Web Theory An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall - Chapter 2-4 (page 23-80)
Chapter 2
INFORMATION AND NETWORKS
(page 23)
Internet burgeoning supply of information; we are on overload of information both at an individual level and as a society.
(page 24)
Binary code=expressed in series of 1's and 0's
Digitization=original display analogue into binary code/allow for greater manipulation, non linear editing, =convergence of forms through computerization=digital language
(page2 25)
Cybernetics=a critical concept connected to digital binary/cyberspace/cyborg/greek means to steer
(page 26)
Rudimentary programming=series of sequences and feedback loops that are emulations of the cybernetic system.
(page 27)
Idea of machine being smart=exhibits elements of automation, series of decisions are made without human intervention
(page 28)
World Wide Web=a system entirely built from digital binarycybernetic in control and capacity to create elaborate feedback loop /graphical architecture/point/double click/navigate/hypertextual
(page 29)
Databases=link words or phrases with another/Boolean search/web search engines
Packet switching=moves digital signals from one server to another/then onto personal computers
Bandwidth=networks bandwidth
Cookies=web identification traces or crumbs are left on the personal computer and on the web site which identify where the person has been.
(page 30)
Downloadingload software or other digital information from WWW to computer
(page 31)
Interactivity=elaborate system of feedbacks that can respond to the requests and decisions of the user.
(page 32)
Hypertext=applets, avatars, knowing its users
(page 34)
Register=the web can be the source of very well recognized sources of information that rely on past media hierarchies
(page 35)
Network=a connection between key elements/points/units/relayed exchange among its elements
Globalization=shift in culture/now network in society
Spatial Dimension=how the network works over geographical areas and a temporal dimension/timeframe made possible by the network/how relationship to time shapes the networks use
(page 36)
Hub=of the Web is composed of those sites that are cabled to each other through the original
ISP Internet Service Provider=network of networks/connection directly to hub
Loose audience=audience produced by the web/attached to a particular event or coverage/clicking engaging
(page 41)
Network society=envelops an are beyond even the nation state to express something truly global in its reach and impact
Post Industrial Society=exchange of information formed a new layer over the industrialization process that has occurred in Western countries over the last 150 years
Web Culture=about proliferation and production of information and its accessability to be viewed and read
(page 43)
Globalization=network society
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Chapter 3
THE WEB AS COMMUNICATION
(page 45)
Internet=network/convergence/loose audience/
(page 46)
Communication network=comprised of millions of interconnected computers that freely exchange information with each other worldwide
(page 47)
one to one model=when one person communicates to another
one to many=mass media
many to one=computer mediated communication
many to many=GUI graphci user interface/anyone to be a sender or receiver personal or mass msgs
(page 48)
Intranet=Rogers (1986) 3 levels to communication:
face to face
many to many
one to many
interpersonal communication
group communication
mass communication/webportals/monologue
(page 49)
dialogue/discussion/FtF/synchronous
(page 50
asynchronous/broadcast/multicast
(page 53)
emoticons
(page 55)
acronyms
(page 56)
Table of characteristics of Internet communication services
(page 57)
Tim Berners-Lee man credited with inventing the WWW
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Chapter 4
WEBS OF IDENTITY
(page 60)
we are moving from modernist calculation to postmodernist simulation, where the self is a multiple, distributed system
--Turkle 1996: 148
Technocultural hybrids=technologies of information and communication - media- in the broad sense of the term
Email=shape social and individual consciousness along specific lines, creating unique networks of perceptions, experiences, and interpersonal possibilities that help shape society
(page 62)
Web of identity=refers to the role that the Internet now plays in the construction of contemporary identities
MUDS multi user domains
(page 70)
Cultural production thesis=to organize that interpretation of the user and how it relates to but differentiates itself form how people use traditional media
(page 72)
Search engines=movements around the Web as browsing and hence web browser as both person and search engine software overlay
.....................................................................
Week 10 -- REFLECTION PAGE
INFORMATION AND NETWORKS AND CYBERCULTURE
We are in overload of information. Internet overflowing with access to information and its getting harder to confirm facts on the Web. It has been determined there is a surplus of content and could be questionable information. Computer technology begins with an expression of codes which are ones and zeros that are transmitted into binary code. It is presented in a pattern of information then decoded and represented which is what we see on our screen, hence digitization.
Converting the code from analogue information into binary code allows for greater manipulation converging digital language. Cybernetics emgerges among this digital divide. Cyber has become a additive term referring to what the Greek call 'steersman' or to steer or self-steering.
The concept of machines being smart technology or artificial intelligence acknowledges the fact that automation has come full circle in the world of communication and information. Graphics, icons and text within windows as the user clicks/selects from an organized set of structured pages of information.
The World Wide Web was born out of the need for ultimate convenient form of communication. The architecture of ones and zeros, of words and graphics and it's elaborate structure was developed out of the birth of the World Wide Web. Search engines and database arose out of the need to organize all the information people were wanting to share on the web. Cookies and crumbs became necessary for tracking types of information analyzing it.
Users began to look at and search for all kinds of information on the web hence surfing the web was born. Then users began to download and save the information they found. Information Architects took notice of this kind of interactivity on the web and now feedback and comments can be sent and stored on websites.
Networking as social organizations and business interests was realized creating patterns of socializing and communicating so the web has become not only a place to find information but a place to exchange information and possible network connections as a society of people and businesses. Firewalls were constructed to help control information so now the free interchange of information was so vast, it needs to be controlled and monitored.
The notion that the web has an audience became apparent and prompted more structure to the architecture of sites, navigation, clarity of information, new media and expression of graphics, video and audio now called multimedia. Socializing on the computer (the web) now plays a significant role in the power of information. The Web is now a productive cultural force to be read, viewed, exchanged and displayed.
Globalization is synonymous with the webs network society. Communicating across the globe using the web in a virtual world of text and images is now just as powerful or more so than the actual phone call over a telephone.
Dialogues now can be not just between two people but what is now called many-to-many. Group interaction is available on shared networks and resources such as blogs, facebook, email, skype, web conferencing and websites. Synchronous (live interaction like skype) and asynchronous (like email) interaction occurs.
Emotional icons like emoticons emerged conveying emotions in a quick small image. Acronyms emerged and shortened blurps of communication. BFF Best Friends Forever.
A loose web filled with so many types of activities now defines the basis of communication on the web using all of the technologies that have emerged blending with personal or business sites.
Cyberculture web theory talks about virtual persona (like avatars and Second Life) and multi user domains, a phenomenon that could possible fragment our society. Simulated persons and content that create a larger divide between what is real and what is virtual is surmounting, invading our personal lives offline degrading our quality time with ourselves and families. Society is becoming more anonymous and less social in real life and more so online.
The web is engaging and productive in so many ways and society seeks such new virtual communications and is flourishing. Yet at the same time, society seeks to balance the online world with the everyday world.
.....................................................................
