Anders Ramsay, User Experience Designer and a long-time mentor in the IA Institute's mentoring program, wrote down some great questions to think about before you approach a prospective mentor. See his list here:
Questions for Prospective IAs
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Information Architecture Survey for the third edition of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld has been released. View at http://findability.org/archives/000131.php
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Taxonomy at The Economist
I am always on the lookout for good articles on taxonomy, because of my interest in the taxonomies of Information Architecture and classic linnean classification of birds. Here are a couple of features from Feb 9 Economist:
Names for sale
Feb 9th 2006
From The Economist print edition
The ancient science of taxonomy might benefit from a little modern marketing
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5494618
Today we have naming of parts
Feb 9th 2006
From The Economist print edition
A global registry of animal species could shake up taxonomy
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5492016
Names for sale
Feb 9th 2006
From The Economist print edition
The ancient science of taxonomy might benefit from a little modern marketing
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5494618
Today we have naming of parts
Feb 9th 2006
From The Economist print edition
A global registry of animal species could shake up taxonomy
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5492016
Biomechanics of Way Finding
The March 2006 issue of Natural History Magazine (the magazine of the American Museum of Natural History) has a cover feature called "Learning to Find Your Way," studying the biological pathways of spatial memory.
Not yet available online, but available at newstands:
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/0306/0306_toc.html
Not yet available online, but available at newstands:
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/0306/0306_toc.html
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
IA/UX Salary Surveys
Based on a recent request on the IA Institute Job Board, I have compiled some IA/UX salary information resources. As soon as the IAI salary survey comes out, I'll post a link here.
Very few of the postings I receive on the IA Institute Job Board have salary information, but a typical salary/rate conversion is:
The 1/3 reduction represents the cost of your medical, vacation and other benefits plus social security taxes that the company pays.
For $75/hour, this equals $104,000/year, which appears to be on the high end for those jobs where I do have salary data. Salary.com shows salary+bonus capping around 110K for most experienced IA/UX type jobs, although their job titles don't conform perfectly to the industry yet.
The IA Institute is supposed to publish the results of the 2005 survey this month. They are a bit behind schedule, but keep looking for the survey at http://www.iainstitute.org.
Some other surveys:
2004 UX Salary Survey
http://www.spiritsoftworks.com/resources/2004-salary-survey.htm
2003 AIfIA Salary Survey
http://iainstitute.org/pg/salary_survey_2003.php
IA Wiki - links to more salary surveys
http://www.iawiki.net/SalarySurveys
Salary.com Salary Wizard
http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp
Since Salary.com job titles don't appear to reflect titles used in the IA industry, here are some equivalent job titles:
Interface Designer = User Experience & HCI
Content Engineer = Information Architect
Very few of the postings I receive on the IA Institute Job Board have salary information, but a typical salary/rate conversion is:
salary = 2/3 rate times 2080 (40 hours per week for a year)
The 1/3 reduction represents the cost of your medical, vacation and other benefits plus social security taxes that the company pays.
For $75/hour, this equals $104,000/year, which appears to be on the high end for those jobs where I do have salary data. Salary.com shows salary+bonus capping around 110K for most experienced IA/UX type jobs, although their job titles don't conform perfectly to the industry yet.
The IA Institute is supposed to publish the results of the 2005 survey this month. They are a bit behind schedule, but keep looking for the survey at http://www.iainstitute.org.
Some other surveys:
2004 UX Salary Survey
http://www.spiritsoftworks.com/resources/2004-salary-survey.htm
2003 AIfIA Salary Survey
http://iainstitute.org/pg/salary_survey_2003.php
IA Wiki - links to more salary surveys
http://www.iawiki.net/SalarySurveys
Salary.com Salary Wizard
http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp
Since Salary.com job titles don't appear to reflect titles used in the IA industry, here are some equivalent job titles:
Interface Designer = User Experience & HCI
Content Engineer = Information Architect
Thursday, May 12, 2005
IA processes from Peter Jones
From an online discussion group:
Jones, P.H. (2002). Embedded values in process and practice: Interactions between disciplinary practice and formal innovation processes. 11th International Forum on Design Management Research. Boston, June 2002.
