Change the IA, Change the Org: Diverting the Politics of Information Architecture

Content strategists are increasingly taking responsibility for influencing their organization's information architecture — which is an inherently political exercise. Everyone from product managers to the executive team has an idea about what’s most important, and how it should be organized on the site. But determining your IA by committee ensures only the loudest voices are heard, and often leaves users out of the picture. Learn how to combine UX and content strategy exercises like card sorting and tree testing to build an information architecture that starts and ends with your user’s voice.​

Transcript

1. Change the IA: Change the Org Diverting the Politics of Information Architecture Devin Asaro | @copydev
2. Who wants to help with the website? @copydev
3. We just need you to do the content image source: http://bit.ly/2ehj7SM @copydev
4. OKAY. @copydev
5. (It’s never just the content) image source: http://bit.ly/2e5qAVz @copydev
6. But that’s ok. image source: http://bit.ly/2e5qAVz @copydev
7. Let’s talk about… 1. Why IA is so inherently political 2. Why politics are so detrimental to IA 3. How to divert internal politics @copydev
8. Let’s talk about… 1. Why IA is so inherently political 2. Why politics are so detrimental to IA 3. How to divert internal politics @copydev Because you can’t get rid of them…
9. What is information architecture? @copydev
10. “On the web, IA is structured information that contributes to the relationship of meaning between a website and the people who use it. HERE’S MY DEFINITION: ” @copydev @copydev
11. On the web, IA is structured information that contributes to the relationship of meaning between a website and the people who use it. (This is a two-way relationship) “ ” HERE’S MY DEFINITION: @copydev
12. Information architecture is about helping people understand their surroundings and find what they're looking for—in the real world as well as online. — The IA Institute http://bit.ly/1EE08pT “ ” HERE’S HOW SMARTER PEOPLE DEFINE IT: @copydev
13. — Louis Rosenfeld http://bit.ly/1F7iPWn [Information architecture is] the art and science of structuring, organizing and labeling information to help people find and manage information. “ ” HERE’S HOW SMARTER PEOPLE DEFINE IT: @copydev
14. Notice a pattern? @copydev image source: http://bit.ly/1bPp2eJ
15. The world is confusing. We’re here to help people navigate it. @copydev image source: http://bit.ly/1bPp2eJ
16. Most people interact with IA like this @copydev
17. Also, btw… @copydev GO DUCKS!
18. And this: @copydev
19. And this: @copydev
20. Behind the scenes, things get kinda funky: @copydev
21. #IAatDMFB Like, really funky…
22. IA isn’t just for information architects, just as design isn’t just for designers. IA is everyone’s job. @copydev
23. Most people practicing information architecture have never heard the term before…this is why we aren’t getting collectively better at this as a practice “ ” @copydev — Abby Covert “The Pain with No Name” A List Apart
24. Why is information architecture so inherently political? @copydev
25. Because everything is political. @copydev image source: http://bit.ly/2enDFYV
26. Your organization is built out of information. @copydev
27. Information is made of people. “ ” @copydev — Abby Covert http://bit.ly/2dU9eyP
28. Everyone has a stake. @copydev
29. At its worst, your IA is a ranking mechanism for people and their ideas. @copydev
30. So why do we do it? @copydev
31. The navigation on our site says something about us. It says something about how we look at the world. “ — Stuart Maxwell The Politics of Navigation ” http://bit.ly/2efeoju @copydev
32. Why are politics so disruptive? @copydev
33. @copydev
34. 1. When we make political decisions, nothing changes @copydev
35. 2. Everyone has different definitions of success @copydev
36. 3. Organizations may be political, but they usually aren’t democratic @copydev
37. Our users don’t get a vote unless we give them one. @copydev
38. So how do we do it? @copydev
39. image source: http://bit.ly/1AWWLcW Create a layer of abstraction between your IA and your stakeholders @copydev
40. Map disparities between the mental models of your users and stakeholders image source: http://bit.ly/2dmRqGt @copydev
41. Here are some exercises that might help. @copydev
42. Exercise One: Card Sorting image source: http://bit.ly/1H1Qsqw @copydev
43. Card sorting turns unstructured information into structured information image source: http://bit.ly/1zZPCgG @copydev
44. image source: http://bit.ly/1zXefL6 Create logical groupings @copydev
45. It helps us develop mental models for users (and stakeholders) @copydev
46. Users sort cards into logical groupings and provide a label for each category Open Card Sort @copydev
47. Closed/Hybrid Card Sort Hybrid Card Sorting exercise to identify common groupings and understand user mental models for information architecture. Users sort cards to predefined categories. With Hybrid version, users also have option to create new categories if they don’t see a true fit. @copydev
48. USERS STAKEHOLDERS COMPARE @copydev
49. Exercise Two: Tree Testing image source: http://bit.ly/2ecDzqo @copydev
50. Tree Test Scenario-based test to quickly test intuitiveness of site navigation and architecture BEFORE building the site. @copydev
51. Tree Test Results Rich data generated automatically to support navigation and architecture decision making. @copydev
52. Tree Test First Click Results First-click results provide great insight into the distinct understanding of top level labels. @copydev
53. Tree Test Participant Paths & Destinations Results See how users navigated for each scenario @copydev
54. Users are your best change agents. Do whatever you can to introduce them into your process. @copydev
55. You can work around politics, or you can work through politics. @copydev
56. @copydev Best of luck, and sorry for talking politics in an election year!
57. Get the slides: bit.ly/PoliticsIA Devin Asaro, Content Strategist — @copydev