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Week 9 - Review Websites
Digital Web Magazine http://www.digital-web.com/
Digital Web Magazine
The web professional's online magazine intended for professional web designers, web developers and information architects. The magazine consists primarily of work contributed by web authors, as well as by others who occasionally delve into the web realm. We put emphasis on and provide recognition for contributed work. The Magazine is recognized by nearly all of the major web design agencies in the industry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
InfoCamp http://asistpnw.org/infocamp2007/
A sponsored conference type event where IA's come together for support, share information, challenges and successes: a BarCamp conference for information architecture, libraries, user experience design, interaction design, usability, user-centered design, and information science research.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intranet Roadmap http://www.intranetroadmap.com/
The Intranet Road Map is an intranet guide, portal and tutorial for those creating a corporate intranet or those wanting to improve an existing intranet. This site is interesting in that it walks the user through step by step on how to navigate and utilize the interent wisely.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adaptive Path http://www.adaptivepath.com/
Their goals are to deliver great experiences that improve people's lives, while sharing our advances in the field with our clients, partners, and peers. We measure our success by our contribution to smart, agile organizations that are responsive to their users. Some goals are experience strategy and design consulting, public events and workshops, in-house training, ideas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information ArchiTECH http://www.informationarchitech.com/
This company specializes in the art of findability. It offers Recent work done as examples and case studies, recent news and a list of subjects to browse through.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digital Web Magazine
The web professional's online magazine intended for professional web designers, web developers and information architects. The magazine consists primarily of work contributed by web authors, as well as by others who occasionally delve into the web realm. We put emphasis on and provide recognition for contributed work. The Magazine is recognized by nearly all of the major web design agencies in the industry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
InfoCamp http://asistpnw.org/infocamp2007/
A sponsored conference type event where IA's come together for support, share information, challenges and successes: a BarCamp conference for information architecture, libraries, user experience design, interaction design, usability, user-centered design, and information science research.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intranet Roadmap http://www.intranetroadmap.com/
The Intranet Road Map is an intranet guide, portal and tutorial for those creating a corporate intranet or those wanting to improve an existing intranet. This site is interesting in that it walks the user through step by step on how to navigate and utilize the interent wisely.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adaptive Path http://www.adaptivepath.com/
Their goals are to deliver great experiences that improve people's lives, while sharing our advances in the field with our clients, partners, and peers. We measure our success by our contribution to smart, agile organizations that are responsive to their users. Some goals are experience strategy and design consulting, public events and workshops, in-house training, ideas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information ArchiTECH http://www.informationarchitech.com/
This company specializes in the art of findability. It offers Recent work done as examples and case studies, recent news and a list of subjects to browse through.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION PAGE - Lesson 9
.....................................................................
The case study for MSWEB takes on a vast immense job of assessing MSWEB and variety of things to fix. The major point covered in the polar text are 3 taxonomies used, the IA made to support it, and how the team revamped the MSWEB intranet.
With approximately 3,100,000 pages and 50,000 employees who work in 74 countries and 8,000 sep internet sites, the IA team has a huge task infront of them. Trying to determine where to begin is a large undertaking and some places were obvious but some points where scattered throughout the site. They found that navigation systems not consistent due to various labeling schemes. All the possible labels are hard to search for and retrieve; there are too many variations.
Some places had different concepts for same label. That can surely be confusing to the user. So employees frustrated because they don't know when to stop searching.
There are 50 different variants to product vocabulary. This can also cause concern, frustration and difficulty finding information or to know when you are done searching.
Some IA is inhouse contained and built by inhouse technical staff and other areas are maintained by hand or simple tool like MS Frontpage. By definition, taxonomy is about a specialized system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups which share similar qualities.
It holds three key points.
1. descriptive vocabularies-controlled vocabularies over a specific domain
2. metadata-collection of information about a particular document
3. category labels-set of terms used for navigation systems
Characteristics of their content determined several steps the team took to get started.
First was a search log anaylysis-needs in users own terms to decide appropriate vocabulary terms. They looked for vocabulary that already existed from inhouse work--don't reinvent the wheel. Other issues considered at the start was politics, talking with stakeholders about concepts, and commitment and thier level of participation. They focused on vocabularies with broad appeal.
They narrowed the vocabulary to certain subjects: geography, languages, proper names, organization and business names, subjects and product/standards/technology names. Metadata and controlled vocabulary will describe content.
They focused on simplicity, balance, description for display, integration into browsing schemes. They decided on core field schema's: URL title, URL Description, URL, ToolTip, Comment, Contact Alias, Review Date, Status, Strongly Recommended, Products, Category label, Keywords. So all three taxonomies come together and were used to create search results. Dublin Core schema partially used.
VocabMan, visual basic client providing access to MDR. VocabMan was used to create thesauri relationships ie heirarchical equivalence and associative between terms within specific taxonomies and between terms in different taxonomies and as a workbench for managing, creating, and tagging records.
Some of their successes include, since the company has so many employees, this provides a wide area of opportunity as a test bed for improvements. They selected a major area to work on that benefited both users, employees and managers. They made the improvements in a modular fashion thereby making the improvements applicable to other areas within the project and across the company. The design was flexible across departments so it spoke to not just other IA's but to technical communication, designers, and strategists. The teams efforts saved the company money while in baby steps but was significant to support the primary goals as they rolled out.
Some of the benefits to users, prompted them to take a look at some of the problems such as too many clicks, inaccessible documents and too hard to search for them - awakened the need for improvement. Measurable changes of the task success rate was +10.7%, time on task -16 seconds, and number of clicks -8 clicks where it used to be +13 clicks... big changes.
Another case study involves evolt.org where they developed an IA with almost no budget.
They are a world community for web developers, promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills and experiences which was prompted out of rapid growth of members/registered users. evolt has classes and thier allowed levels of participation=anyone level, member level, administrator level.
Discussion list postings, tips, published articles, authors, readers, receives/pays, biography listings, new ventures, free communities,
Web Theory: An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall and chapter 1 called Web of technology starts off with a blast from the past description about the growth of the web and directions and possibilities it was headed into which ironically are all unfolding. Virtual reality and information and technology paths are taking most of the paths that Nicolas Negroponte describes in his book, Being Digital.
The promise of a better world with webs capabilities towards communication and expanding our horizons in the media world and fast paced expanding media world.
Technology is determined to expand and take the world into new and ever demanding technologies. What became apparent is the demands for communication, and how were people going to interact with the new technologies becoming available. Cyberspace was becoming the place for the chat, correspondence, digital imagery, fast paced business opportunities and more.
Approaches of how to offer these kinds of resources to the world was obviously needed to be managed and organized and done well so that users would use sites which tumbled the snowball of visibility, commerce and competition. Access to computers was blooming fast like televsion sets bloomed when they were 'born'. Instant images over the space and time, thusly instant communication and reaching audiences over the computer screen.
.....................................................................
The case study for MSWEB takes on a vast immense job of assessing MSWEB and variety of things to fix. The major point covered in the polar text are 3 taxonomies used, the IA made to support it, and how the team revamped the MSWEB intranet.
With approximately 3,100,000 pages and 50,000 employees who work in 74 countries and 8,000 sep internet sites, the IA team has a huge task infront of them. Trying to determine where to begin is a large undertaking and some places were obvious but some points where scattered throughout the site. They found that navigation systems not consistent due to various labeling schemes. All the possible labels are hard to search for and retrieve; there are too many variations.
Some places had different concepts for same label. That can surely be confusing to the user. So employees frustrated because they don't know when to stop searching.