This academic article discussed the problems with structured process, and the types of informal practices that were adopted by internal communities in spite of process to accommodate the needs of projects. In some situations, informal practices also subverted well-constructed processes.
Jones, P.H. (2002). When successful products prevent strategic innovation. Design Management Review, 13 (2).
The research covered the range of process types which affect product design:
Organizational Management, Market Research, Product Lifecycle, Product Management, Project Management, Product Design and Development
Although I did not do an exhaustive survey of processes by name, I covered in-depth cases of software product development companies using 10 case projects. The thesis of the research was:
"As the successful firm embraces more conservative business values over time, they embed into management processes, from market research to human resources, from R&D to sales. As both customer intimacy and margin values unify with everyday project and product management practice, these values become implicit and more resistant to change. The same values that create team loyalty, organizational purpose, and a shared sense of identity also implicitly limit types of work practices, investments, and even customers. With values an ultimate source of decisions, people cannot easily see these constraints, let alone question their impact."
Where we get into conflicts with process:
"In software product companies we typically find creative independence residing with designers and developers more than other functions. As members of expert-based competencies, they represent disciplines educated by professional values, and also their own community of practice values. While innovation values are typically espoused within design groups, research points to the prevalence of values conflicts between design and other organizational functions. The range of conflict manifests from everyday disagreements within project teams to management's reorganization of design groups. The most common conflicts emerge as disputes over appropriate processes for product design, and over ownership of activities in design practice, from customer testing to product interface definition."
I'm a strong advocate of growing your own process, and describe ways of doing that in my book Team Design, which also covers and evaluates development processes, especially those used by teams in collaborative practice.
Peter Jones
REDESIGN RESEARCH innovation insight
http://redesignresearch.com
This academic article discussed the problems with structured process, and the types of informal practices that were adopted by internal communities in spite of process to accommodate the needs of projects. In some situations, informal practices also subverted well-constructed processes.
Jones, P.H. (2002). When successful products prevent strategic innovation. Design Management Review, 13 (2).
The research covered the range of process types which affect product design:
Organizational Management, Market Research, Product Lifecycle, Product Management, Project Management, Product Design and Development
Although I did not do an exhaustive survey of processes by name, I covered in-depth cases of software product development companies using 10 case projects. The thesis of the research was:
"As the successful firm embraces more conservative business values over time, they embed into management processes, from market research to human resources, from R&D to sales. As both customer intimacy and margin values unify with everyday project and product management practice, these values become implicit and more resistant to change. The same values that create team loyalty, organizational purpose, and a shared sense of identity also implicitly limit types of work practices, investments, and even customers. With values an ultimate source of decisions, people cannot easily see these constraints, let alone question their impact."
Where we get into conflicts with process:
"In software product companies we typically find creative independence residing with designers and developers more than other functions. As members of expert-based competencies, they represent disciplines educated by professional values, and also their own community of practice values. While innovation values are typically espoused within design groups, research points to the prevalence of values conflicts between design and other organizational functions. The range of conflict manifests from everyday disagreements within project teams to management's reorganization of design groups. The most common conflicts emerge as disputes over appropriate processes for product design, and over ownership of activities in design practice, from customer testing to product interface definition."
I'm a strong advocate of growing your own process, and describe ways of doing that in my book Team Design, which also covers and evaluates development processes, especially those used by teams in collaborative practice.
Peter Jones
REDESIGN RESEARCH innovation insight
http://redesignresearch.com
Friday, April 15, 2005
CMS Tutorials
For an overview of CMS for a non-technical audience, try James Robertson's excellent site:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/
Also try:
http://www.designit.com.au/articles/rebuilding_gradlink
http://www.steptwo.com.au/
Also try:
http://www.designit.com.au/articles/rebuilding_gradlink
Thursday, February 10, 2005
CITI Advanced Training
We will be scheduling a CITI training for CBs and CBOs in Brooklyn this spring. The date is dependent upon the number of participants. Training will include basic GIS principles, GIS desktop software and tips for making your own maps. Contact us at citi@mas.org if you would like to participiate.
Additional information about the CITI Youth program and how to find rezoning areas can be found in the March issue of the CITI Newsletter at http://www.myciti.org/newsletters/2005-03.html.
