The Difference Between Information Architecture (IA) and Navigation(sitemap)

The Difference Between Information Architecture (IA) and Navigation

by JENNIFER CARDELLO on June 22, 2014

Topics:

• Information Architecture
 
• Navigation

Summary: IA is the information backbone of the site; navigation refers to those elements in the UI that allow users to reach specific information on the site.

Practitioners sometimes merge the concepts of information architecture (IA) and navigation design. While it’s true that these concepts are related and that information architecture informs website navigation design, IA and navigation are not the same. In fact, information architecture spans well beyond website navigation. Nathaniel Davis, in an article for UXmatters entitled “Framing the Practice of Information Architecture,” refers to web navigation as the tip of the iceberg that sits atop the information architecture of the site.

What Is Website Information Architecture?

A website’s (or intranet’s) information architecture has two main components:

• identification and definition of site content/functionality
• the underlying organization, structure and nomenclature that define the relationships between a site’s content/functionality

The information architecture (IA) is not part of the on-screen user interface (UI) — rather, IA informs UI. The IA is documented in spreadsheets and diagrams, not in wireframes, comprehensive layouts (known as comps), or prototypes.

This site map describes the different content pieces on the nngroup.com site and the relationship between them. Blue nodes represent 1st-tier information objects, green nodes are 2nd-tier objects, and yellow are 3rd- tier objects. The children of a node are all placed underneath it.

Even though the IA itself isn’t visible in the UI, it most definitely impacts the User Experience (UX). As we know from the definition of user experience, the total user experience is built up from everything the user encounters. And while users don’t see the structure of the website, they will hopefully get the feeling that content is divided up and connected in ways that match their needs and expectations. Sadly, of course, users leave many sites feeling that the content/functionality was not what they wanted and they experience friction because of poor organization, structure and/or nomenclature.

As an analogy, unless you’re Superman or a radiologist, you won’t see the skeletons when looking at a horse or a chicken, but those skeletons nevertheless make these animals very different creatures. Don’t try to ride the chicken, because the skeleton won’t support you.

The activities undertaken in defining an information architecture involve:

• Content inventory: Examination of a website to locate and identify existing site content
• Content audit: Evaluation of content usefulness, accuracy, tone of voice, and overall effectiveness
• Information grouping: Definition of user-centered relationships between content
• Taxonomy development: Definition of a standardized naming convention (controlled vocabulary) to apply to all site content.
• Descriptive information creation: Definition of useful metadata that can be utilized to generate “Related Link” lists or other navigation components that aid discovery.

What Is Website Navigation?

A website’s navigation is a collection of user interface components. The primary goal of navigation is to help users find information and functionality, and encourage them to take desirable actions. Navigation components include global navigation, local navigation, utility navigation, breadcrumbs, filters, facets, related links, footers, fat footers, and so on.

Some examples of navigation components: 1) utility navigation; 2) global navigation; 3) breadcrumb trail; 4) local navigation; 5) related links (in this case, articles and blog posts); 6) fat footer. (http://www.sba.gov/)

For each navigation component, a series of decisions must be made:

• Usage Priority: How much will users rely on this navigation component? For example, will users primarily navigate the site using local navigation? Or are they likely to more heavily rely on related links?
• Placement: On what pages should it be present? Where should it be placed within the page layout grid? (e.g., top, left-hand, right-hand, bottom)
• Pattern: Which navigation design patterns best support findability and discoverability — Tabs, megamenus,carousels, accordions (as well as other options)

Relationship Between IA and Navigation

When designing a new site, can designers ignore the IA and focus only on the navigation? The answer is no: it’s inefficient and even dangerous to do so. Navigation that does not adequately accommodate the full scope of content and functionality of a site can be very costly. For example, let’s assume that a design team decides to use a typical inverted-L style navigation (one top navigation bar and a left rail) because they like the way it looks. An inverted-L can accommodate sites that are no more than 4 tiers deep. Unfortunately, later in the project they conduct a site inventory and discover that many sections of the site will be more than 4 tiers deep. Now they must either go back and design a new navigation structure or try to cram all the content into 4 tiers.

Example Inverted-L navigation (http://www.suffolk.edu/)

Define the IA Before Designing Navigation

When approaching a design or redesign project, it is important to take a look under the hood and start by defining or redefining the IA. The IA doesn’t need to be final before beginning to wireframe and prototype, but a first pass is necessary to get a handle on the volume and complexity of the content. Making navigation component choices based on looks alone can force you to change an ideal IA to something that doesn’t best serve the needs of users or accommodate your content.