There are 50 different variants to product vocabulary. This can also cause concern, frustration and difficulty finding information or to know when you are done searching.
Some IA is inhouse contained and built by inhouse technical staff and other areas are maintained by hand or simple tool like MS Frontpage. By definition, taxonomy is about a specialized system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups which share similar qualities.
It holds three key points.
1. descriptive vocabularies-controlled vocabularies over a specific domain
2. metadata-collection of information about a particular document
3. category labels-set of terms used for navigation systems
Characteristics of their content determined several steps the team took to get started.
First was a search log anaylysis-needs in users own terms to decide appropriate vocabulary terms. They looked for vocabulary that already existed from inhouse work--don't reinvent the wheel. Other issues considered at the start was politics, talking with stakeholders about concepts, and commitment and thier level of participation. They focused on vocabularies with broad appeal.
They narrowed the vocabulary to certain subjects: geography, languages, proper names, organization and business names, subjects and product/standards/technology names. Metadata and controlled vocabulary will describe content.
They focused on simplicity, balance, description for display, integration into browsing schemes. They decided on core field schema's: URL title, URL Description, URL, ToolTip, Comment, Contact Alias, Review Date, Status, Strongly Recommended, Products, Category label, Keywords. So all three taxonomies come together and were used to create search results. Dublin Core schema partially used.
VocabMan, visual basic client providing access to MDR. VocabMan was used to create thesauri relationships ie heirarchical equivalence and associative between terms within specific taxonomies and between terms in different taxonomies and as a workbench for managing, creating, and tagging records.
Some of their successes include, since the company has so many employees, this provides a wide area of opportunity as a test bed for improvements. They selected a major area to work on that benefited both users, employees and managers. They made the improvements in a modular fashion thereby making the improvements applicable to other areas within the project and across the company. The design was flexible across departments so it spoke to not just other IA's but to technical communication, designers, and strategists. The teams efforts saved the company money while in baby steps but was significant to support the primary goals as they rolled out.
Some of the benefits to users, prompted them to take a look at some of the problems such as too many clicks, inaccessible documents and too hard to search for them - awakened the need for improvement. Measurable changes of the task success rate was +10.7%, time on task -16 seconds, and number of clicks -8 clicks where it used to be +13 clicks... big changes.
Another case study involves evolt.org where they developed an IA with almost no budget.
They are a world community for web developers, promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills and experiences which was prompted out of rapid growth of members/registered users. evolt has classes and thier allowed levels of participation=anyone level, member level, administrator level.
Discussion list postings, tips, published articles, authors, readers, receives/pays, biography listings, new ventures, free communities,
Web Theory: An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall and chapter 1 called Web of technology starts off with a blast from the past description about the growth of the web and directions and possibilities it was headed into which ironically are all unfolding. Virtual reality and information and technology paths are taking most of the paths that Nicolas Negroponte describes in his book, Being Digital.
The promise of a better world with webs capabilities towards communication and expanding our horizons in the media world and fast paced expanding media world.
Technology is determined to expand and take the world into new and ever demanding technologies. What became apparent is the demands for communication, and how were people going to interact with the new technologies becoming available. Cyberspace was becoming the place for the chat, correspondence, digital imagery, fast paced business opportunities and more.
Approaches of how to offer these kinds of resources to the world was obviously needed to be managed and organized and done well so that users would use sites which tumbled the snowball of visibility, commerce and competition. Access to computers was blooming fast like televsion sets bloomed when they were 'born'. Instant images over the space and time, thusly instant communication and reaching audiences over the computer screen.
.....................................................................
Week 9 - Lesson 9 - Readings & Takeaways
Assigned : READINGS - This week, read Chapters 20 - 21 from the "polar bear" text.
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
and Web Theory An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall - Chapter 1 - Web of technology
CHAPTER 20
(page 429)
MSWEB: AN ENTERPRISE INTRANET
Case study on 3 taxonomies used, the IA made to support it, how the team revamped the MSWEB intranet
(page 430)
Woozer is all I have to say upfront... 3,100,000 pages, 50,000 employees who work in 74 countries and 8,000 sep internet sites...amazing....insanely huge is correct...these IA's certainly have a challenge ahead of them. Trying to determine where to begin is a large undertaking and some places were obvious but some points where scattered throughout the site.
Navigation systems not consistent due to various labeling schemes.
All the possible labesl are hard to search for and retrieve; there are too many variations.
(page 431)
Some places had different concepts for same label. That can surely be confusing to the user. So employees frustrated because they don't know when to stop searching.
There are 50 different variants to product vocabulary. This can also cause concern, frustration and difficulty finding information or to know when you are done searching.
Some IA is inhouse contained and built by inhouse technical staff and other areas are maintained by hand or simple tool like MS Frontpage.
(page 432)
Definition
taxonomy noun
/tækˈsɒn.ə.mi/US pronunciation symbol/-ˈsɑː.nə-/ n [C or U] specialized
a system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups which share similar qualities
3 flavors
1. descriptive vocabularies-controlled vocabularies over a specific domain
2. metadata-collection of information about a particular document
3. category labels-set of terms used for navigation systems
(page 433)
Descriptive vocabularies
Developing terms to manually index important pieces of content
Characteristics of their content determined several steps the team took to get started.
First was a search log anaylysis-needs in users own terms to decide appropriate vocabulary terms
They looked for vocabulary that already existed from inhouse work--don't reinvent the wheel.
Other issues considered at the start was politics, talking with stakeholders about concepts, and commitment and thier level of participation.
They focused on vocabularies with broad appeal.
(page 434)
They narrowed the vocabulary to certain subjects: geography, languages, proper names, organization and business names, subjects and product/standards/technology names
Metadta
Metadata and controlled vocabulary will describe content.
They focused on simplicity, balance, description for display, integration into browsing schemes.
(page 435)
They decided on core field schema's: URL title, URL Description, URL, ToolTip, Comment, Contact Alias, Review Date, Status, Strongly Recommended, Products, Category label, Keywords.
(page 436)
Category Labels=help user know where things are and where to go. The team used card sorting and contextual inquiry.
(page 437)
So all three taxonomies come together and were used to create search results.
Dublin Core schema partially used.
(page 438)
This section shows a diagram of the IA of the tools for taxonomies used.
Metadata Registry MDR, VocabMan visual basic client providing access to MDR.
(page 441)
VocabMan=used to create thesauri relationships ie heirarchical equivalence and associative between terms within specific taxonomies and between terms in different taxonomies.
Workbench for managing, creating, and tagging records.
(page 449,450,453)
Successes=Since the company has so many employees, this provides a wide area of opportunity as a test bed for improvements. They selected a major area to work on that benefited both users, employees and managers. They made the improvements in a modular fashion thereby making the improvements applicable to other areas within the project and across the company. The design was flexible across departments so it spoke to not just other IA's but to technical communication, designers, and strategists. The teams efforts saved the company money while in baby steps but was significant to support the primary goals as they rolled out.
(page 454)
Benefits to users
The prompt of the problem of too many clicks, inaccessible documents and too hard to search for them - awakened the need for improvement.
(page 457)
Measurable changes of the task success rate was +10.7%, time on task -16 seconds, and number of clicks -8 clicks where it used to be +13 clicks... big changes.