Additional information about the CITI Youth program and how to find rezoning areas can be found in the March issue of the CITI Newsletter at http://www.myciti.org/newsletters/2005-03.html.
GoogleMaps
Discussion of GoogleMaps has been lively on my User Interface design lists. Overall ratings for Google Maps are good, but I have problems with the way they locate places based on search.
GoogleMaps
http://maps.google.com/
Posters say they like that you can drag the map and that the directions appear to be more accurate than MapQuest or Yahoo! Maps. To find places on the map, you can use their search boxes on the right or enter a search in the bar above. It wasn't apparent at first exactly how to find groups of things like hotels or grocery stores, which is organized as a layer on Yahoo (click a box marked restaurants). I had to take the Tour to figure that the search bar is the way to do this. Using the search bar you can plot places like restaurants, hotels, etc. based on info on web pages they have stored, which is sort of wild but not always accurate or complete. I prefer Yahoo!'s ability to plot items that are categorized as what they are vs having the word in its name, e.g., if you search for "Farm" you get a lot of State Farm agents.
But one thing Google does well is to tie a particular location to its "more like this" search function. If you click a search result, it will point you to the website of the entity in question or a list of websites of nearby related entities. This is less seeing it on a map than finding what may be nearby. Unfortunately, if you try to use the back button to return to the map search results, you get the default GoogleMaps view.
As for the interface, I had a tendency to reset the map back to the entire US view by accident, while using the zoom function. The Zoom and Reset buttons are a bit close and not otherwise labeled. Reset button looks a lot like "Recenter" to me. Also, if you pan off of the US and try to zoom in, you get a lot of blank images with red Xs. And don't try to find South America, Europe or Russia. The oceans go on forever....
Here are a some similar maps in other parts of the world:
Search.ch Map (Switzerland)
http://map.search.ch/
A blogger recently suggested that Google copied the interface from this site. It uses an aerial photo layer that is fun to zoom into, but probably not entirely necessary for the purpose of the site.
Map My India
http://mapmyindia.com/
from a post on sigia-l:
GoogleMaps
http://maps.google.com/
Posters say they like that you can drag the map and that the directions appear to be more accurate than MapQuest or Yahoo! Maps. To find places on the map, you can use their search boxes on the right or enter a search in the bar above. It wasn't apparent at first exactly how to find groups of things like hotels or grocery stores, which is organized as a layer on Yahoo (click a box marked restaurants). I had to take the Tour to figure that the search bar is the way to do this. Using the search bar you can plot places like restaurants, hotels, etc. based on info on web pages they have stored, which is sort of wild but not always accurate or complete. I prefer Yahoo!'s ability to plot items that are categorized as what they are vs having the word in its name, e.g., if you search for "Farm" you get a lot of State Farm agents.
But one thing Google does well is to tie a particular location to its "more like this" search function. If you click a search result, it will point you to the website of the entity in question or a list of websites of nearby related entities. This is less seeing it on a map than finding what may be nearby. Unfortunately, if you try to use the back button to return to the map search results, you get the default GoogleMaps view.
As for the interface, I had a tendency to reset the map back to the entire US view by accident, while using the zoom function. The Zoom and Reset buttons are a bit close and not otherwise labeled. Reset button looks a lot like "Recenter" to me. Also, if you pan off of the US and try to zoom in, you get a lot of blank images with red Xs. And don't try to find South America, Europe or Russia. The oceans go on forever....
Here are a some similar maps in other parts of the world:
Search.ch Map (Switzerland)
http://map.search.ch/
A blogger recently suggested that Google copied the interface from this site. It uses an aerial photo layer that is fun to zoom into, but probably not entirely necessary for the purpose of the site.
Map My India
http://mapmyindia.com/
from a post on sigia-l:
Although the quality, accuracy and detail [of mapmyindia] isn't comparable but at least in some respects such as download speed and ease of marking major landmarks, it's actually better than Google Maps and Mapquest.
To see how it works, search for Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra. You can plot hotels, banks, ATMs etc on the map using the menu on right. One cannot however, link to a particular location without subscription.
