Card Sorting

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Spencer, D. (2009). Card sorting: Designing usable categories. Brooklyn, N.Y: Rosenfeld Media. 162 pages.

Spencer is a freelance information architect and interaction designer with extensive experience. This book is written for a general audience, but it will be of primary value for professionals learning how to conduct or improve card sorts. It is one of the only book-length resources available to focus on this subject. This book is primarily about card sorting but addresses the over-arching issue of how to design usable categories of information that other people will have to use and understand. Spencer begins with a clear explanation of what card sorting is, how it may or may not be the best option for the reader, and a short treatment of issues in categorization. The bulk of this book walks the reader through a detailed work-flow of how to think about, set-up, and administer a card sort.  It also includes several case studies and references to additional web content. Spencer is extremely knowledgeable and it is valuable to gain insight into her research process. The most exciting element of this book can be found in the final two chapters, which focus on how to analyze the card sorting data. The book provides a brief overview of various statistical methods and focuses on the three that Spencer uses the most often: k-means cluster analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. This is a fantastic book useful for anyone interested in running a card sort. It provides very current, expert, and unique information.

Prototyping

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Warfel, T. Z. (2009). Prototyping: A practitioner's guide. Brooklyn, N.Y: Rosenfeld Media. 197 pages.

Warfel is a principal designer at messagefirst in Philadelphia with extensive experience in design research and usability. This book aims to be a concise manual on prototyping for user experience designers. It is written for a general audience, but it will be of primary value for those interested in or already working in the user experience field.  Warfel argues that prototyping is an important step in the design process because it “simulates multiple states” of the final product. The book begins by describing the theoretical framework of prototyping in a web-based environment and includes tips and best-practices for various types of prototyping work.  The middle of the book is dedicated to specific methods of prototyping, including pros and cons of different methods and detailed information on various types of prototyping software. Due to its recent publication date, new practitioners might find this information particularly useful. The last part of this book addresses how to test completed prototypes.  This is a concise and well-written book that will be useful for any professional interested in improving their user experience design.

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

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Morville, P., & Rosenfeld, L. (2007). Information architecture for the World Wide Web. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly. 528 pages.

Morville and Rosenfeld are credited with founding the field of information architecture through their work with Argus Associates and both continue to be highly regarded and engaged practitioners in the field. Morville is currently the founder and president of Semantic Studios, an information architecture, user experience, and findability firm. He is also a faculty member at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. Rosenfeld is the founder and principle of Louis Rosenfeld, LLC, an information architecture consultancy firm. Both Morville and Rosenfeld have backgrounds in information science and are co-founders of the Information Architecture Institute. Now in its third edition, “the polar bear book” is the quintessential manual on information architecture. This book is intended for a wide audience including both new and experienced information architects. This is the most comprehensive book on the information architecture field I have found in my research. The book covers a vast amount of information including: Defining information architecture, practicing information architecture, user needs and behaviors, the anatomy of information architecture, organization systems, labeling, navigation, search, thesauri, controlled vocabularies, metadata, research, implementation strategy, design and documentation, as well as practical advice for practitioners on education and ethics, making the case for information architecture in your organization, and two exhaustive case studies. The book is full of references to other information sources for further exploration. This is, without question, the best starting point for anyone with a serious interest in learning about information architecture. Much of the content covered in shorter books like The Elements of User Experience or Content Strategy for the Web is covered here and the rich context that the other content provides is worth the extra time investment. Of particular note, Morville and Rosenfeld do an excellent job of connecting information architecture to the common language of the library and information science field. Additionally, they offer persuasive arguments throughout the book for pursuing good information architecture that will be useful to any practitioner who needs to convey the value of this work to their organization.

Organising Knowledge

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Lambe, P. (2007). Organising knowledge: Taxonomies, knowledge and organisational effectiveness. Oxford: Chandos. 275 pages.

Lambe is a co-founder and the principal consultant of Straits Knowledge, a Singapore-based knowledge and information management firm. He has a background in information science. This book is written for a semi-technical audience of information professionals. The first few chapters offer an expertly written overview of taxonomies with clear definitions and examples of various types of taxonomies and their uses. The middle of the book takes a more theoretical approach to taxonomies and how they relate to the knowledge management field. The last portion of the book returns to practical and well-written information on implementing a taxonomy project with case study examples. There are few exhaustive, academic introductions to taxonomies and Lambe provides the best that I have found in my research. His clear writing style makes it easy to make connections among the content that he presents. Though many of the middle chapters seem to primarily function as an advertisement for Lambe’s consulting business, the majority of the pages are packed with highly useful and current information on the field of taxonomy.

The Accidental Taxonomist

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Hedden, H. (2010). The accidental taxonomist. Medford, N.J: Information Today. 472 pages.

Hedden is an information management professional and lecturer at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science.  She currently works as a senior analyst and taxonomy consultant for the Project Performance Corporation.  Previously, Hedden worked in controlled vocabulary and indexing with Gale Cengage. This book offers an organized overview of taxonomy work appropriate for a general audience, but of primary interest to a new taxonomist. Patrick Lambe wrote the forward to this book and he aptly describes Hedden’s effort as one that focuses on the practitioner rather than on the enterprise. This book does a nice job of defining taxonomy related terms. The most valuable feature is Hedden’s clear and concise descriptions of taxonomic relationships (e.g. hierarchical and associative). Due to its recent publication date, the descriptions of current software for taxonomy creation and management will be of interested to new taxonomists. This is a useful book for practitioners who need to quickly learn what they need to do as a taxonomist rather than an individual interested in learning about the theory behind taxonomy development.

Content Strategy for the Web

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Halvorson, K. (2010). Content strategy for the Web. Berkeley, CA: New Riders. 192 pages.