Learn more by attending our Information Architecture and Navigation courses at the Usability Week events.

___________________________________

This content comes from www.nngroup.com

Designing point-of-sale (POS) systems

Point-of-sale user experience (or POSUX to combine the 2 acronyms) can be slightly different - and sometimes contrary - to best practice user experience for other digital products. We've worked on creating interfaces for a number of POS systems so here are a few things we've learnt from the research and design that we've carried out.

1. Complexity isn't necessarily bad

Store workers often don't mind additional complexity provided the system can be learnt and that the complexity ultimately increases speed/efficiency. For example, people are often willing to take the time to learn keyboard shortcuts or set up saved searches as this will save time in the long-term. This is contrary to the design of almost any other system which should be simple, intuitive and easy-to-use out-of-the box. Be careful though - users will only accept complexity if they're sure that it'll improve longer-term efficiency. General complexity or poor usability will - as is the case with most systems - lead to low levels of user acceptance.

2. Existing workflows mustn't be forgotten

Any POS system absolutely must fit in to existing workflows. When designing a system for staff you've got to take the time to understand existing practices, processes and pain points. Spend time with system users, shadow them whilst performing their jobs and ask lots of questions. Winning hearts and minds is key to the success of any system. If people feel they need to change how they work then a new SYSTEM can make them unhappy in the short-term.

3. Speed is crucial

Using a POS system tends to be the most boring part of store workers' jobs so speed-of-use is absolutely key. Allow store workers to do what they do best - interact with customers - and have them spend as little time as possible with the POS system. Thoroughly scrutinise every single interaction and data entry requirement - are all of these absolutely necessary? If so then be sure to explain why as store workers can get irritated by mandatory data entry when they don't understand its purpose.

4. Touchscreen may be best

Interfaces controlled by keyboard/mouse are generally OK... But with the smartphone/tablet proliferation people are often expecting (and preferring) touchscreen interfaces. POS systems are an important part of store workers' jobs so it's important that the experience is as good as possible. Touchscreen can also be quicker to use than other interfaces and indeed mobile POS systems are starting to become more commonplace.

5. Don't forget the users!

Following best practice design and user experience guidelines is a great start... but the most important things by far are the specific needs, goals, behaviours and requirements of end users. Some questions to ask yourself might be:

• What are store workers trying to achieve with the POS system?
• How does it fit into their workflow and customer interactions?
• What problems does - or should - the system solve?

Find answers to all these questions by carrying out research with POS system users, and then carry out user testing throughout the design process to ensure what you're creating is indeed in line with user needs.

In conclusion...

POS interfaces and user journeys simply have to offer the best possible experience and ease-of-use for their users. The easier they are to use, the quicker store workers can complete tasks and the more sales can be made. It's that simple. Invest in creating really effective POS system interfaces and you'll likely see a return on investment very quickly.

If you're interested in improving the user experience of your POS system, we can help! Check out our UX design services or we can teach you how to get started yourself with our training courses.

resource : http://www.webcredible.com/blog/designing-point-sale-pos-systems/

[project_BEHERO] survey existing ‘Relief arrived home service’

CONDUCT SURVEY

Our team have to make survey to research user needs

While creating the form, we discover it had already conducted a survey.

http://www.opensurvey.co.kr/ovey/exampleresult.action?surveyNo=14781

In this survey, we can know all the things we want to know. 

we don’t need to do any survey. 

<Point to note>

People had the idea to use ‘Relief arrived home service’.

But other people said don’t want to use this.

Because of this reasons

(1) inconvenient to get a Call

(2) little effect to prevent the risk

3) could not trust the scout members

(4) my home is not in long dark or dangerous

(5) it is accompanied by awkward with strangers

(6) I already have a party to accompany to the house because aside

(7) home transportation right up near my house

These three answers are occupied the most part

The system of exsiting ‘Relief arrived home service’

: If women want to use the ‘Relief arrived home service’ all you can apply for a subway station or bus stop 30 minutes before arrival, at 120 Dasan Call Center or services call borough Situation Room.

People’s answer “2) It is convenient 3) Average “ is occupied about 80%

But the number of 3) average and 4) inconvenient answer is around 50%. So that it is never positive.  So we cannot say this system is positive to user. We can get user’s need of changing system through this question.