The design of the site is led by a 19 years old Stanford sophomore,
Rohan Verma. http://nripulse.com/Archives/Profile_Rohan.htm
To see how it works, search for Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra. You can plot hotels, banks, ATMs etc on the map using the menu on right. One cannot however, link to a particular location without subscription.
The design of the site is led by a 19 years old Stanford sophomore,
Rohan Verma. http://nripulse.com/Archives/Profile_Rohan.htm
Maps Aid Community Decision-Making
February 9, 2005, Municipal Art Society
CITI map technicians Earl Dunn and Marcus Sheftall from Bushwick’s Academy of Urban Planning are becoming celebrities at their local community board meetings. At each meeting of Community Board 4 and its land use committee, the10th graders project large maps on a screen by accessing www.myciti.org with a wireless laptop.
Following the meeting’s agenda, students zoom into areas and properties being discussed and answer questions from board members about local zoning, property ownership and other planning related issues.
Map Technicians at Brooklyn CB4 Marcus Sheftall and Earl Dunn compare a rendering of a proposed new firehouse design for their community with its building footprint and surrounding land uses.
Earl and Marcus were chosen after a month-long application process that included applications, map-making, resumes, cover letters, and interviews Nadine Whitted, District Manager at CB4. “Once they told me I got the job I was very excited, being that it’s my first job,” Marcus says. “Then when I found out that a friend of mine Earl Dunn was employed also, it helped because at least I would know someone else there. We went through training for two weeks, which was fun because I learned a lot.”
The training program for the students and their teachers was designed by the Municipal Art Society Planning Center and the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, lead partner at the Academy of Urban Planning (AUP), a New Visions school.
“The students really look forward to coming to the meetings and see that they are making a valuable contribution to discussions,” says Meredith Phillips, Urban Planning Coordinator at AUP who has integrated the program into the school’s theme-based activities. “They are learning a lot about community participation – and having a great time in the process!”
After the last CB 4 meeting in January, several members of the board came over and marveled as the students created and queried the maps for information. Even NYPD officers asked for maps to use as reference for their work in the area.
How to Get Involved
The CITI Youth program is expanding into new high schools and community boards next fall and has only 4 spots left for new host schools. If you are a community board member or educator that would like to find out more about the CITI Youth program contact citi@mas.org.
Municipal Art Society
Community Information Technology Initiative
http://www.myciti.org
CITI map technicians Earl Dunn and Marcus Sheftall from Bushwick’s Academy of Urban Planning are becoming celebrities at their local community board meetings. At each meeting of Community Board 4 and its land use committee, the10th graders project large maps on a screen by accessing www.myciti.org with a wireless laptop.
Following the meeting’s agenda, students zoom into areas and properties being discussed and answer questions from board members about local zoning, property ownership and other planning related issues.
Map Technicians at Brooklyn CB4 Marcus Sheftall and Earl Dunn compare a rendering of a proposed new firehouse design for their community with its building footprint and surrounding land uses. Earl and Marcus were chosen after a month-long application process that included applications, map-making, resumes, cover letters, and interviews Nadine Whitted, District Manager at CB4. “Once they told me I got the job I was very excited, being that it’s my first job,” Marcus says. “Then when I found out that a friend of mine Earl Dunn was employed also, it helped because at least I would know someone else there. We went through training for two weeks, which was fun because I learned a lot.”
The training program for the students and their teachers was designed by the Municipal Art Society Planning Center and the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, lead partner at the Academy of Urban Planning (AUP), a New Visions school.
“The students really look forward to coming to the meetings and see that they are making a valuable contribution to discussions,” says Meredith Phillips, Urban Planning Coordinator at AUP who has integrated the program into the school’s theme-based activities. “They are learning a lot about community participation – and having a great time in the process!”
After the last CB 4 meeting in January, several members of the board came over and marveled as the students created and queried the maps for information. Even NYPD officers asked for maps to use as reference for their work in the area.
How to Get Involved
The CITI Youth program is expanding into new high schools and community boards next fall and has only 4 spots left for new host schools. If you are a community board member or educator that would like to find out more about the CITI Youth program contact citi@mas.org.