CHAPTER 21
(page 460)
An Online Community
evolt.org
They developed an IA with almost no budget.
(page 461)
evolt.org=Evolt.org is a world community for web developers, promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills and experiences.
Rapid growth of members/registered users.
(page 462)
A major challenge is participation by the community.
(page 463,464,465,466, 467, 468)
evolt has classes and thier allowed levels of participation=anyone level, member level, administrator level.
Discussion list postings, tips, published articles, authors, readers, receives/pays, biography listings, new ventures, free communities,
(page 472)
Discussion lists, tips in archive, articles, member directory, web development resource directory, browser archive, development area
---------------------------------------------------------------------
and Web Theory An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall - Chapter 1 - Web of technology
Chapter 1 starts off with a blast from the past description about the growth of the web and directions and possibilities it was headed into which ironically are all unfolding. Virtual reality and informatoin and technology paths are taking most of the paths that Nicolas Negroponte describes in his book, Being Digital.
The promise of a better world with webs capabilities towards communication and expanding our horizons in the media world and fast paced expanding media world.
Technology is determined to expand and take the world into new and ever demanding technologies. What became apparent is the demands for communication, and how were people going to interact with the new technologies becoming available. Cyberspace was becoming the place for the chat, correspondence, digital imagery, fast paced business opportunities and more.
Approaches of how to offer these kinds of resources to the world was obviously needed to be managed and organized and done well so that users would use sites which tumbled the snowball of visibility, commerce and competition. Access to computers was blooming fast like televsion sets bloomed when they were 'born'. Instant images over the space and time, thusly instant communication and reaching audiences over the computer screen.
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
and Web Theory An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall - Chapter 1 - Web of technology
CHAPTER 20
(page 429)
MSWEB: AN ENTERPRISE INTRANET
Case study on 3 taxonomies used, the IA made to support it, how the team revamped the MSWEB intranet
(page 430)
Woozer is all I have to say upfront... 3,100,000 pages, 50,000 employees who work in 74 countries and 8,000 sep internet sites...amazing....insanely huge is correct...these IA's certainly have a challenge ahead of them. Trying to determine where to begin is a large undertaking and some places were obvious but some points where scattered throughout the site.
Navigation systems not consistent due to various labeling schemes.
All the possible labesl are hard to search for and retrieve; there are too many variations.
(page 431)
Some places had different concepts for same label. That can surely be confusing to the user. So employees frustrated because they don't know when to stop searching.
There are 50 different variants to product vocabulary. This can also cause concern, frustration and difficulty finding information or to know when you are done searching.
Some IA is inhouse contained and built by inhouse technical staff and other areas are maintained by hand or simple tool like MS Frontpage.
(page 432)
Definition
taxonomy noun
/tækˈsɒn.ə.mi/US pronunciation symbol/-ˈsɑː.nə-/ n [C or U] specialized
a system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups which share similar qualities
3 flavors
1. descriptive vocabularies-controlled vocabularies over a specific domain
2. metadata-collection of information about a particular document
3. category labels-set of terms used for navigation systems
(page 433)
Descriptive vocabularies
Developing terms to manually index important pieces of content
Characteristics of their content determined several steps the team took to get started.
First was a search log anaylysis-needs in users own terms to decide appropriate vocabulary terms
They looked for vocabulary that already existed from inhouse work--don't reinvent the wheel.
Other issues considered at the start was politics, talking with stakeholders about concepts, and commitment and thier level of participation.
They focused on vocabularies with broad appeal.
(page 434)
They narrowed the vocabulary to certain subjects: geography, languages, proper names, organization and business names, subjects and product/standards/technology names
Metadta
Metadata and controlled vocabulary will describe content.
They focused on simplicity, balance, description for display, integration into browsing schemes.
(page 435)
They decided on core field schema's: URL title, URL Description, URL, ToolTip, Comment, Contact Alias, Review Date, Status, Strongly Recommended, Products, Category label, Keywords.
(page 436)
Category Labels=help user know where things are and where to go. The team used card sorting and contextual inquiry.
(page 437)
So all three taxonomies come together and were used to create search results.
Dublin Core schema partially used.
(page 438)
This section shows a diagram of the IA of the tools for taxonomies used.
Metadata Registry MDR, VocabMan visual basic client providing access to MDR.
(page 441)
VocabMan=used to create thesauri relationships ie heirarchical equivalence and associative between terms within specific taxonomies and between terms in different taxonomies.
Workbench for managing, creating, and tagging records.
(page 449,450,453)
Successes=Since the company has so many employees, this provides a wide area of opportunity as a test bed for improvements. They selected a major area to work on that benefited both users, employees and managers. They made the improvements in a modular fashion thereby making the improvements applicable to other areas within the project and across the company. The design was flexible across departments so it spoke to not just other IA's but to technical communication, designers, and strategists. The teams efforts saved the company money while in baby steps but was significant to support the primary goals as they rolled out.
(page 454)
Benefits to users
The prompt of the problem of too many clicks, inaccessible documents and too hard to search for them - awakened the need for improvement.
(page 457)
Measurable changes of the task success rate was +10.7%, time on task -16 seconds, and number of clicks -8 clicks where it used to be +13 clicks... big changes.
CHAPTER 21
(page 460)
An Online Community
evolt.org
They developed an IA with almost no budget.
(page 461)
evolt.org=Evolt.org is a world community for web developers, promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills and experiences.
Rapid growth of members/registered users.
(page 462)
A major challenge is participation by the community.
(page 463,464,465,466, 467, 468)
evolt has classes and thier allowed levels of participation=anyone level, member level, administrator level.
Discussion list postings, tips, published articles, authors, readers, receives/pays, biography listings, new ventures, free communities,
(page 472)
Discussion lists, tips in archive, articles, member directory, web development resource directory, browser archive, development area
---------------------------------------------------------------------
and Web Theory An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall - Chapter 1 - Web of technology
Chapter 1 starts off with a blast from the past description about the growth of the web and directions and possibilities it was headed into which ironically are all unfolding. Virtual reality and informatoin and technology paths are taking most of the paths that Nicolas Negroponte describes in his book, Being Digital.
The promise of a better world with webs capabilities towards communication and expanding our horizons in the media world and fast paced expanding media world.
Technology is determined to expand and take the world into new and ever demanding technologies. What became apparent is the demands for communication, and how were people going to interact with the new technologies becoming available. Cyberspace was becoming the place for the chat, correspondence, digital imagery, fast paced business opportunities and more.
Approaches of how to offer these kinds of resources to the world was obviously needed to be managed and organized and done well so that users would use sites which tumbled the snowball of visibility, commerce and competition. Access to computers was blooming fast like televsion sets bloomed when they were 'born'. Instant images over the space and time, thusly instant communication and reaching audiences over the computer screen.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Week 8 - Review Websites
Did they ever explain that Spiderman symbolizes the virtuous hypertextual power of the Web?=love this!
