Five Key Concepts About Information Architecture
This article complements a masterclass held at Mr. Marcel School on December 1st, 2020, which you can watch in Spanish here.
Read “Cinco conceptos clave de Arquitectura de la información” in Spanish.
The best way I’ve found, up until now, to describe what Information Architecture is (IA from now on) as follows:
“The design of structures around user expectations that guide the construction of experiences.”
This definition makes it clear that IA constitutes primarily a framework that allows the rest of the design and definition work to continue centered around the needs and expectations of the users.
There are many ways to learn about IA, such as through Dan Brown’s 8 principles or the content generated by Nielsen Norman Group. But to make the most of the 30 minutes of the original talk, I have chosen to review what I consider to be five key concepts to understand and approach the creation of an information architecture.
#1. Value Lies in the Content
All design effort in a product always serves the content offered to the user and how they consume it. Therefore, the first task in building an information architecture is always to take inventory of the content.
There are manual techniques and tracking tools that can help us do this, although the inventory should also reflect the type of content, usage metrics, etc. Let’s not forget that content can be of different natures (text, video, audio…) and with varying levels of possible interaction. All of this should be reflected in our inventory.
Strategy
In addition to identifying the content, it’s important to delve into the strategy behind it. On one hand, we need to understand the business aspects, such as the product’s positioning, value proposition, and roadmap.
On the other hand, we need to consider the user (and buyer) personas we are targeting. This extra effort will allow the information architecture we develop to apply to the current content and also accommodate what’s to come. An information architecture must be scalable, otherwise, it will lose part of its value.
#2. The KonMari Method
Marie Kondo is a Japanese author who developed an organization system combining Eastern philosophy, feng shui, and inspirational coaching.
Apart from her books and her program on Netflix, her method is based on an interesting premise that can be applied to designing information architectures.
“Discard things that do not bring us joy and give proper space and visibility to those that do.”
Joy, or in our case, value, comes from the content. Besides content, Marie talks about the importance of organization (proper space) and visibility (visible).
The Science of Organization
This is not entirely new, as there’s already a science that deals with the principles, methods, and purposes of classification. We’re talking about taxonomy, which, when applied to a set of content, results in criteria that allow for systematic ordering of elements, also known as taxonomy.
Taxonomy is the science of classification.
A taxonomy is the set of criteria resulting from applying the science in a specific case.
Taxonomy can be hierarchical or associative, depending on how content is grouped. It can also generate different structures based on the relationships between the content, reflecting the possible ways users can access them.
The most interesting taxonomies to analyze can be found in products with large amounts of content. For example, Netflix. Their approach to generating an information architecture that supports their entire catalog involves over 1,300 tags that can be combined to create more than 3,800 categories.
In the Spanish catalog, you’ll find 34 pieces of content under the combination of the “romantic” and “independent” categories. As a curiosity, Xataka compiled some of the resulting categories from these combinations, although not all of them can work in all geographies. Notice that the more tags you combine, the more specific the category becomes.
Visibility
Once we define the proper place for each content, it’s necessary to evaluate how much visibility we provide to users through our information architecture, often manifested through navigation systems. Fortunately for all, Netflix doesn’t expect us to navigate through its vast architecture on our own but simplifies navigation and assists it with various strategies, like recommendations. Navigation options are reduced to a simple distinction between series and movies (episodic or one-time content) and direct access to content we’ve marked as relevant ourselves.
Compare this strategy with that of another giant, Amazon. Amazon’s catalog is larger than Netflix’s, yet their approach to the visibility of their information architecture is opposite. Amazon’s navigation menu presents many more options, grouped and hierarchical, of course.
This difference is precisely because each company adheres to the expectations and needs of its users. In Netflix, we only enter to watch something, whereas on Amazon, we can access it to buy, track orders, manage subscriptions, etc. In each case, different design decisions are made, but they all aim for common objectives. Closely related to determining the level of visibility we provide to our users is the next key concept, which is probably the most critical of all.