Municipal Art Society
Community Information Technology Initiative
http://www.myciti.org
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
IA/UX events listings
Mini Conference on Human Factors in Complex Sociotechnical Systems
The South Jersey Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
will be hosting a mini-conference on April 28 & 29, 2005, entitled
"Mini-Conference on Human Factors in Complex Sociotechnical Systems."
This event will be held at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC), located near the Atlantic
City International Airport, New Jersey.
The mini-conference is an opportunity for researchers and
practitioners in human factors, human-computer interaction, and
related fields, who work with complex sociotechnical systems, to share
their research, designs, techniques, and lessons learned with each
other. This is also a good medium for researchers to communicate
their ongoing research as well as students to get a chance to present
at a conference. This will be the first year of the conference and we
hope the quality of the program will make it a regular event.
The mini-conference committee is seeking submissions for presentations
and posters that would be of interest to human factors researchers and
practitioners, as well as others interested in behavioral science,
engineering, and management. Papers should focus on domains that
involve multiple users with different knowledge levels, abilities, and
task needs, who interact with complex tools and with one another. We
are especially interested in papers related to, but not limited to,
domains with substantial safety, security, or economic implications.
Some examples of these domains are Aviation, Air Traffic Control,
Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Emergency Management,
Medical Process Control, and Finance and Securities Trading. We
encourage submissions discussing works in progress as well as
submissions from students seeking an opportunity to present their work.
The deadline for submitting to the conference is February 14, 2005 and
the committee has already started accepting submissions. Proceedings
for the conference will be published in a CD ROM format and
distributed to the conference attendees.
For more information please visit www.sjhfes.org
For any questions, please contact: miniconference@sjhfes.org
Send submissions to: submissions@sjhfes.org
will be hosting a mini-conference on April 28 & 29, 2005, entitled
"Mini-Conference on Human Factors in Complex Sociotechnical Systems."
This event will be held at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC), located near the Atlantic
City International Airport, New Jersey.
The mini-conference is an opportunity for researchers and
practitioners in human factors, human-computer interaction, and
related fields, who work with complex sociotechnical systems, to share
their research, designs, techniques, and lessons learned with each
other. This is also a good medium for researchers to communicate
their ongoing research as well as students to get a chance to present
at a conference. This will be the first year of the conference and we
hope the quality of the program will make it a regular event.
The mini-conference committee is seeking submissions for presentations
and posters that would be of interest to human factors researchers and
practitioners, as well as others interested in behavioral science,
engineering, and management. Papers should focus on domains that
involve multiple users with different knowledge levels, abilities, and
task needs, who interact with complex tools and with one another. We
are especially interested in papers related to, but not limited to,
domains with substantial safety, security, or economic implications.
Some examples of these domains are Aviation, Air Traffic Control,
Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Emergency Management,
Medical Process Control, and Finance and Securities Trading. We
encourage submissions discussing works in progress as well as
submissions from students seeking an opportunity to present their work.
The deadline for submitting to the conference is February 14, 2005 and
the committee has already started accepting submissions. Proceedings
for the conference will be published in a CD ROM format and
distributed to the conference attendees.
For more information please visit www.sjhfes.org
For any questions, please contact: miniconference@sjhfes.org
Send submissions to: submissions@sjhfes.org
Friday, October 01, 2004
AIfIA sponsors metadata practices conference
From aifia.org:
AIfIA sponsors conferences and events helping to build the practice of
information architecture. Learn more about AIfIA's sponsorship program
at http://aifia.org/pg/ia_events_sponsorship.php#000247
***********
September 30, 2004 -- AIfIA will sponsor Metadata for Interoperability
in the Global Corporate Environment, a pre-conference for the DC-2004
International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications.
The one-day pre-conference program takes place on October 10, 2004 in
Shanghai, China, and is expected to attract around 100 people. The
pre-conference workshop addresses the metadata lifecycle -- creation,
management, and use -- as it applies to enterprise applications and
activities, with focus on interoperability enabling international
business. Experts will present case studies about interesting
applications of metadata, and then discuss issues related to metadata
creation, management, and use in the enterprise.
"This pre-conference program will help participants learn how to
optimize the early stages of a metadata program for international and
cross-cultural deployments,"said Makx Dekkers, DCMI Managing Director.