WEBSITES
Google Pack http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html?hl=en&gl=us&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=free%20software
This part of Google lets you download software free... I already have Google Earth and was astounded at what it could do...and excited to see that I can download software or program that lets me build structures to load onto Google. Earth ... Interestingly enough... Google site here automatically brought up programs that are geared for my Mac.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Software Foundation http://www.fsf.org/
This site's mission is The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)3 donor supported charity founded in 1985 and based in Boston, MA, USA. The FSF has a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freeware Files http://www.freewarefiles.com/
This site is hard to see everything.. not designed very well visually. I went to the link on the left Graphic Design and there were three things to download. I wish there was a sample of what they do so I could see it prior to the download.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free-Soft.org http://www.free-soft.org/
Free Software, as used in this web site, refers to software distributed in source form which can be freely modified and redistributed, or freely modifiable and redistributable software. Open Source refers to the fact that the source code of Free Software is open to and for the world to take, to modify and to reuse.
_____________________________________________________________________
WEBSITES
Google Pack http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html?hl=en&gl=us&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=free%20software
This part of Google lets you download software free... I already have Google Earth and was astounded at what it could do...and excited to see that I can download software or program that lets me build structures to load onto Google. Earth ... Interestingly enough... Google site here automatically brought up programs that are geared for my Mac.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Software Foundation http://www.fsf.org/
This site's mission is The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)3 donor supported charity founded in 1985 and based in Boston, MA, USA. The FSF has a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freeware Files http://www.freewarefiles.com/
This site is hard to see everything.. not designed very well visually. I went to the link on the left Graphic Design and there were three things to download. I wish there was a sample of what they do so I could see it prior to the download.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free-Soft.org http://www.free-soft.org/
Free Software, as used in this web site, refers to software distributed in source form which can be freely modified and redistributed, or freely modifiable and redistributable software. Open Source refers to the fact that the source code of Free Software is open to and for the world to take, to modify and to reuse.
_____________________________________________________________________
REFLECTION PAGE - Lesson 8
.....................................................................
Our polar text takes us down a 'salesman road' and truly, all of us need to become our best advocate but IA's especially are their own advocates and from time to time need to sell their case to the client. We need to be the sales person at one point or another so IA's need to make the case and point out the need for the IA. the IA needs to be prepared to show data illustrating the case including the whys and hows that companies will need to approve. Use wireframes and strategies to show off the site and get the ball rolling to move forward with the project.
The ROI case in point in the polar text illustrates time lost during problems along the way, cost per employee, time lost pr employee over a period of a year, number of employees that experience problems and total cost of loss due to design or other problems. but the polar text also debunks the ROI case stating the following:
-should have a direct and quantifiable impact on just about any site
-should be attainable
-should therefore be able to have fruitful and productive conversations with the 'by the numbers' people
The polar text also gives us 3 reasons why ROI measurements can be unreliable that which include:
1. benefits of complete IA cannot be quantifiable
2. benefits of many IA components can't ever be quantified
3. most claims for quantified IA benefits can't be validated
IA's can go with what feels right, use reactionary strategies and first hand stories.
There are other case making techniques listed as follows:
1. sensitvity boot camp session refers to getting users who are not web savy to use the browser
2. expert site evaluation by other IA's can be proven helpful evaluations of the site
3. strategy sessions of 1-2 day sessions decision makers, opinion leaders, go over problems
4. competitive analysis so that IA's place the site alongside competitors
5. comparative analysis allows for comparing to other comparative sites and may not be exact competitor
6. ride the application saleman's wake and pick names from their client lists who have already spent heavily on client education, complete the education with what the other vendor hasn't covered
7. agressive and early refers to being agressive and early on in the process as you can
There are three pieces of advise
1. Pain is your friend=identity client pain
2. articulate half the battle=educate client on IA language so they can articulate their pain easier
3. get off your high horse=help assure clients of the nature of IA and poke fun at yourself helps ease others with the high term IA
A great checklist is provided by our polar text as follows:
-reduces cost of finding information
-reduces cost of finding wrong infor
-reduces cost of not finding infor
-provides a competitive advantage
-increases product awareness
-increases sales
-makes using site more ejoyable
-improves brand loyalty
-reduces reliance upon documentation
-reduces maintenance costs
-reduces training costs
-reduces staff turnover
-reduces organizational upheaval
-reduces org politicking
-improves knowledge sharing
-reduces duplication of effort
-solidifies business strategy
The polar text does encourage the IA to use business strategies to gain the upper hand in stating their case for IA and is critical to the success of websites and intranets success. Our polar text in Figure 18-1 has a great diagram on the feedback loop of business strategy and information architecture and that both groups need to work together and not apart.
Michael Porter's book On Competition=Operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. Operational effectiveness includes but is not limited to efficiency.
The SWOT model can be used for strategy formulation and analysis of the information needed to seek solutions. Our polar text give a great diagram in Figure 18- illustrating a pyramid of IA at all the levels that make up the importance of IA in layers describing
Interface (the top)
Wireframes/blueprints
Metadata/classification schemes/thesauri
Information Architecture strategies/project plans
Users-needs behaviors
Content-structure meaning
Context-culture technology (the bottom)
Victory - victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however hard and long the road may be, for without victory there is no survival." Winston Churchill
.....................................................................
Our polar text takes us down a 'salesman road' and truly, all of us need to become our best advocate but IA's especially are their own advocates and from time to time need to sell their case to the client. We need to be the sales person at one point or another so IA's need to make the case and point out the need for the IA. the IA needs to be prepared to show data illustrating the case including the whys and hows that companies will need to approve. Use wireframes and strategies to show off the site and get the ball rolling to move forward with the project.
The ROI case in point in the polar text illustrates time lost during problems along the way, cost per employee, time lost pr employee over a period of a year, number of employees that experience problems and total cost of loss due to design or other problems. but the polar text also debunks the ROI case stating the following:
-should have a direct and quantifiable impact on just about any site
-should be attainable
-should therefore be able to have fruitful and productive conversations with the 'by the numbers' people
The polar text also gives us 3 reasons why ROI measurements can be unreliable that which include:
1. benefits of complete IA cannot be quantifiable
2. benefits of many IA components can't ever be quantified
3. most claims for quantified IA benefits can't be validated
IA's can go with what feels right, use reactionary strategies and first hand stories.
There are other case making techniques listed as follows:
1. sensitvity boot camp session refers to getting users who are not web savy to use the browser
2. expert site evaluation by other IA's can be proven helpful evaluations of the site
3. strategy sessions of 1-2 day sessions decision makers, opinion leaders, go over problems
4. competitive analysis so that IA's place the site alongside competitors
5. comparative analysis allows for comparing to other comparative sites and may not be exact competitor
6. ride the application saleman's wake and pick names from their client lists who have already spent heavily on client education, complete the education with what the other vendor hasn't covered
7. agressive and early refers to being agressive and early on in the process as you can
There are three pieces of advise
1. Pain is your friend=identity client pain
2. articulate half the battle=educate client on IA language so they can articulate their pain easier
3. get off your high horse=help assure clients of the nature of IA and poke fun at yourself helps ease others with the high term IA
A great checklist is provided by our polar text as follows:
-reduces cost of finding information
-reduces cost of finding wrong infor
-reduces cost of not finding infor
-provides a competitive advantage
-increases product awareness
-increases sales
-makes using site more ejoyable
-improves brand loyalty
-reduces reliance upon documentation
-reduces maintenance costs
-reduces training costs
-reduces staff turnover
-reduces organizational upheaval
-reduces org politicking
-improves knowledge sharing
-reduces duplication of effort
-solidifies business strategy
The polar text does encourage the IA to use business strategies to gain the upper hand in stating their case for IA and is critical to the success of websites and intranets success. Our polar text in Figure 18-1 has a great diagram on the feedback loop of business strategy and information architecture and that both groups need to work together and not apart.