Halvorson is the founder and CEO of Brain Traffic, a Minneapolis based content strategy and web writing firm. This book provides an overview of content strategy for professionals interested in improving their organizations’ website. This book begins by making the case for good content and provides general maxims on how to achieve this (like, “less is more”).  Halvorson lays out a workflow for assessing, overhauling, and maintaining web content. The steps to this ongoing process include: Audit, analysis, strategy, project workflow, writing, delivery, measurement, and maintenance. Halvorson believes it is essential to have one person in charge of managing web content. While useful in theory, it is unclear how this might be practical for many organizations. This book offers little new insight, but it does provide a good framework for professionals that may be overwhelmed with a content overhaul project or that will be designing an original content strategy. Professionals working with messy office politics related to web content would be well-served to use this guide as backup if their strategy is challenged, including following her tips on setting up a clear process so that content is less likely to be undermined in the future.

The Elements of User Experience

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Garrett, J. J. (2003). The elements of user experience: User-centered design for the web. New York: American Institute of Graphic Arts. 208 pages.

Garrett is a user experience designer and is the president and co-founders of Adaptive Path.  This book provides an effective introductory overview of user experience design for a general audience, but it would be particularly useful for new professionals and hiring managers.  Garrett anchors user experience design to five inter-related elements that provide a conceptual framework for talking about user experience, problems that user experience projects often encounter, and various methods of solving those problems. These elements are: Strategy (site objectives and user needs), scope (functional specifications and content requirements), structure (interaction design and information architecture), skeleton (interface design, navigation design, and information design), and surface (visual design).  Though the organization of this book centers on Garrett’s “five elements,” the content is applicable to the user experience field at-large and focuses on meeting business goals while also advocating for user needs. This book provides a good overview of the user experience field and a helpful guide for new professionals planning their first major projects. Readers seeking in-depth or theoretical information will not find it here.

Information in Information Science

I decided to begin my summer reading with Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld, or as it is commonly referred to "the polar bear book." Both Morville and Rosenfeld pursued advanced degrees in library and information science before they popularized the field of information architecture and published the first edition of this book in 1998. A large percentage of information architects hold an MLIS and it is evident in Information Architecture that Morville & Rosenfeld find strong connections between their formal education and their work.

When I began my graduate education at one of the top-rated iSchools last year, I (perhaps naively) expected a more "information" oriented curriculum. However, in my experience most library schools remain heavily focused on traditional librarianship and the information needs of academia. While these areas of scholarship are undeniably culturally and intellectually significant, the focus often seems to ignore the broader context of information needs. This is particularly perplexing at a time when the library world is going through so many painful changes. Libraries are closing or are engaged in year-round efforts to fight for funding. Many new librarians go years before landing their first professional position. At the same time, library schools continue to increase their enrollment each year with ever-expanding distance programs. I love libraries and I hope every one of them is saved, but I believe there is great work to be done outside those walls too, and that librarians are uniquely positioned to take it on.

Good information architecture combats information overload - a well-covered concept in LIS education. So, why does there appear to be so much friction between traditional and nontraditional librarianship? Why hasn't my grad program offered a course on information architecture in more than five years? Why is book cataloguing considered a more noble career path than structuring and organizing information outside of a library setting?

Reading List

My current reading list follows. My goal is to work through at least seven of these books, as well as a number of journal articles and blog posts. If you have an opinion what I should or should not include, please feel free to share your feedback in the comment section.

Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in SoftwareJonathan Anderson, John McRee, Robb Wilson - 2010

Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and PlanningDan Brown - 2010

The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and BeyondJesse James Garrett - 2010

Content Strategy for the WebKristina Halvorson - 2009

Designing Web NavigationJames Kalbach - 2007

Don't make me think!: a common sense approach to web usabilitySteve Krug – 2006

Observing the User Experience Mike Kuniavsky - 2003

Organising knowledge: taxonomies, knowledge and organisational effectivenessPatrick Lambe - 2007

Information architecture for the World Wide WebPeter Morville, Louis Rosenfeld  –  2006

Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories Donner Spencer - 2009

Designing InterfacesJenifer Tidwell - 2010

Measuring the user experienceThomas Tullis, William Albert – 2008

A Project Guide to UX Design Russ Unger, Carolyn Chandler - 2009

Prototyping: A Practioner’s Guide Todd Zaki Warfel - 2009

Information Architecture & Usability

Hello! My name is Gemma Petrie and I recently completed my first year at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. I have a background in nonprofit development and professional experience in web site architecture, writing and editing, grant writing, content management, social media, photography, and event planning. I've always had an obsessive interest in both personal and professional information organization, but until I began graduate school, it was not apparent to me that I could integrate many of my other skills into this work. In fact, you could say I had a fairly narrow view of where an advanced degree in Library and Information Science would eventually take me.

This spring, I had the opportunity to work with the  Sears Holdings Corporation Taxonomy &User Experience Department as a practicum student. I was involved in a large-scale usability test for the Sears.com Jewelry Department and gained hands-on experience in customer demographic evaluation, screener development, card sort testing, survey design, working with test participants, evaluating test data, and creating test reports.

My coursework in library and information science is providing me with a strong understanding of taxonomy development, information seeking behavior, and resource discovery. This summer, I am excited to have the opportunity to focus on my professional interests in information architecture and usability research through an independent study. I'll be working with Jenny Emanuel, the Digital Resources and Reference Librarian at the University of Illinois Library. She has extensive experience in usability and information architecture and she has already proven to be a wonderful resource and adviser.

Over the next three months, I will be using this web site to track my research progress as I become acquainted with some of the fundamental publications in these fields. I'll be sharing my thoughts, and probably a bit of my naiveté. I look forward to feedback, recommendations, and conversations with readers who find this web site.