"Support from AIfIA underscores the vital role of information
architecture in developing a metadata program."
"We are pleased to support this important initiative," said AIfIA
President Victor Lombardi. "We believe that information architecture
can help inform the process for aligning business goals to a metadata
initiative."
More details about this event are available at the DCMI conference
website at http://dc2004.library.sh.cn/.
AIfIA sponsors conferences and events helping to build the practice of
information architecture. Learn more about AIfIA's sponsorship program
at http://aifia.org/pg/ia_events_sponsorship.php#000247
***********
September 30, 2004 -- AIfIA will sponsor Metadata for Interoperability
in the Global Corporate Environment, a pre-conference for the DC-2004
International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications.
The one-day pre-conference program takes place on October 10, 2004 in
Shanghai, China, and is expected to attract around 100 people. The
pre-conference workshop addresses the metadata lifecycle -- creation,
management, and use -- as it applies to enterprise applications and
activities, with focus on interoperability enabling international
business. Experts will present case studies about interesting
applications of metadata, and then discuss issues related to metadata
creation, management, and use in the enterprise.
"This pre-conference program will help participants learn how to
optimize the early stages of a metadata program for international and
cross-cultural deployments,"said Makx Dekkers, DCMI Managing Director.
"Support from AIfIA underscores the vital role of information
architecture in developing a metadata program."
"We are pleased to support this important initiative," said AIfIA
President Victor Lombardi. "We believe that information architecture
can help inform the process for aligning business goals to a metadata
initiative."
More details about this event are available at the DCMI conference
website at http://dc2004.library.sh.cn/.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Happy Birthday, STOP Sign
I love finding crossroads where my interests in usability and mapping meet. In Happy Birthday Stop Sign, Eric Reiss discusses the birth and standardization of the ubiquitous stop sign.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
IA Deliverables
From time to time, I will post some interesting resources and tools in the information architectecture field. Today, you will find a list of Deliverables related to the IA process that were discussed on the AIfIA listserv.
Victor Lombardi's Blue wireframe (looks like a blueprint)
http://aifia.org/tools/download/LombardiWireframe.pdf
Clifton Evans' all-blue page...
http://www.infostyling.com/examples/Blueprinting_Object1.gif
Austin Govella's recent samples:
1. Very didactic. Client wanted more communication (59k PDF):
http://grafofini.com/stage/sample_deliverables/eto_wireframe_home.pdf
2. Very sparse. Client didn't care why or how. Just wanted progress (67k PDF):
http://grafofini.com/stage/sample_deliverables/ubs_home-wf.pdf
Dan Saffer suggested creating the wireframes on computer and tracing them by hand to look unfinished/changeable.
There are some more great samples on the AIfIA Tools page:
http://aifia.org/tools/
And great ideas and pointers on the IA Wiki:
http://www.iawiki.net/DeliverablesAndArtifacts
Process Outline from Thomas Vander Wal:
Initial meetings (discussion):
-gather user types, content types, possible interactive needs (not desires)
-estimate volume of information intially, and volume of information turn-over (how often and how much information is updated and added to).
Deliverable - Project Overview (Word document)
-Results of initial meeting/needs
-Rough persona and/or information use patterns of the user that come to the site (Why do people come to the site? What do they do with the information? Who is the audience? How often do they come to the site?).
-Client signs off once there is agreement
Deliverable FROM client - Content Inventory:
-individual documents they would like included
-current web sites they own, and/or pointer(s) to applications they want incorporated.
Deliverable - Content Inventory (spreadsheet):
This document will be our communication tool to prod the client for content that is missing and to show our work progress.
-category column
-raw content/document delivery column
-document size (words)
-number of images
-number and size of tables
-development status.
Deliverable - Open Card Sort (spreadsheet)
-For larger sub-sites
-client can do it themselves if they want
Deliverable - Content Object Type Inventory (outline format such as Word or PDF of OmniOutliner):
-images
-navigation
-referred links
-data tables
-headers
-sub-headers
-footers
-branding
-cross-branding
-dynamic elements
-rich content elements (where required)
Deliverable - Raw Wireframe:
-HTML with borders turned on and greeking
-one wireframe for each page type
-capture the various content objects and placement with consistency
Deliverable - Semantic Structure
-CSS classes and ids
-naming structure for dynamic and rich elements
Deliverable - Clickable Raw Wireframe
-include names and categories
-start testing it with users (heuristic assessment) and flow (particularly testing when users drop into the middle of a site).