Michael Porter's book On Competition=Operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. Operational effectiveness includes but is not limited to efficiency.
The SWOT model can be used for strategy formulation and analysis of the information needed to seek solutions. Our polar text give a great diagram in Figure 18- illustrating a pyramid of IA at all the levels that make up the importance of IA in layers describing
Interface (the top)
Wireframes/blueprints
Metadata/classification schemes/thesauri
Information Architecture strategies/project plans
Users-needs behaviors
Content-structure meaning
Context-culture technology (the bottom)
Victory - victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however hard and long the road may be, for without victory there is no survival." Winston Churchill
.....................................................................
Week 8 - Lesson 8 - Reading & Take Aways
Assigned : READINGS - This week, read Chapters 17 - 18 from the "polar bear" text.
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
CHAPTER 17
MAKING THE CASE FOR INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
(page 365)
selling
ROI case/thinking
making case for IA
checklist
(page 366)
We need to be the sales person at one point or another.
So make the case and point out the need for IA.
Plan to show data to illustrate the case and the whys and hows that companies will need to approve the wireframe and strategy of the site and move forward with the project.
(page 367)
ROI case
Illustrates time lost during problems along the way, cost per employee, time lost pr employee over a period of a year, number of employees that experience problems and total cost of loss due to design or other problems.
(page 369)
Debunking ROI
-should have a direct and quanitifiable impact on just about any site
-should be attainable
-should therefore be able to have fruitful and productive conversations with the 'by the numbers' people
3 reasons why ROI measurements are unreliable:
1. benefits of complete IA cannot be quantifiable
2. benefits of many IA components can't ever be quantified
3. most claims for quantified IA benefits can't be validated
(page 371)
go with what feels right
reactionary
first hand stories
(page 374)
Other Case Making Techniques
1. sensitvity boot camp session=get users who are not web savy to use the browser
2. expert site evaluation=IA's eval the site
3. strategy sessions=1-2 day sessions decision makers/opinion leaders/go over problems
4. competitive analysis=place site alongside competitors
(page 375)
5. comparative analysis=compare to other comparative sites-may not be exact competitor
6. ride the application saleman's wake=pick names from thier client lists who have already spent heavily on client education-complete the education w/what the other vendor hasn't covered
7. agressive and early=promote as early in the process as you can
3 pieces of advise
1. Pain is your friend=identity client pain
2. articulate half the battle=educate client on IA language so they can articulate their pain easier
3. get off your high horse=help assure clients of the nature of IA and poke fun at yourself helps ease others with the high term IA
(page 376)
CHECKLIST
-reduces cost of finding information
-reduces cost of finding wrong infor
-reduces cost of not finding infor
-provides a competitive advantage
-increases product awareness
-increases sales
(page 377)
-makes using site more ejoyable
-improves brand loyalty
-reduces reliance upon documentation
-reduces maintenance costs
-reduces training costs
-reduces staff turnover
-reduces organizational upheaval
-reduces org politicking
-improves knowledge sharing
-reduces duplication of effort
-solidifies business strategy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 18
BUSINESS STRATEGY
(page 378)
competing definitions of business strategy
Vanguard
IA/business strategy
IA contribution advantage
Businesses realize IA is critical to the success of websites and intranets sucess.
(page 379)
Figure 18-1. Feedback loop of business strategy and information architecture.
Both groups need to work together and not apart.
(page 380)
"Victory - victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however hard and long the road may be, for without victory there is no survival." Winston Churchill
Michael Porter's book On Competition=Operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. Operational effectiveness includes but is not limited to efficiency.
(page 381)
Alignment
Stakeholder interviews provide an opportunity to talk w/senior managers/ask right questions=
1. what is your company really good at?
2. what is your company really bad at?
3. what makes your company different from your competitors?
4. how are you able to beat competitors?
5. how can your web site or intranet contribute to competitive advantage?
(page 382)
Strategic Fit
Activity system maps=tool for strengthening strategic fit
Figure 18-2. Activity system map Vanguard
(page 384)
IA's should solve problems and answer questions.
(page 385)
SWOT Figure 18-4 illustrates model for strategy formulation and analysis of the information needed to seek solutions.
(page 390)
Figure 18- illustrates a pyramid of IA at all the levels that make up the importance of IA in layers describing:
(top down)
Interface
Wireframes/blueprints
Metadata/classification schemes/thesauri
Information Architecture strategies/project plans
Users-needs behaviors
Content-structure meaning
Context-culture technology
____________________________________________________________________________
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
CHAPTER 17
MAKING THE CASE FOR INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
(page 365)
selling
ROI case/thinking
making case for IA
checklist
(page 366)
We need to be the sales person at one point or another.
So make the case and point out the need for IA.
Plan to show data to illustrate the case and the whys and hows that companies will need to approve the wireframe and strategy of the site and move forward with the project.
(page 367)
ROI case
Illustrates time lost during problems along the way, cost per employee, time lost pr employee over a period of a year, number of employees that experience problems and total cost of loss due to design or other problems.
(page 369)
Debunking ROI
-should have a direct and quanitifiable impact on just about any site
-should be attainable
-should therefore be able to have fruitful and productive conversations with the 'by the numbers' people
3 reasons why ROI measurements are unreliable:
1. benefits of complete IA cannot be quantifiable
2. benefits of many IA components can't ever be quantified
3. most claims for quantified IA benefits can't be validated
(page 371)
go with what feels right
reactionary
first hand stories
(page 374)
Other Case Making Techniques
1. sensitvity boot camp session=get users who are not web savy to use the browser
2. expert site evaluation=IA's eval the site
3. strategy sessions=1-2 day sessions decision makers/opinion leaders/go over problems
4. competitive analysis=place site alongside competitors
(page 375)
5. comparative analysis=compare to other comparative sites-may not be exact competitor
6. ride the application saleman's wake=pick names from thier client lists who have already spent heavily on client education-complete the education w/what the other vendor hasn't covered
7. agressive and early=promote as early in the process as you can
3 pieces of advise
1. Pain is your friend=identity client pain
2. articulate half the battle=educate client on IA language so they can articulate their pain easier
3. get off your high horse=help assure clients of the nature of IA and poke fun at yourself helps ease others with the high term IA
(page 376)
CHECKLIST
-reduces cost of finding information
-reduces cost of finding wrong infor
-reduces cost of not finding infor
-provides a competitive advantage
-increases product awareness
-increases sales
(page 377)
-makes using site more ejoyable
-improves brand loyalty
-reduces reliance upon documentation
-reduces maintenance costs
-reduces training costs
-reduces staff turnover
-reduces organizational upheaval
-reduces org politicking
-improves knowledge sharing
-reduces duplication of effort
-solidifies business strategy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 18
BUSINESS STRATEGY
(page 378)
competing definitions of business strategy
Vanguard
IA/business strategy
IA contribution advantage
Businesses realize IA is critical to the success of websites and intranets sucess.