When they ask how to improve ‘Relief arrived home service’ apply ways, people answered Texting message and application is needed.

*) What do you think is the most effective system or policy that has to be your home safely at night?

(1) transport services that run to the front of the house (Seoul Gangbuk 'assured return home town bus', etc.)

(2) accompanied Service (Seoul, assured ears Scouts' etc.)

(3) Smartphone applications (safety administration's "smart home security", S1 "if Nicole", rest assured U taxi, etc.) used

(4) Other

Our team already thought about connecting number 2 and number 3 (accompanied service and smartphone applications)

We can get many grounds for our project through this existing survey

From now on, we have to gonna some real user interview like a in-depth interview.

We have to meet someone who have ever used ‘Relief arrived home service’

And ask them what is problem of this system

[Research&Study] differences between real user & persona

When we did user research, 
We ask their behavior in real situation and find out their needs and goal.
So we used to make a form to compile user's apply
like this 

But after we find out real user's problem and set some functions according to user needs, 

WHAT IS NEXT STEP?

Of course, There is no exact answer in this question.
But to follow design thinking process, 
maybe next step is making PERSONA 
like this

WAIT! I've seen before .

OMG, WHY WE HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN?
We already find out user's need and goal. 
why we have to make fake person? we already get some idea from real person !! 


BECAUSE OF THIS FOLLOWING REASONS

1. Think objectively
If you make persona, you can assume many kinds of situations and personalities.
then you will have a lot of cases. so you can think many cases(users) and your idea will be more objective.

2. Assumptions- Fictional, fake characters and profile, 
but can based on user interview result
Persona is fake character. but we need to narrow down the number of characters.
It is not only you cannot make whole persona all over the world but also You can lose a destination and fall in a different way. so we have to make persona based on our user interview results like 'user story'(the word 'user story' is used many steps in UX, in my words it is real user interview before make persona)

3. Make your product user-oriented

4. Imagine context, story
Persona is fake person. So you need to imagine being like him(or her).
In this process, you will find invisible problems that couldn't find out at 'user story'
And you can change your perspective from you to user. then it will be good to make user-oriented product. In addition you can find out your keywords, key visuals and even promotion idea to your product

5. interview Personas are good with tight schedules 
and an overall estimated budget, and more flexible.!





Conclusion

Extension from user interview = persona

[Research&Study] What is difference between marketing&design?

WHAT IS SERVICE DESIGN_MARKETING OR DESIGN?
[this is service design thinking _ stickdorn/scheneider]


Even a brief review of the main ideas within marketing has shown to what extent they have diffused through contemporary design, in particular service design.
Indeed it is perhaps hard to identify two distinct fields, such is the close correspondence between them but there are some important differences, shaped in part by the influence of the social sciences within marketing and by educational backgrounds of many service designer in art and design schools.

It probably does not matter whether service design is part of marketing, or vice versa.
The ways ideas spread and how organisations in different market sectors are organised are likely to shape how service design plays out in different firms.

What does matter is that understanding value and the nature of relations between people and other people, between people and things, people and organisations, and organisations of different kinds, are now understood to be central to designing services.

The field of services marketing has been concerned with such questions for several decades and has contributed some important concepts.
But marketing on its own is just one element of any organisation's effort to innovate in services. It is a multidisciplinary approach combining marketing with other specialisms that serves to create value as services are designed and enacted in the interaction between individuals and organisations


sources from [this is service design thinking _ stickdorn/scheneider]
_______________________________________________________________________________________________


This question is very interesting to me, as someone who studied both marketing and design. It can be also compared with business and design. I've been thinking a difference in these two areas.

In my opinion, business is related with real real real reality. It cannot exist just brave idea. In the business world, no matter how good ideas can be lost.
Because it must have a lot of considerations such as profit structure, investors' needs and market environments, etc.
As compared with the real business, design is a quite nice approach to be creative.
Designers called people who related with their project "stakeholders". But they do not measure all stakeholders in reality. The idea of the designer is always difficult to be objective because it starts from the individual. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve the satisfaction of all stakeholders. This is not that design research is lacking. Design is created for an individual's experience. That's why they do not have to worry about all the stakeholders and real real real reality.

I think all inventions started from design and appear in the world from business.
We just remember that they exist for user to make better life.