-carved up wireframe into templates for HTML and/or CMS and applications.
Converted Content into the content templates.
Other elements are set as includes or are in the CSS.
Color Palette:
-known items (enterprise branding that is required)
-markup a few pallet options with CSS
-do a few user tests to verify choices/options
-create HTML CSS table listing the CSS attribute, an example, and when it gets used.
Graphic Development and Local Branding
-20 to 50% of the content has been converted
-tweak templates
-test and make adjustments accordingly
Depending on the size of the site, the number of people involved and access to read users, most of the steps in this process are flexible, except the raw HTML wireframe, clickable wireframe, and the content spreadsheets.
Victor Lombardi's Blue wireframe (looks like a blueprint)
http://aifia.org/tools/download/LombardiWireframe.pdf
Clifton Evans' all-blue page...
http://www.infostyling.com/examples/Blueprinting_Object1.gif
Austin Govella's recent samples:
1. Very didactic. Client wanted more communication (59k PDF):
http://grafofini.com/stage/sample_deliverables/eto_wireframe_home.pdf
2. Very sparse. Client didn't care why or how. Just wanted progress (67k PDF):
http://grafofini.com/stage/sample_deliverables/ubs_home-wf.pdf
Dan Saffer suggested creating the wireframes on computer and tracing them by hand to look unfinished/changeable.
There are some more great samples on the AIfIA Tools page:
http://aifia.org/tools/
And great ideas and pointers on the IA Wiki:
http://www.iawiki.net/DeliverablesAndArtifacts
Process Outline from Thomas Vander Wal:
Initial meetings (discussion):
-gather user types, content types, possible interactive needs (not desires)
-estimate volume of information intially, and volume of information turn-over (how often and how much information is updated and added to).
Deliverable - Project Overview (Word document)
-Results of initial meeting/needs
-Rough persona and/or information use patterns of the user that come to the site (Why do people come to the site? What do they do with the information? Who is the audience? How often do they come to the site?).
-Client signs off once there is agreement
Deliverable FROM client - Content Inventory:
-individual documents they would like included
-current web sites they own, and/or pointer(s) to applications they want incorporated.
Deliverable - Content Inventory (spreadsheet):
This document will be our communication tool to prod the client for content that is missing and to show our work progress.
-category column
-raw content/document delivery column
-document size (words)
-number of images
-number and size of tables
-development status.
Deliverable - Open Card Sort (spreadsheet)
-For larger sub-sites
-client can do it themselves if they want
Deliverable - Content Object Type Inventory (outline format such as Word or PDF of OmniOutliner):
-images
-navigation
-referred links
-data tables
-headers
-sub-headers
-footers
-branding
-cross-branding
-dynamic elements
-rich content elements (where required)
Deliverable - Raw Wireframe:
-HTML with borders turned on and greeking
-one wireframe for each page type
-capture the various content objects and placement with consistency
Deliverable - Semantic Structure
-CSS classes and ids
-naming structure for dynamic and rich elements
Deliverable - Clickable Raw Wireframe
-include names and categories
-start testing it with users (heuristic assessment) and flow (particularly testing when users drop into the middle of a site).
-carved up wireframe into templates for HTML and/or CMS and applications.
Converted Content into the content templates.
Other elements are set as includes or are in the CSS.
Color Palette:
-known items (enterprise branding that is required)
-markup a few pallet options with CSS
-do a few user tests to verify choices/options
-create HTML CSS table listing the CSS attribute, an example, and when it gets used.
Graphic Development and Local Branding
-20 to 50% of the content has been converted
-tweak templates
-test and make adjustments accordingly
Depending on the size of the site, the number of people involved and access to read users, most of the steps in this process are flexible, except the raw HTML wireframe, clickable wireframe, and the content spreadsheets.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
GISMO blog
I am working on a new design for the GISMO (NYC area GIS user group) website and am experimenting with adding a blog.
