Information Architecture for the World Wide WebToday's web sites have moved far beyond "brochureware." They are larger and more complex, have great strategic value to their sponsors, and their users are busier and less forgiving. Designers, information architects, and web site managers are required to juggle vast amounts of information, frequent changes, new technologies, and sometimes even multiple objectives, making some web sites look like a fast-growing but poorly planned city-roads everywhere, but impossible to navigate. Well-planned informationarchitecture has never been as essential as it is now.Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition, shows you how to blend aesthetics and mechanics for distinctive, cohesive web sites that work. Most books on web development concentrate on either the graphics or the technical issues of a site. This book focuses on the framework that holds the two together.This edition contains more than 75% new material. You'll find updated chapters on organization, labeling, navigation, and searching; and a new chapter on thesauri, controlled vocabularies and metadata will help you understand the interconnectedness of these systems. The authors have expanded the methodology chapters to include a more interdisciplinary collection of tools and techniques. They've also complemented the top-down strategies of the first edition with bottom-up approaches that enable distributed, emergent solutions.A whole new section addresses the opportunities and challenges of practicing information architecture, while another section discusses how that work impacts and is influenced by the broader organizational context. New case studies provide models for creating enterprise intranet portals and online communities. Finally, you'll find pointers to a wealth of essential information architecture resources, many of which did not exist a few years ago.By applying the principles outlined in this completely updated classic, you'll build web sites and intranets that are easier to navigate and appealing to your users, as well as scalable and simple to maintain. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition is a treasure trove of ideas and practical advice for anyone involved in building or maintaining a large, complex web site or intranet. |
Contents
Defining Information Architecture | 3 |
A Definition | 4 |
Tablets Scrolls Books and Libraries | 6 |
Explaining IA to Others | 8 |
What Isnt Information Architecture? | 9 |
Why Information Architecture Matters | 11 |
Bringing Our Work to Life | 12 |
Practicing Information Architecture | 16 |
The Project Plan | 267 |
Design and Documentation | 270 |
Guidelines for Diagramming an Information Architecture | 271 |
Blueprints | 272 |
Wireframes | 283 |
Content Mapping and Inventory | 289 |
Content Modeling | 293 |
Controlled Vocabularies | 298 |
Do We Need Information Architects? | 17 |
Whos Qualified to Practice Information Architecture? | 18 |
Information Architecture Specialists | 22 |
Practicing Information Architecture in the Real World | 23 |
Information Ecologies | 24 |
What Lies Ahead | 27 |
User Needs and Behaviors | 28 |
The TooSimple Information Model | 29 |
Information Needs | 30 |
Information Seeking Behaviors | 32 |
Basic Principles of Information Architecture | 37 |
The Anatomy of an Information Architecture | 39 |
Information Architecture Components | 46 |
Organization Systems | 50 |
Organizing Web Sites and Intranets | 55 |
Organization Structures | 64 |
Creating Cohesive Organization Systems | 74 |
Labeling Systems | 76 |
Why You Should Care About Labeling | 77 |
Varieties of Labels | 80 |
Designing Labels | 92 |
Navigation Systems | 106 |
Types of Navigation Systems | 107 |
Gray Matters | 108 |
Building Context | 110 |
Improving Flexibility | 111 |
Embedded Navigation Systems | 112 |
Supplemental Navigation Systems | 121 |
Advanced Navigation Approaches | 127 |
Search Systems | 132 |
Basic Search System Anatomy | 135 |
Choosing What to Search | 137 |
Search Algorithms | 144 |
Presenting Results | 149 |
Designing the Search Interface | 163 |
Where to Learn More | 174 |
Thesauri Controlled Vocabularies and Metadata | 176 |
Controlled Vocabularies | 177 |
Technical Lingo | 187 |
A Thesaurus in Action | 188 |
Types of Thesauri | 193 |
Thesaurus Standards | 196 |
Semantic Relationships | 198 |
Preferred Terms | 200 |
Polyhierarchy | 202 |
Faceted Classification | 204 |
Research | 211 |
A Research Framework | 213 |
Content | 219 |
Users | 226 |
Participant Definition and Recruiting | 230 |
User Research Sessions | 233 |
In Defense of Research | 240 |
Strategy | 243 |
What Is an Information Architecture Strategy? | 244 |
Strategies Under Attack | 245 |
From Research to Strategy | 247 |
Developing the Strategy | 248 |
Work Products and Deliverables | 252 |
The Strategy Report | 257 |
Design Sketches | 300 |
WebBased Prototypes | 301 |
Architecture Style Guides | 302 |
PointofProduction Architecture | 303 |
Administration | 304 |
Information Architecture in Practice | 305 |
Education | 307 |
A World of Choice | 308 |
But Do I Need a Degree? | 309 |
Ethics | 311 |
Shaping the Future | 314 |
Building an Information Architecture Team | 315 |
Destructive Acts of Creation | 316 |
Project Versus Program | 318 |
Buy or Rent | 319 |
Do We Really Need to Hire Professionals? | 320 |
The Dream Team | 321 |
Tools and Software | 323 |
Categories in Chaos | 324 |
Questions to Ask | 330 |
Information Architecture in the Organization | 331 |
Making the Case for Information Architecture | 333 |
The Two Kinds of People in the World | 334 |
Talking to the Reactionaries | 339 |
Other CaseMaking Techniques | 341 |
The Information Architecture Value Checklist | 344 |
A Final Note | 345 |
Business Strategy | 346 |
The Origins of Strategy | 347 |
Defining Business Strategy | 348 |
Alignment | 349 |
Strategic Fit | 350 |
Exposing Gaps in Business Strategy | 352 |
One Best Way | 353 |
Understanding Our Elephant | 355 |
Competitive Advantage | 357 |
The End of the Beginning | 358 |
Information Architecture for the Enterprise | 360 |
Economies Dont Always Scale | 361 |
Think Different | 362 |
The Ultimate Goal | 363 |
A Framework for Centralization | 366 |
A Phased Rollout | 371 |
Who Does What | 376 |
A Framework for Moving Forward | 379 |
Case Studies | 381 |
MSWeb An Enterprise Intranet | 383 |
Challenges for the Information Architect | 385 |
We Like Taxonomies Whatever They Are | 386 |
Benefits to Users | 407 |
Whats Next | 411 |
MSWebs Achievement | 412 |
evoltorg An Online Community | 413 |
evoltorg in a Nutshell | 414 |
The Participation Economy | 415 |
How Information Architecture Fits In | 425 |
The UnInformation Architecture | 428 |
Essential Resources | 429 |
441 | |
Other editions - View all
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web Louis Rosenfeld,Peter Morville No preview available - 2002 |