[Project_SAVEnergy(HED)] User research using by 'USER STORY'

USER STORY

MAKING BACKGROUND

We proceed with the research to determine what the main functions of MUST and who the user of this. MUST is the name of this project(SAVEnergy) newly created. This is an abbreviation of Make,Use,Save and Transform energy. 

Our team proceeded user research by in depth interview. While doing research, I felt a difficulty in organizing the research content. And also it was difficult to share the response of the user among the team members. Because we didn’t have any form to compile the output of user interview.

THE FUNCTION OF USER STORY

“user story” form is to research user’s behavior and their goal using in-depth interview. In-depth user interviews are the most common form of qualitative research. More extensive research can include field studies, observing users’ behaviour and asking them about their goals and attitudes. In addition, you can do usability testing to observe user behaviours. So I made this form to organize and analyze user’s mind.

User story shows who is the most important user. So we can define our user and main service to care about user’s need.

MAKING AND USING

This form is ‘user story’

We needed to write down user’s basic information such as age and job.
And we had to check their outdoor activity. Because it is important that we know about user’s real activity behavior in real situation. And we asked their frequency how much they are involved in the activity. Next we asked about their real behavior from prepare point to finish point. We asked what things they are ready before starting the activity. And asked a series of steps that any action during the activity. Then ask them to tell us the worst experience and the most good experience during the process. Thankfully, they gave us a lot of talk in addition to our questions. 

They gave us information about what the functions they need in activity and what the value is important to them. So I made their journey to flow diagram. We wrote their experience in the order. And also wrote their good and bad experience. Based on them, we were able to identify their goals and needs.

EVALUATION OF THE USER STORY

First of all, there was no difficulty in each of the team members to conduct a research interviewed because as a standardized format. After each interviewed, when the collected responses it was easy to clean up. And it was easy to see at a glance. We did not have to clean off because of this format. So we could focus more on analysis. During the interview we could proceed without forgetting our destination. 

But, there were also unsatisfactory things. In-depth interviews carried out with constant interaction between the questioner and respondent than been preparing more questions. Even if the answers out of the question, there is a need for a space to receive and record them. This format has not detailed questions. This is because in order not to narrow the width of the answer. However, we thought that we narrow the width of the questions themselves. So unexpected and extensive enough to come out the answer, it is necessary to prepare it.

[Research & Study] How to compile & analyze user research [Affinity Modeling]

 ‘Affinity’ dictionary meaning

1.a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc.

2.a person, thing, idea, etc., for which such a natural liking or attractionis felt.

3.relationship by marriage or by ties other than those of blood

(distinguished from consanguinity).

4.inherent likeness or agreement; close resemblance or connection.

5.Biology. the phylogenetic relationship between two organisms orgroups of organisms resulting in a resemblance in general plan orstructure, or in the essential structural parts.

6.Chemistry. the force by which atoms are held together in chemicalcompounds.

‘Affinity’ meaning in UX

(Affinity diagram)

The affinity diagram is a effective tool used to organize ideas and data. It is one of the Seven Management and Planning Tools. People have been grouping data into groups based on natural relationships for thousands of years; however, the term affinity diagram was devised by Jiro Kawakita in the 1960s and is sometimes referred to as the KJ Method.

The tool is commonly used within project management and allows large numbers of ideas stemming from brainstorming to be sorted into groups, based on their natural relationships, for review and analysis. It is also frequently used in contextual inquiry as a way to organize notes and insights from field interviews. It can also be used for organizing other freeform comments, such as open-ended survey responses, support call logs, or other qualitative data.

- Affinity diagram making steps

1. Record each idea on cards or notes. Ideas should be at least a noun and verb, preferably a phrase

2. Look for ideas that seem to be related.

3. Sort cards into groups until all cards have been used.

4. Write titles or headers for each group that summarize the essence of the group, preferable at a slightly higher level of abstraction.