Please take a look:
http://gismonyc.blogspot.com
This blog is hosted on blogspot.com. It is rather featureless at this point, but I think as an example of what a blog would look like for a group like ours, it is a start. I plan to move it to MovableType when I set up a new hosting account. I've decided to drop Brinkster & go to Netfirms. I took a class at eclasses.org in blogging and really love the MovableType interface.
Please take a look:
http://gismonyc.blogspot.com
This blog is hosted on blogspot.com. It is rather featureless at this point, but I think as an example of what a blog would look like for a group like ours, it is a start. I plan to move it to MovableType when I set up a new hosting account. I've decided to drop Brinkster & go to Netfirms. I took a class at eclasses.org in blogging and really love the MovableType interface.
Monday, May 17, 2004
What's up with Brinkster?
My website is down. Brinkster launched a great new site with new pricing structure. Somehow my files got lost in the mix. Not just my little website but a great big one I was working on for AMNH. I had been having trouble with Brinkster for a while - there were ads on my supposedly ad-free site. Now there are no ads, but no files either. It'll be a pain to repost these files, so I'm thinking about dropping the account. I was ready to move it to AMNH anyway & was planning to find a host that supports MovableType. Of course that was until I heard about the new MT pricing structure. Now I'm wondering if Blogger is where I belong.
{interlude}
So, just now I finished up with the support people via LivePerson. Of course they are not aware of why the files are gone. Did I delete them by accident, they wonder? Six hundred files in several different folders? Not likely. They don't appear to have any record of what happened regarding my previous problems with ads on the site or whether the person who fixed that problem had something to do with the missing files. So, I am mad. I have a backup of some of the files, but I probably lost some of the Vietnam expedition pictures that I had cleaned up. I'll have to go to the museum to see if they are there, or perhaps they are still in Outlook. Sigh.
So if you want me today, I'll be hovering over my WS-FTP console.
{interlude}
So, just now I finished up with the support people via LivePerson. Of course they are not aware of why the files are gone. Did I delete them by accident, they wonder? Six hundred files in several different folders? Not likely. They don't appear to have any record of what happened regarding my previous problems with ads on the site or whether the person who fixed that problem had something to do with the missing files. So, I am mad. I have a backup of some of the files, but I probably lost some of the Vietnam expedition pictures that I had cleaned up. I'll have to go to the museum to see if they are there, or perhaps they are still in Outlook. Sigh.
So if you want me today, I'll be hovering over my WS-FTP console.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Rumsfeld prefers being in Iraq
from today's Top Stories - AP "Rumsfeld Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq "
I wonder if the soldiers think it is more fun in Iraq.
Rumsfeld was accompanied by Myers and several lawyers on a trip designed to reassure U.S. troops that the prisoner abuse scandal has not weakened public support for their mission and to get firsthand reports from the most senior commanders. Neither hid his feelings about the tough questioning he endured from members of Congress over the prison abuses.
"I'm really glad to be here," Myers enthused.
Before taking questions from soldiers, Rumsfeld said, "It's generally a lot more fun here than it is back home."
I wonder if the soldiers think it is more fun in Iraq.
Monday, May 10, 2004
GISMO Meeting Tomorrow
The next GISMO meeting is tomorrow, May 11th from 12:00pm-2:30pm at the Fund for the City of New York, 121 Sixth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY. Michael Schill of the NYU Furman (Real Estate) Center will discuss the NY Times 2/6 Exposure of New Web site www.nychanis.com. Anyone interested in geographic information systems software is welcome to attend. No need to RSVP. Lunch is provided by the Fund.
The next meeting is Thursday, July 15: Discussion on future of GIS/GISMO/NYC/NYS.
For additional details please see the GISMO website at http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/gismo.
The next meeting is Thursday, July 15: Discussion on future of GIS/GISMO/NYC/NYS.
For additional details please see the GISMO website at http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/gismo.
Friday, April 30, 2004
Ontologies
Here's two introductions to ontologies:
Ontologies Come of Age
Smarter Content Publishing: Creating a Semantic Content Management System
(VLombardi)
Ontologies Come of Age
Smarter Content Publishing: Creating a Semantic Content Management System
(VLombardi)
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