(page 379)
Figure 18-1. Feedback loop of business strategy and information architecture.
Both groups need to work together and not apart.
(page 380)
"Victory - victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however hard and long the road may be, for without victory there is no survival." Winston Churchill
Michael Porter's book On Competition=Operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. Operational effectiveness includes but is not limited to efficiency.
(page 381)
Alignment
Stakeholder interviews provide an opportunity to talk w/senior managers/ask right questions=
1. what is your company really good at?
2. what is your company really bad at?
3. what makes your company different from your competitors?
4. how are you able to beat competitors?
5. how can your web site or intranet contribute to competitive advantage?
(page 382)
Strategic Fit
Activity system maps=tool for strengthening strategic fit
Figure 18-2. Activity system map Vanguard
(page 384)
IA's should solve problems and answer questions.
(page 385)
SWOT Figure 18-4 illustrates model for strategy formulation and analysis of the information needed to seek solutions.
(page 390)
Figure 18- illustrates a pyramid of IA at all the levels that make up the importance of IA in layers describing:
(top down)
Interface
Wireframes/blueprints
Metadata/classification schemes/thesauri
Information Architecture strategies/project plans
Users-needs behaviors
Content-structure meaning
Context-culture technology
____________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
REFLECTION PAGE - Lesson 7
.....................................................................
The ethics section of the book was understandable. All areas of work and programs and projects need to touch on ethical issues that arise in the work environment. Mostly what I understand throughout the polar beat text is that IA's must be vigilant towards a sensitivity to who will be using the site. And doesn't just limit sensitivity to labels but to content, structure, findability, as well categories and classification. The need for well structured, labeled and categorized information in the digital environment is a fast growing field and IA's responsibilities in keeping up with the demands for the 'unseen' sensibility of how the site runs is just as important as the ethical duties to be mindful of word choice.
The key is to avoid wasting time, money, frustration by using basic guidelines set forth for IA's to follow alongside building critical infrastructure for enduring stability and usability, not glamor.
The IA should take responsibility for the completeness and most uniqueness of the site as it relates to the project and business and goals of the stakeholders. The Dream Team is a consideration between what is in the best interest of the company making the site whether it be hiring a consultation firm from outside the firm or using in-house staff to produce the site. The idea is to build a design of an enduring foundation.
The polar text offers a compilation of the IA's toolbox for taking on the 'IA' journey of securing a well built site. This invisible structure's toolbox includes but limited to:
-Automated Categorizations
-Search Engines
-Thesaurus Mnt Tools
-Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform
-Web Analytics/Tracking
-Diagramming Software
-Protyping Tools
-User Research and Testing
.....................................................................
The ethics section of the book was understandable. All areas of work and programs and projects need to touch on ethical issues that arise in the work environment. Mostly what I understand throughout the polar beat text is that IA's must be vigilant towards a sensitivity to who will be using the site. And doesn't just limit sensitivity to labels but to content, structure, findability, as well categories and classification. The need for well structured, labeled and categorized information in the digital environment is a fast growing field and IA's responsibilities in keeping up with the demands for the 'unseen' sensibility of how the site runs is just as important as the ethical duties to be mindful of word choice.
The key is to avoid wasting time, money, frustration by using basic guidelines set forth for IA's to follow alongside building critical infrastructure for enduring stability and usability, not glamor.
The IA should take responsibility for the completeness and most uniqueness of the site as it relates to the project and business and goals of the stakeholders. The Dream Team is a consideration between what is in the best interest of the company making the site whether it be hiring a consultation firm from outside the firm or using in-house staff to produce the site. The idea is to build a design of an enduring foundation.
The polar text offers a compilation of the IA's toolbox for taking on the 'IA' journey of securing a well built site. This invisible structure's toolbox includes but limited to:
-Automated Categorizations
-Search Engines
-Thesaurus Mnt Tools
-Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform
-Web Analytics/Tracking
-Diagramming Software
-Protyping Tools
-User Research and Testing
.....................................................................
Week 7 - Review Websites
IA documents with examples (G.Doss)
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/information_architecture_deliverables.php
examples
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/CAPTUS_site_ias.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/ia_deliverables/submisison_process.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/PRI_wireframes.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/ia_deliverables/pmms_wireframes_4.3.pdf
__________________________________________________________________________
Whether you're searching for a quick introduction or an in-depth study, you'll find all sorts of courses, workshops, and seminars offered by universities, conferences, and consulting firms. If you have to choose just one, we recommend the annual ASIS&T Summit (http://iasummit.org/).
__________________________________________________________________________
TextMap http://www.textmap.com/ try the new "entities" concept in search from TextMap search. Analyze the interface and search results from an IA perspective.
A search engine for entities: the important (and not so important)people, places, and things in the news. Our news analysis system automatically identifies and monitors these entities, and identifies meaningful relationships between them.
Google Sets http://labs.google.com/sets try the new "sets" concept in search from Google. Analyze the interface and search results from an IA perspective.
My favorite part was the Meet the Engineers section where they used half faces for icons for themselves.
Meet the engineers
Jack Hebert
Jack Hebert Worked on In Quotes. Jack won't rest until Google News finds the news before it happens.
Alon Halevy
Alon Halevy Worked on Fusion Tables. Alon is always looking for new ways to manage structured data on the web.
Artem Boytsov
Artem Boytsov Worked on Google Trends. When he's not setting trends, Artem is finding them in Google searches.
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston Worked on City Tours. By day, Trevor keeps Google's systems running but by night, he's a tour guide for the world.
Chuck Rosenberg
Chuck Rosenberg Worked on Similar Images. A master at image search, Chuck knows what's in images without even looking at them.
________________________________________________
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/information_architecture_deliverables.php
examples
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/CAPTUS_site_ias.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/ia_deliverables/submisison_process.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/PRI_wireframes.pdf
http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/ia_deliverables/pmms_wireframes_4.3.pdf
__________________________________________________________________________
Whether you're searching for a quick introduction or an in-depth study, you'll find all sorts of courses, workshops, and seminars offered by universities, conferences, and consulting firms. If you have to choose just one, we recommend the annual ASIS&T Summit (http://iasummit.org/).
__________________________________________________________________________
TextMap http://www.textmap.com/ try the new "entities" concept in search from TextMap search. Analyze the interface and search results from an IA perspective.
A search engine for entities: the important (and not so important)people, places, and things in the news. Our news analysis system automatically identifies and monitors these entities, and identifies meaningful relationships between them.
Google Sets http://labs.google.com/sets try the new "sets" concept in search from Google. Analyze the interface and search results from an IA perspective.
My favorite part was the Meet the Engineers section where they used half faces for icons for themselves.
Meet the engineers
Jack Hebert
Jack Hebert Worked on In Quotes. Jack won't rest until Google News finds the news before it happens.
Alon Halevy
Alon Halevy Worked on Fusion Tables. Alon is always looking for new ways to manage structured data on the web.
Artem Boytsov
Artem Boytsov Worked on Google Trends. When he's not setting trends, Artem is finding them in Google searches.
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston Worked on City Tours. By day, Trevor keeps Google's systems running but by night, he's a tour guide for the world.
Chuck Rosenberg
Chuck Rosenberg Worked on Similar Images. A master at image search, Chuck knows what's in images without even looking at them.
________________________________________________
Week 7 - Lesson 7 Readings & Take aways
Assigned : READINGS - This week, read Chapters 14 - 16 from the "polar bear" text.
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
CHAPTER 14
(page 340)
ETHICS
-politics of categories and classification
-issues of intellectual and physical access to information
-ethical responsibilities of IA
You've almost finished the book. This made me laugh aloud.
(page 341)
6 Dimensions IA face:
1. Intellectual Access
2. Labeling
3. Categories and Classification
4. Granularity
5. Physical Access
6. Persistence
1. Intellectual Access
avoid wasting time, money, frustration
(page 342)
2. Labeling
be sensitive to word choice
3. Categories and Classification
to include or not to include categories can have consequences
3. Granularity
(page 343)
definition: ▸ noun: the quality of being composed of relatively large particles
4. Physical Access
physical access to library versus digital
5. Persistence
not glamour but about mission-critical infrastructure
(page 344)
responsibility
not my problem vs whose responsibility is it?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 15
(page 345)
BUILDING AN INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE TEAM
innies=in house versus consulting firm=outies
staffing an IA team
(page 347)
Figure 15-1: Infinite Loop of Destructive Creation
Figure 15-2: Societal layers
Figure 15-3: Information architecture layers
(page 348)
Project vs Program
design an enduring foundation
(page 349)
Buy or Rent
outies=use heavily not solely, easier to get a budget, expert advice, outside perspective, "best practices",
(page 350)
inhouse-deeper knowledge of the business, relationships w/staff
(page 352)
The Dream Team
Table 15-1 Information architecture dream team
Position titles=Strategy Architect, Thesaurus Designer, Controlled Vocabulary Mgr, Indexing Specialist, Interaction Designer, IA Software Analyst, IA Usability Engineer, Cartographer, Search Analyst
Other roles=Enterprise Information Architect, Social Navigation Architect, Content Mngt Architect, Knowledge Mngt Architect, Web Services Architect
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 16
(page 354)
tools and software of the IA
(page 355)
We need both =automated classification software and collaborative filtering engine
Categories of Chaos
-Automated Categorizations 16.2%
-Search Engines 56.4%
-Thesaurus Mnt Tools 19.7%
-Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform 37.6%
-Web Analytics/Tracking 62.8%
-Diagramming Software 79.5%
-Protyping Tools 70.9%
-User Research and Testing (not included in survey)
(page 356)
AUTOMATED CATEGORIZATION
Synonyms
automated classification, automated indexing, automated tagging, clustering
Interwoven's Metatagger
Vivisimo's Clustering Engine- said page not found
Entrieva's Semio Tagger=said page not found
____________________________________________
SEARCH ENGINES
software that provides full text indexing and searching capabilities
Endeca Information Access Platform
Google Enterprise Solutions
______________________________________________
THESAURUS MNGT TOOLS
Tools that provide support for the development and mnt of controlled vocabularies and thesauri.
WebChoir
Term Tree
DataHarmony
______________________________________________
PORTAL OR ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM
Tools that provide completely intergrated enterprise portal solutions.
Oracle Portal
WebTrends
DIAGRAMMING SOFTWARE
Visual communications software taht information architects use to create diagrams, charts, wireframes, and blueprints.
OmniGraffle
Microsoft Visio
Illustrator
PowerPoint
Intuitect=page not found
___________________________________________________________
PROTOTYPING TOOLS
Web development software that enables you to create interactive wireframes and clickable prototypes.
Dreamweaver
Visio
Flash
Serena Composer
iRise
Axure
____________________________________________________________
USER RESEARCH
Software that supports user research, including online card sorting and remote usability testing.
MindCanvas
Macromedia Captivate
__________________________________________________________________
Book: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3rd Edition, by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, ISBN 100596527349
CHAPTER 14
(page 340)
ETHICS
-politics of categories and classification
-issues of intellectual and physical access to information
-ethical responsibilities of IA
You've almost finished the book. This made me laugh aloud.
(page 341)
6 Dimensions IA face:
1. Intellectual Access
2. Labeling
3. Categories and Classification
4. Granularity
5. Physical Access
6. Persistence
1. Intellectual Access
avoid wasting time, money, frustration
(page 342)
2. Labeling
be sensitive to word choice
3. Categories and Classification
to include or not to include categories can have consequences
3. Granularity
(page 343)
definition: ▸ noun: the quality of being composed of relatively large particles
4. Physical Access
physical access to library versus digital
5. Persistence
not glamour but about mission-critical infrastructure
(page 344)
responsibility
not my problem vs whose responsibility is it?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 15
(page 345)
BUILDING AN INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE TEAM
innies=in house versus consulting firm=outies
staffing an IA team
(page 347)
Figure 15-1: Infinite Loop of Destructive Creation
Figure 15-2: Societal layers
Figure 15-3: Information architecture layers
(page 348)
Project vs Program
design an enduring foundation
(page 349)
Buy or Rent
outies=use heavily not solely, easier to get a budget, expert advice, outside perspective, "best practices",
(page 350)
inhouse-deeper knowledge of the business, relationships w/staff
(page 352)
The Dream Team
Table 15-1 Information architecture dream team
Position titles=Strategy Architect, Thesaurus Designer, Controlled Vocabulary Mgr, Indexing Specialist, Interaction Designer, IA Software Analyst, IA Usability Engineer, Cartographer, Search Analyst
Other roles=Enterprise Information Architect, Social Navigation Architect, Content Mngt Architect, Knowledge Mngt Architect, Web Services Architect
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 16
(page 354)
tools and software of the IA
(page 355)
We need both =automated classification software and collaborative filtering engine
Categories of Chaos
-Automated Categorizations 16.2%
-Search Engines 56.4%
-Thesaurus Mnt Tools 19.7%
-Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform 37.6%
-Web Analytics/Tracking 62.8%
-Diagramming Software 79.5%
-Protyping Tools 70.9%
-User Research and Testing (not included in survey)
(page 356)
AUTOMATED CATEGORIZATION
Synonyms
automated classification, automated indexing, automated tagging, clustering
Interwoven's Metatagger
Vivisimo's Clustering Engine- said page not found
Entrieva's Semio Tagger=said page not found
____________________________________________
SEARCH ENGINES
software that provides full text indexing and searching capabilities
Endeca Information Access Platform
Google Enterprise Solutions
______________________________________________
THESAURUS MNGT TOOLS
Tools that provide support for the development and mnt of controlled vocabularies and thesauri.
WebChoir
Term Tree
DataHarmony
______________________________________________
PORTAL OR ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM
Tools that provide completely intergrated enterprise portal solutions.
Oracle Portal
WebTrends
DIAGRAMMING SOFTWARE
Visual communications software taht information architects use to create diagrams, charts, wireframes, and blueprints.
OmniGraffle
Microsoft Visio
Illustrator
PowerPoint
Intuitect=page not found
___________________________________________________________
PROTOTYPING TOOLS
Web development software that enables you to create interactive wireframes and clickable prototypes.
Dreamweaver
Visio
Flash
Serena Composer
iRise
Axure
____________________________________________________________
USER RESEARCH
Software that supports user research, including online card sorting and remote usability testing.
MindCanvas
Macromedia Captivate
__________________________________________________________________
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