 

Before

After

[Project_SAVEnergy(HED)] Research about wearable device(wrist)

Research - Comparison of Fitness tracker bands

http://blog.naver.com/dlwlfl51/220328294026

	Nike Fuelband	Xiaomi Mi Band	Fitbit Flex	Withings Puls	Withings Active  Pop	Misfit Shine	Jawbone UP  move
Smart- Rating	90	69	92	99	Not yet	97	100
Type	Wristband	Wristband	Wristband	Clip	Wristband	Wristband	Clip
Compatibility	iOS OS X Windows	Android	iOS Android Windows Phone OS X Windows	Android iOS	Android iOS	iOS Android Windows Phone Windows	Android iOS
Water-Resistance	Water-Resistant	Water-Resistant	Water-Resistant	Water-Resistant	Water-Resistant	Water-Proof	Water-Resistant
Features	Activity	Activity Sleep	Activity Sleep	Activity Sleep	Activity Sleep	Activity Sleep	Activity Sleep
Additional  Features	Goal Setting Online Portal Proprietary Unit Measurements Social Integration	Alarm Clock Reminders Social Integration	Alarm Clock Goal Setting Online Portal Reminders	Goal Setting Online Portal	Alarm Clock Clock Goal Setting	Goal Setting Online Portal	Expert Coaching Goal Setting Reminders Social Integration

http://www.specout.com

The Smart Rating is designed to help you find the best fitness tracker at a glance. It's based on these attributes: 

Expert Review: 50.5%, Features: 32.6%, Ease of Use: 9.7%, Mobility: 7.2%

What is the difference between a waterproof and water resistant watch?

:

A water resistant watch will withstand getting wet in the bathroom, 
but nothing more than that. Water proof watches can withstand being 
submersed to rated depths.

6 wearable devices for tracking your fitness

http://www.insweb.com/news-features/fitness-tracking-devices.html

Fitbit

The Fitbit brand is the maker of three wearable products that can help you track your daily activity. Zip ($59.95), a lightweight device that clips on to your clothing, can monitor your daily steps, distance and calories burned; it then wirelessly sends that information to your computer and smartphone so that you can analyze your daily progress on the Fitbit mobile app. The One ($99.95) offers all of the same functions as Zip, as well as a nighttime sleep tracker to measure your sleep cycles and monitor how often you wake up. The latest product, Flex ($99.95), is a wearable wristband that monitors your activity and sleep cycles, sending your stats to your online account.

Nike+ FuelBand

The Nike+ FuelBand ($149) is an interactive fitness tracker that helps you set and stick to your exercise goals. Each day, you can establish a fitness goal, then wear the wristband to follow your progress and see how many calories you burned. You can sync the device with the Nike+ app, and connect with your friends for friendly competition to see who can gain the most “NikeFuel.” 

BodyMedia FIT

The BodyMedia FIT armbands may look familiar: They’re worn by the contestants on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” The devices can collect more than 5,000 pieces of information each minute, including tracking calories burned, steps taken, and sleep quality. The armband has four sets of sensors that count how many calories you’re burning. 

You can use an online “activity manager” to log your food intake, which is converted into calories to let you know how well you’re meeting your weight loss or fitness goals. The armband is $99 for the basic version or $119 for a version with wireless capabilities; the online activity manager is a $6.95 a month, and can be used as a desktop app or on the iOS, Android, or Panasonic Viera platforms.

Amiigo

This company has raised nearly $500,000 through a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo in support of an innovative fitness-tracking device. The Amiigo consists of a wrist bracelet and shoe clip, which you can attach to your body to track physical activity. Unlike other fitness trackers, the Amiigo device can determine exactly what you’re doing, whether that’s running on a trail or treadmill, swimming or doing bicep curls. While you work out, the gadget monitors your heart rate and tracks your blood oxygen levels to figure out you’re responding to the exercise, and it tracks your fitness over time. The Amiigo will be available in June 2013 at a starting price of $99.

Jawbone UP

Available in eight colors, Jawbone’s UP armband is one of the most attractive fitness tracking devices on the market. The tool can track your physical activity (distance, calories, intensity and so forth) and sleep cycles on a desktop or mobile app, and you can make note of what you’ve eaten to get an automatic calorie count. If you spend too long sitting on the couch, the UP band will give you an “idle alert” to encourage you to get moving. The band sells for $129.99.

Fitbug Orb

This tiny device — available in white, black or hot pink— clips onto a wristband or your clothing for all-day activity monitoring. It also can monitor your sleeping activity. The device wirelessly connects to an app that lets you read the stats on your smartphone. The Orb won’t ship until May or June 2013. The device will be available for $24.99 with a “flexi” plan, charging you $3.99 a month for online access; a version that includes a 12-month online membership costs $49.99. 

[출처] 07. Research - Comparison of fitness tracker bands|작성자 JIRI