Practical Information Architecture: A Hands-On Approach to Structuring Successfu

Defining Information Architecture.
We All Learned The Basics Long Ago.
Who Needs to Know?
So Who Is the Information Architect?
What Skills Are Needed?
Size Doesn't Matter (Much).
You Have Both a Product and a Customer.
About Common Sense.
Structuring a Website Can't Be Learned in a Linear Fashion.
Heard All This Before (A Note to Experienced Information Architects).
Defining a Few Terms.

A Brief Introduction to the Site Development Process.
Setting Your Goals.
New Direct Sales Channel.
Streamline Existing Sales Routine.
Reduce the Need for Live Sales and Service Reps.
Reduce the Need for Pre-Printed Documentation.
Create Web Presence for Lead Generation.
Build Better Customer/Investor/Press Relationships.
Rescuing the Service Sector.
Keep Your Main Goal in Focus.
Defining Your Target Audience.
Chicken or Egg: Goals or Audience?
Goals and Audience Must Be in Harmony.
Don't Take Goals for Granted.
Your Target Audience Also Has Goals.
Researching the Organization.

Measuring Time and Money.
And When You're Up and Running … .
Customer Satisfaction Surveys.
Cannibalization of Existing Sales Channels.

Information Chunking.
Wish Lists.
A Structure Starts to Develop.
Role Playing.
Retain Your Primary Point of View.
Reviewing Competing Websites.
Teamwork or Lonely Nights.
The Post-It Technique.
Process or Outcome.

User Experience and Online Brand-Building.
The Battle for Share of Mind.
Why People Visit in the First Place.
Why People Come Back.
A Review of Basic Computer Capabilities.
A Note to Technically Minded Readers.
And for Everybody Else.
A (Very) Short History of the Computer Revolution.
Make Your Product the “Hero.”

Building Shared References.
Putting Things in Perspective (Literally).
… and Figuratively.
The Shared Reference Test.
Establishing Trust.
A Few Common Tricks of the Trade.
The Ebay Feedback System.
Keep the Sales Process Moving.
Keep It Simple for Users.
Objections to Online Sales.
Different Prices from Market to Market.
Prices Vary from Customer to Customer.
Not All Products Are Available in All Markets.

Generic Types.
Functional Sites.
Topical Sites.
Generic Techniques.
Multi-Target Sites.
Associative Sites.
Generic Styles.
Newsletter Sites.
Image Sites.
Tile Sites.
Traditional Sites.
Search Sites.
Hobby Sites.
Evolution on the Web.
On a Related Note … .

II. MECHANICS.

What You Want to Accomplish.
What Are You Going to Put on the First Page?
Getting Started.
Menu Length: The Myth of “Seven, Plus or Minus Two.”
So What's the Proper Number of Menu Items?
Sets of Menu Items and Completeness.
Developing Homogeneous Systems.
An Example of Main Page and Menu Considerations.
Wide and Narrow?
Good Structures Are Invisible.
One Step at a Time.
Structuring from the Bottom Up.

Post-Its — Again.
Written Outlines.
Mindmapping.
Electronic Applications.
Numbering Systems.
Making Notes About Specific Content.

Speak Your Audience's Language.
Be Consistent.
IA Snafus.
Eliminating Doubt.
Improving the Scent.
Cute Labels.
The Graphic Designer's (I)Con Game.
You Can't Brainstorm Labels.

The Pros and Cons of Shell Structures.
Ensuring You Have Editorial Content on Each Page.
Levels of Detail.
Visitors Should Be Able to Anticipate Levels of Detail.
Optimum Editorial Content Length.
One Final Note.

Contextual Navigation.
Dynamic Billboards.
Getting Lost Through Hypertext.
Visitors Like Hyperlinks.
Orphaned Subsites.
Avoid Run-On Hyperlinks.
Short Links.
Orphaned Links.
Splashes and Other Eyecatchers.
Recommended Reading.

Home (Main Menu).
Contact.
Feedback.
Site Maps.
Site Indexes.
Disclaimers.
What's New.
About This Site.
First-Time Visitors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Quick Links.
Search.
Search Engine Options.
Typical Search Engine Problems.

III. FINE-TUNING.

Input from the Team.
Reviewing the Structure.
Language.
Content.
Navigation and Links.
Individual Pages.
Goals and Growth.
A Final Note.

Typical Subsites.
When Do You Need a Subsite?
Accessing the Subsite.
Reusing Information.
Reusing Design and Navigation.
When to Create New Design and Navigation.
Adapting Existing Information from a CD-ROM.
Guided Tours.
Providing Real Value.

Building One-to-One Relationships.
Creating a Depth-Segmented Sites.
Advantages and Disadvantages.
Profiled Subsites.
Advantages and Disadvantages.
Asking Questions.
Advantages and Disadvantages.
Adaptive Navigation.
Advantages and Disadvantages.

The Production Phase.
Where Designers and Architects Clash: Labels.
Working With Content Providers.

What It's All About.
Heuristic Evaluations.
Testing With Pencil and Paper.
Testing a Simple Navigational Interface.
Testing a Structural Prototype.
Testing a Complex Navigational Interface.
Full-Blown Beta-Testing.

The Advent of WAP.
What Is WAP.
What Can WAP Do?
How Does WAP Work?
Why Surf on a Five-Line Screen?
What's the New Role of the Information Architect?
The Death of the PC?
The Future of Traditional Websites.
Easier Content-Management Interfaces.
Better Electronic Tools for Information Architects.
Better Window Shopping.
The Value of External Links.
More Effective Use of Metadata.
Keeping Websites Legal.
Increased Emphasis on Personalization.
A Final Thought.