IF INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE WAS A BOX OF CHOCOLATESSharePoint Saturday CalgaryJune 6, 2015

• DevFacto Portals and Collaboration Practice Lead

• Over 20 years of IT experience• MBA in Management of Information

Systems• B. Sc. in Operations Management

PRESENTER: DAVID MCMILLAN

“My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.’" - Forrest Gump

OVERVIEW

This presentation will examine:• The purpose and value of information architecture (I.A.)• The causes of ineffective I.A. • The key components of successful I.A. implementation

A Brief Introduction

WHAT IS INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE?

• The art and science of organizing and labelling information

• Usability

• Findability

WHY IS I.A. IMPORTANT?

• Reduced time in finding the correct information

• Reduced duplication of information

• Less misinformation

• Better ROI through the effective use of technology

• Technology is used as intended

• Technology enables users, not inhibits them

SO WAIT A SECOND…

A box of chocolates has an implementation of information architecture?

YES! (It just hasn’t been organized very well)

I.A. IS IN THE BOX

Caramel Orange Cream Salted Caramel Strawberry Cream Mocha Ganache Vanilla Cream

Coffee Cream Praline Cherry Brandy Nut Buster Almond Nougat Mocha Cream

BUT SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO READ

OR IT ISN’T CONSISTENT

THE CAUSES OF INEFFECTIVE I.A.

THE CAUSES OF INEFFECTIVE I.A.

• Ambiguity • A lack of uniqueness

• Variation • A lack of consistency

• Ignorance • A lack of information

THE CAUSES OF INEFFECTIVE I.A.Ambiguity

AMBIGUITY

am·bi·gu·i·ty noun \ˌam-bə-ˈgyü-ə-tē\

Definition: something that does not have a single clear meaning; something that is ambiguous

Antonyms clarity, clearness, obviousness, plainness

AMBIGUITY

The cause:• Limited variety of colours, shape and/or design• Not organized in a way that makes sense• Too many options (flavors)

The fix:• If we cannot change the physical attributes, we can…• Sort (index)• Filter (reduce the variety)

AMBIGUITY FIX: SORTSort (indexing)

• The process of assigning content objects with specific attribute values

• Group chocolates in ways that limit the chance of error or confusion

• i.e. The caramel is in column 2, row 3

AMBIGUITY FIX: FILTER

Filter (reduce variety)• Reducing the variety provides less chance of choosing the wrong

one• Filters ensure only relevant and useful information is provided• i.e. Pot of Gold, caramels only

THE CAUSES OF INEFFECTIVE I.A.Variation

VARIATION

var·i·a·tion noun \ˌver-ē-ˈā-shən\ Definition: something that is similar to something else but different in some way

Antonyms: fixation, stabilization

VARIATION

The cause:• Lack of quality control• Not enough differentiators

The fix:• Structure (improve consistency)• Clarity (improve differentiators)

VARIATION FIX: STRUCTURE

Structure (improve consistency)• In the case of chocolates, consistency could be achieved through

quality control• Manage statistical fluctuations (variances) in the process (e.g. Six

Sigma)• In information governance we use tools like vocabularies and

taxonomies to control the consistency of inputs

VARIATION FIX: STRUCTURE

From and information perspective:

A vocabulary is a set of words (or terms) used to control the input possibilities

• E.g. If we want to search for the United States as a country, if someone has entered US or USA, the result set will not reflect that record

A taxonomy is a structured set of metadata used for classification of information, which may or may not include vocabularies

• More on this later

VARIATION FIX: CLARITY

Clarity (improve differentiators)• In the case of chocolate, clarity could be improved through

changing physical attributes such as:o Shape – basis shapes like square, ball, rectangle, etc.o Color – white, light, dark, colorful toppings, etc.o Texture or pattern – dots, lines, combinations, etc.

VARIATION FIX: CLARITY

Some basic combinations:• Shapes: 5• Colors (Red, Green, Blue, White): 4• Designs: Lines (3), Dots (3), combined (3)

Total supported clear chocolate variations:

5x4x3x3x3 = 540 unique combinations

THE CAUSES OF INEFFECTIVE I.A.Ignorance

IGNORANCE

…is bliss, until you pick a chocolate you don’t like.

IGNORANCE

ig·no·rance noun \ˈig-n(ə-)rən(t)s\ Definition: a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education : the state of being ignorant

Antonyms: acquaintance, awareness, cognizance, familiarity

IGNORANCE

• The cause:• Lack of structure• Not enough information

• The fix:• Classification (build structured

metadata)

IGNORANCE FIX: CLASSIFICATION

• Classification (build structured metadata)

• ISO 15489 defines classification as: “The systematic identification and arrangement of business activities, and/or records into categories, according to logically structured conventions, methods, and procedural rules represented in a classification system.”

IGNORANCE FIX: CLASSIFICATION

• Classification (build structured metadata)

• Taxonomies and Classification• “Taxonomy is a structured set of metadata…”• Classification is “…logically structured conventions, methods, and procedural

rules…”• Therefore, taxonomies are our structure to allow for classification

CLASSIFICATION - TAXONOMY

Metadata, content types and vocabularies:• Our tools to build a taxonomy• Let’s build a taxonomy for chocolates

CLASSIFICATION - METADATA

• Definition: data that provides information about other data• A circular reference; we’re really talking about attributes

• Chocolate metadata• Chocolate type (white, milk, dark)• Fill type• Color• Shape• Surface pattern• Box location

CLASSIFICATION - CONTENT TYPES

• Used to group metadata of common groups• Chocolates• Candies• Candied apples• Ice creams

• Common parent types, unique sub content types• Candied apples:

o Caramel appleo Candy appleo Chocolate apple

CLASSIFICATION - CONTENT TYPES

• Child content types inherit metadata field from parent

• Then, add their own unique metadata belowChocolates have: Caramel chocolates have:• Chocolate type • Chocolate type

• Fill type • Fill type

• Color • Color

• Shape • Shape

• Surface Pattern • Surface pattern

• Box location • Box location

• Caramel type

• Salted

CLASSIFICATION - VOCABULARIES

• A set of predefined terms used for the population of metadata

• Example: ‘Province’ as a metadata field• Simplified Interface: a drop down or radio buttons are easier than a free text field• Consistency: variation in what is entered (AB, Alta, Alberta all mean the same)• Central Control: provides a single centralized location for updates and maintenance

CLASSIFICATION - VOCABULARIES

Metadata vocabularies for chocolates:• Chocolate type

o Dark, milk, or white• Fill type

o Caramel, ganache, cream, nougat, etc.• Color• Shape• Surface pattern• Box location

SUMMARY

• We’ve examined why I.A. is important

• The causes of ineffective I.A.• Ambiguity• Variation• Ignorance

• And how to combat them• Sorting• Filtering• Structure • Clarity• Classification

SUMMARY

And we’ve developed a sweet tooth…

DEVFACTO & INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE• We’re happy to help guide you through the world

of IA

• A variety of DevFacto I.A. engagements• Information Architecture Review• Information Architecture Planning• Information Architecture Roadmap• Information Governance Mentorship

• Let’s chat!

THANK YOU Questions and Review

David McMillanMy Social Self

david.mcmillan@devfacto.com(877) 323-3832

www.devfacto.com

Moss-adventures.blogspot.ca @DavidRMcMillan and

@DevFactoPortals