#3. Sprechen Sie die Sprache des Benutzers
Or, to be clear, speak the language of users. Just as explaining this concept in German would be of little use, all the work of inventory and classification of content will be of little use if, when we deliver it to the user, they can’t understand it.
Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote:
“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.”
And he’s absolutely right. During the construction of an IA, we must be thorough and rigorous, but the result must be fully understandable by any of our users.
Terminology
The vocabulary we use will be decisive in achieving that understanding. It always is in user experience, which is why we have a design discipline called UX writing or narrative design that aims to facilitate communication with people. At BBVA, for example, we have a manual that instructs us in the practices of transparent and clear language.
In addition to UX writing, there’s a design philosophy that originates from the development world called Domain Driven Design. A domain here refers to a collective of practices and practitioners who have specialized terms or meanings specific to their contexts that may not exist outside of it. For example, BBVA and Vodafone operate in different domains, but Vodafone and Orange share a domain.
Domain Driven Design encompasses a set of practices that start with the goal of achieving cross-team communication, seeking to narrow down the specific domain contexts and using a common language among everyone, according to domain consensuses (they call it ubiquitous language).
As designers, we often find ourselves alternating between projects that take place in different domains, and it’s our responsibility to take time to make that leap and appreciate collaboration with domain experts to understand the contexts and language of the domain. It’s a delicate balance between UX writing and these values of domain-driven design.
Conventions and Mental Models
Sometimes, we encounter accepted and generally assumed patterns in society. Just as with some icons that are immediately recognizable to users, some ways of interacting with the IA of a product have become standardized. Searches, tagging systems, or information filtering are examples of patterns with social conventions, widespread expectations.
We’ve all become familiar with how to use them, and if we see them in a new product, we expect everything we know about them to still be valid.
“Mental models are a mechanism of thought by which an attempt is made to explain how the real world works.” — Kenneth Craik. 1943
These consensuses are often closely related to mental models. These mechanisms of thought exist so that we can attempt to explain how the real world works. Mental models are generated through learning and are consolidated through repeated experience. This is why they are so useful when building an IA because they constitute a reference that already exists in users’ minds, and to the extent that the IA adheres to these models, it will be better accepted by users.
For instance, Mercadona, a large supermarket chain from Spain, has a consolidated store layout that is already known to consumers. It’s natural to use that model to develop the structure and taxonomy of their new online store. This way, they ensure a satisfactory experience for their customers, who will feel oriented in this product even if it’s their first time using it.
#4. Cognitive Theory
Cognitive theory is a branch of psychology that studies how our brain learns and processes knowledge. One of the most interesting concepts is cognitive load, which John Sweller defined as “The mental effort expended to learn and solve a task.”
“Cognitive load is the mental effort expended to learn and solve a task.” — John Sweller. 1943
Some time ago, I wrote an article about cognitive load that is fully applicable in this context of information architecture.
Accessibility and Universal Design
Cognitive load is one of the most relevant and least visible barriers in the accessibility of digital products.
Whether for people with developmental or language disorders, or even mental disorders, or in specific situations of high stress, when approaching an unfamiliar context or due to lack of language skills, the mental effort the product demands can be eased if we consider cognitive theory in designing the information architecture.
#5. It’s Alive!
As we mentioned in the first point, understanding the content and product positioning strategy allows for the development of a scalable architecture. Therefore, it’s crucial that we consider the information architecture as a living entity that must adapt to changes.
These changes can be related to the product itself, which evolves and enriches its value proposition, but there are also external changes that come from society and the product’s users.
A very interesting example of continuous review is Facebook. Looking only at the navigation bar, we can observe how, as the product consolidates and grows, the bar changes, reflecting changes in the underlying information architecture. Also, how certain social conventions are established in society, such as those related to icons, the brand’s recognition, or even the growing relevance of the search function.
Conclusions
Developing a robust IA has a decisive impact on the success of the product. Whether it’s the foundation for the UX work that will follow, the framework for a sustainable SEO strategy, or its close relationship with CRO and conversion funnel optimization.
If you want to learn more about information architecture, you can participate in the advanced digital product design course offered by Mr. Marcel School or read some of the following reference works:
