things happen
What they're trying to achieve
Helps the organization meet goals (expressed as KPI)
Helps users achieve goals (expressed as tasks or topics of interest)
How they use data
Measure performance (goal-driven analysis)
Uncover patterns and surprises (emergent analysis)
What kind of data they use
Statistical data ("real" data in large volumes, full of errors)
Descriptive data (in small volumes, generated in lab environment, full of errors)
#3Advocating for the long-term
Steward Brand’s Pace Layering model Typical design
focus
Stuff that gets ignored:mission, vision, charter, goals, KPI, objectives
#4Measuring engagement
Measuring conversions? No problem...
..measuring anything else? Good luck!
The missing metrics of in-betweenness
• Orientation (“What can I do here?”)
• Engagement (“I like this; do you?”)
• Connection/cross-promotion (“What goes with this?”)
• Authority (“I trust this”)
• and many more...
#5Supporting contextual navigation
Contextual navigation: your site’s desire lines
Contextual navigation: your site’s desire lines
Determine through content modeling, site
search analytics
Contextual navigation: your site’s desire lines
Deep navigation requires content modeling:
a better approach to deep IA and content structuring
Determine through content modeling, site
search analytics
artist descriptions
album reviews
album pages
artist bios discography
concert calendar
TV listings
Important content objects emerge from content modeling (example: BBC)
artist descriptions
album reviews
album pages
artist bios discography
concert calendar
TV listings
Important content objects emerge from content modeling (example: BBC)
Content that matters most
Important metadata attributes emerge from content modeling
Important metadata attributes emerge from content modeling
Metadata that matters mostMetadata that matters most
#6Improving search across silos
Reconsidering the search UI...
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
search session patterns1. solar energy2. how solar energy works
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
search session patterns1. solar energy2. how solar energy works
search session patterns1. solar energy2. energy
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
search session patterns1. solar energy2. how solar energy works
search session patterns1. solar energy2. energy
search session patterns1. solar energy2. solar energy charts
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
search session patterns1. solar energy2. how solar energy works
search session patterns1. solar energy2. energy
search session patterns1. solar energy2. solar energy charts
search session patterns1. solar energy2. explain solar energy
...by contextualizing “advanced” features, focusing on revision
search session patterns1. solar energy2. how solar energy works
search session patterns1. solar energy2. energy
search session patterns1. solar energy2. solar energy charts
search session patterns1. solar energy2. explain solar energy
search session patterns1. solar energy2. solar energy news
Recognizing specialized queries(e.g., proper nouns, dates, unique ID#s)
!
...and designing specialized search results
!
...and designing specialized search results
!
...and designing specialized search results
!
...and designing specialized search results
Content objects from product content model
!
...and designing specialized search results
Content objects from product content model
Poor search results returned by search engine
#7Combining design approaches effectively
Yes, manual effort is still as important as tools
Yes, manual effort is still as important as tools
Narrow, deep content access
Vanguard’s Tax Center is a simple, low-tech, editorial
Vanguard’s Tax Center is a simple, low-tech, editorial
...to editorially rich content
Manually selected results
Manually selected results
...complement raw results
Treat your content like an onion
layer information architecture
usability content strategy
0
1
2
3
4
indexed by search engine
leave it alone leave it alone
tagged by users squeaky wheel issues addressed
refresh annually
tagged by experts (non-topical tags)
test with a service (e.g., UserTesting.com)
refresh monthly
tagged by experts (topical tags)
“traditional” lab-based user testing
titled according to guidelines
content models for contextual navigation
A/B testing structured according to schema
Each layer is cumulative;
most importantcontent is at
the core
#8Tuning designs over time
Your site is a moving target built on moving targets
Impact of change on design (queries)
IRS before Tax Day
IRS before Tax DayBefore
Tax Day
IRS after Tax Day
IRS after Tax DayAfter
Tax Day
Summary:8 IA better practices
1. Diagnosing the important problems
2. Balancing our evidence
3. Advocating for the long term
4. Measuring engagement
5. Supporting contextual navigation
6. Improving search across silos
7. Combining design approaches effectively
8. Tuning our designs over time
Summary:8 IA better practices
1. Diagnosing the important problems
2. Balancing our evidence
3. Advocating for the long term
4. Measuring engagement
5. Supporting contextual navigation
6. Improving search across silos
7. Combining design approaches effectively
8. Tuning our designs over timeLet’s stop boiling the ocean
Say hello
Lou Rosenfeld
lou@louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media
www.louisrosenfeld.com | @louisrosenfeldwww.rosenfeldmedia.com | @rosenfeldmedia
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