User-Centric Design: How to Leverage Use Cases and User Scenarios to Design SharePoint Functionality...

Earley & Associates, Inc. | Classification: CONFIDENTIAL USE, NO REPRINTS Copyright © 2013 Earley & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Centric Design: How to Leverage Use Cases and User Scenarios to Design SharePoint Functionality

SharePoint Tech Con San Francisco

March 4th, 2013

users

content

2Copyright © 2013 Earley & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

• Co-author of Practical Knowledge Management from IBM Press

• Editor IEEE Information Professional Magazine

• 18 years experience building content and knowledge management systems, 20+ years experience in technology

• Former Co-Chair, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,

Science and Technology Council Metadata Project Committee

• Founder of the Boston Knowledge Management Forum

• Former adjunct professor at Northeastern University

• Guest speaker for US Strategic Command briefing on knowledge networks

• Currently working with enterprises to develop knowledge and digital asset management systems, taxonomy and metadata governance strategies

• Founder of Taxonomy Community of Practice – host monthly conference calls of case studies on taxonomy derivation and application. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxoCoP

• Founder Information Architecture Experts Group on LinkedIn

Follow on twitter: @sethearleyConnect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sethearley

Seth Earley, CEO, Earley & Associates

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxoCoP

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxoCoP


Founded - 1994 Headquarters - Boston, MA

What we do – Design and deliver content management and search solutions for companies and their customers

Our core team – 35 information and system architects, library scientists, process improvement consultants, project managers and other information management specialists

Our Unique Offering – Content Choreography™

Retail & Supply Chain

Financial Services & Insurance

High Tech & Manufacturing

Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences

Media & Entertainment

Our clients include – Global 2000, major non-profits and government entities

Earley & Associates Overview


• Definitions

• The User-Focused Approach (top down)

• The Data-Focused Approach (bottom up)

Overview

observe summarize conceive develop identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content organize

content audit taxonomy metadata content models mental models site maps &

navigation wireframes


the structure and framework for our content-knowledge environment

approaches for understanding user and business needs, anddeveloping capabilities to meet those needs using information

designing user experience by associating structured and unstructured data with the user’s intent

about what’s not obvious

Information architecture is…


• Metadata describe the nature of information, the is-ness and about-ness.

• Taxonomies are the organizing principles behind metadata and metadata values.

• Content models encompass the user’s understanding of something.

• Information architecture is about translating business objectives and user needs into working systems for content management, search, and collaboration.

Information architecture encourages and enables both information retrieval and

knowledge discovery.

Taxonomy, Metadata & Information Architecture


EnterpriseSearch,

Collaboration& Portals

Digital AssetManagement

WorkflowManagement

Security &Privacy

Management

RightsManagement

RecordsManagement

WebsiteNavigation,Search &

SEO

ContentManagement

Metadata, Taxonomy,

& Information Architecture,


Information Architecture Design Methodology

Content Types& Site Column

Design

Term Store& TaxonomyDevelopment

Site Maps& Wireframe

Design

Use Cases,Workflow &Authoring

SolutionDesign

DocumentsDE

SIG

N&

DE

VE

LOP

TaxonomyUser

InterfaceTagging

ProcessesAuto

Categorization

Test Plan& ExecutionT

ES

T

& V

ALI

DA

TE

GovernanceStrategy

& Guidelines

SocializationCommunication

& Adoption

MigrationStrategy

& Approach

Metrics Development

Governance /MaintenanceProcesses

MA

INTA

IN&

EN

HA

NC

E

Current StateAssessment

FutureState Vision

Gap Analysis

HeuristicEvaluation

Strategy,Roadmap &

Recommendations

ST

RA

TE

GY

& V

ISIO

NN

ContentAnalysis

AudienceAnalysis

RequirementsDefinition

RE

SE

AR

CH

& D

ISC

OV

ER Requirements

& AnalysisFindings

TaskAnalysis

This is the challenging part:

getting from requirements to design.


• Many organizations are trying to “make the information easier to use.”But what does this mean?

What information?

For whom?

Accomplishing what task?

With what information?

• Many information management projects fail because they are too broad, the project scope is ambiguous, and the outcome is not measurable.

• Ambiguous problems can’t be solved.

Information architecture starts with a focus on problems and processes.

Translating Abstract Concepts into Concrete Design Elements


Information Architecture Process:User-Focused Approach(top down)


• Observe and gather data points

• Summarize into themes

• Translate themes into conceptual solutions

• Develop scenarios that comprise solutions

• Identify audiences who are impacted by scenarios

• Articulate tasks that audiences execute in scenarios

• Build detailed use cases around tasks and audiences

• Identify content needed by audiences in specific use cases

• Develop organizing principles for content

User-Focused IA (Top Down)

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Identify problems through interviews, surveys, and working sessions.

• In each forum, we are making observations about the current state: how people accomplish tasks,

bottlenecks in processes,

problems with information access and findability,

challenges around inaccurate and incomplete information

• User-centric IA requires that we understand the mental model of the user:the tasks they need to execute, and how they go about accomplishing their work.

Observe and Gather Data Points

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• “It is difficult to find and collocate information about a specific subject”

Summarize Observations into Themes

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


Wouldn’t it be great if we could…?

• “…access all policy and prior experience data across multiple systems using a single search query and return consistent results?”

• Conceptualizing a future world in which these problems “went away” provides a foundation for all future IA work:

defining metrics for success, and collecting a baseline measurement

engaging stakeholders and obtaining management buy-in

outlining a roadmap for short-term and long-term work

identifying necessary resources

Translate Themes into Conceptual Solutions

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Scenarios are a fixed set of interactions and events, helpful in expressing concepts.

• “How do underwriters go about their work in writing policies for specialty and high risk clients?” Describe a day-in-the-life.

• Examples: New Product Introduction

A new category of product is introduced, requiring updates to the print, web, and e-commerce sales channels.

Translation of New Product InformationThe newly introduced product has all its content and metadata translated into a second supported language.

Develop Scenarios That Comprise Solutions

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Although some scenarios are simple on their face, a single event can be the first step in a chain of events.

• “Risk managers, underwriters, sales personnel”

• Example: To Process a Activity Report Delivered by a Service Provider

Possible stakeholders:

external contact at service organization (to send the report)

internal liaison to service provider (to confirm receipt of the report)

compliance supervisor (to verify that the report meets requirements)

business analyst (to compare long-term performance against benchmarks)

strategy officer (to align provider performance with corporate goals)

PR specialist (to highlight notable activities for stockholders)

marketing and SEO specialists (to relate provider improvement following marketing initiatives)

VP of provider services (to remain aware of all provider activities)

• All of these stakeholders need to be engaged.

Identify Audiences Who Are Impacted by Scenarios

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Once the stakeholders are identified (and engaged), collaborate with them to understand their day-to-day operations. Work to understand their current processes, current pain points, and idealized future environment.

• “Describe underwriting scenario tasks in detail: research options, review loss history, locate supporting research, etc.”

• These tasks become steps in use cases and workflows…

Articulate Tasks That Audiences Execute in Scenarios

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


This is where the top-down approach meets the bottom-up approach.

We’re going to race through these three boxes for now,knowing we’re going to see them again later.

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Use cases describe typical scenarios or interactions that an actor (or group of actors) has with the system.

• “Step 1: log on to claim system. Step 2: search for history on the coverage type in geography. Step 3: … “

• Workflows are processes in which a set of tasks intended to be automated are completed. Most workflow steps are associated with user and system roles responsible for performing the task.

Build Detailed Use Cases Around Tasks and Audiences

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize

Normal Flow(Team Site Approval)

1. The User navigates to the source location of the content item in the document library on a Team Space (SharePoint 2007). From the Edit Menu, the User selects the option to “Promote to PCL Connects” (Custom) from the dropdown that appears.

2. The System copies the document from the source library in the team site to a staging library in PCL Connects.3. The System displays a form (in a new window) containing properties for the document and prompts the User to enter the

following information (unless auto-populated based on pre-defined data): Title of the document; Purpose of the document (description); …


• Once the process has been defined, consider the content and metadata that are required for the processes to be performed correctly.

• “Claims data, policy information, underwriting standards, actuarial tables, fraud reports, etc.”

• Content needs usually can be determined through interviews, working sessions, and observation. Card sorts are an easy way to brainstorm critical ideas.

Identify Content Needed by Audiences in Specific Use Cases

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


• Arrange things that people need according to process, task, or other organizing principle.

• “Begin with “is-ness.” What is the nature of the information? Then determine “about-ness,” the additional characteristics of the information. How would you tell apart 100 documents of that type?”

• These “organizing structures” become the foundation for taxonomy.

Develop Organizing Principles for Content

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize


Summary: User-Focused IA Process

observe

summarize

conceive

develop

identify audiences

define tasks

build use cases

identify content

organize

Process Step Answer the Following ExamplesObserve and gather data (pain) points

What are the specific problems and challenges that users are identifying?

“We can’t locate information about policies for specialty coverage.”“We need to look in multiple systems to find prior experience data

when underwriting new policies in high risk areas.”“Different terminology is used in different systems, which makes

queries difficult.”

Summarize into themes What are the common elements to observations? How can symptoms and pains be classified according to overarching themes?

inability to locate policy and underwriting information using common terminology

Translate themes into conceptual solutions

Wouldn’t it be great if we could…?

We could access all policy and prior experience data across multiple systems using a single search query and return consistent results?

Develop scenarios that comprise solutions

What would a day in the life of a user look like if this solution were in place?

At a high level, describe how underwriters go about their work in writing policies for specialty and high risk clients. Describe each potential situation and how they would go about their work

Identify audiences who are impacted by scenarios

Who are the users that are impacted?

risk managers, underwriters, sales personnel

Articulate tasks that audiences execute in scenarios

What are the tasks that need to be executed in each scenario?

For a given scenario, articulate tasks (research options, review loss history, locate supporting research, etc.)

Build detailed use cases around tasks and audiences

What are the specific steps to accomplish tasks?

For a single task, list the steps to execute (this level of detail is not needed in all cases). Step 1: log on to claim system. Step 2: search for history on the coverage type in geography. Step 3: …

Identify content needed by audiences in specific use cases

What content and information is needed at each step in the process?

Claims data, policy information, underwriting standards, actuarial tables, fraud reports, etc.

Develop organizing principles for content

Arrange the things they need according to process, task or other organizing principle

Begin with “is-ness.” What is the nature of the information? Then determine “about-ness,” the additional characteristics of the information. How would you tell apart 100 documents of that type?

taxonomy


Information Architecture Process:Data-Focused Approach(bottom up)


ACME Consulting Enterprises Site Map

What exactly do these represent? Is “Sales” a site collection? A site? A library? A list? A content type? A metadata field? A value?


Building Taxonomy from Bottom Up

Taxonomy starts as a collection of terms…

…that becomes translated into design elements through a structured process.


• Audit and inventory existing content

• Build taxonomy by finding patterns in the content

• Figure out the metadata you need

• Develop content models

• Fit metadata models to the users’ mental models

• Build site maps (and site navigation)

• Construct wireframes

Data-Focused IA (Bottom Up)

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models

site maps & navigation

wireframes


Audit and Inventory Existing Content

content audit

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wireframes

• Discuss with users• Brainstorm on locations• Determine how and where people access content

Initial determination of

content

• Determine amounts • Determine types• Determine condition• Amount of redundant, outdated and trivial content

Sample content from across

repositories (audit)

• Use automated processes to itemize all content • Look for reusable organizing principles • Look for patterns • Determine ownership

Inventory all content in scope

• Remove outdated content • Determine migration approach• Identify highest value information

Clean up and triage


Content Audit Example

content audit

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metadata

content models

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wireframes


Finding Patterns in the Content

Determine

Basics

• Locate content: Where is the content now? • Identify all creators, sources, consumers • Determine quantities • Verify importance (quantity and value)

Name, describe &

prioritize

• Name the content type (press release, case file, product description, etc.)

• Assign an ID • Deduce any internal structure

Consolidate

across types

• Are the element names and types consistent?• Are your types mutually exclusive? • Do they cover the bulk of the content available?• What is the nature of any exceptions?

content audit

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content models

mental models


wireframes


• Taxonomy is a system for organizing concepts and categorizing content Expresses hierarchical relationships (parent/child)

Arranged in a tree-like structure, with top level categories that branch out to reveal sub-categories and terms in varying levels of depth

Dictionary of preferred terminology

Taxonomy: The Foundation for Information Architecture

Products

Games

Card games

Action figures

Board games

Brands

Hasbro

Scrabble

Disney

Battleship

content audit

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mental models


wireframes

Sample taxonomy record

Car SYN: Automobile Vehicle

fr-CA: Voiture en-UK: Auto es-CO: Carro

Synonyms

Translationsand regionalvariants

Preferred term


Types of Taxonomy Relationships

Used in thesauri.

Also called “entry types” of terms.

Synonyms.

Things that are related conceptually.

Associative relation types are context and audience specific.

This is how we might relate multiple taxonomies.

Purist definition of a taxonomy – terms have parent/child relationship.

Equivalence Hierarchical Associative

Increasing complexity

content audit

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content models

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wireframes


Relationship Types

Types of Taxonomy Relationships (example)

E E

? A

? ?H

H

A

E Equivalence

H Hierarchical

A Associative

Computer Manufacturers

International Business Machines

IBM

Software Group

Big Blue

Hardware Software

content audit

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What Are Metadata?

Metadata are data that articulate context & meaning about something.

• Implicit Metadata: System generated properties about the piece of content (e.g. file format, file size,

created date, created by, modified date, modified by)

• Explicit Metadata: Metadata created to add context to a piece of content and applied through auto-

classification, folksonomy and/or taxonomy. (e.g. subject/topic, document type, publishing status,

• Metadata is essential for enriching context on unstructured content.It must have a purpose, and it must be able to be acted upon in order to satisfy a specific information need.

content audit

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metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


Taxonomy & Metadata

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Date created

Product SKU

Product category

Metadata fields (Content Model)

Product nameAsset

Dispatch consoles

May-15-2011

10985702889

DC-100

Metadata values

Productcategories

Dispatch

Dispatch consoles

Phones

Logging recorders

Taxonomy

Product names

DC Series

DC-100

DR Series

Asset


Example: Metadata Controlled by Taxonomy

NiMHn/an/a

n/aNickel Metal Hydraten/a

n/an/aNiMh

Battery typeBattery chemistryBattery

Battery type NiMH NiMH NiMH

afte

rbe

fore

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Three Flavors of Metadata

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StructuralAdministrative Descriptive

Explicit Metadata Can Apply in Any CategoryExplicit Metadata Can Apply in Any Category

SubjectSubject

TitleTitle

DescriptionDescription

Document_typeDocument_type

Date_createdDate_created

File_typeFile_type

Publication_statusPublication_status

Review_typeReview_type

Is_part_ofIs_part_of

RequiresRequires

Parent-objectParent-object


Figure Out the Metadata You Need (and then build taxonomy)

1. Identify a core set of metadata attributes common to all types of content.These can include Title, Created By Date, Owner, Document Type, etc.

2. Conduct a content audit to understand what various types of content exist.With each type discovered, note any unique characteristics.

3. Think about different ways to describe each type:1. Content lifecycle

2. Inherent nature of content itself

3. When used (created or accessed)

4. Audience tasks (when needed)

NOTE: The final step requires stakeholder involvement (both authors & consumers).

content audit

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Content Models (Content Types)

• Content is structured with body information and a wrapper that formats and tags that information (metadata).

• Metadata are the is-ness and about-ness of a piece of content.

Definitions

• Content object model refers to a specific model for a set of document types.

• Content model is the overall framework that describes content and its associated properties. (In other words, a content model includes multiple content object models.)

• Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably.

content audit

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Date created

Product SKU

Product category

Product name


Content Models (Content Types)

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• Web pages are assembled from items of content types,which are comprised of metadata elements.

title

author

doc_id

date

doc_type

product name

product features

promotion ID

FAQ

Product

Press release

Specification

Promotion

Taxonomy

Antenna

Bluetooth ®

Camera

GPS

Navigation

Product Page

product category

content ID

promotion type

content ID date

date

related product content ID date

standard header

product content type

promotion content type

related products content type


Content Models Are Built Upon a Core Content Type

content audit

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Deriving a Content Model

• Determine the means to access content.

• Understand the target process: What capability is being developed?

• Determine information sources and uses for the target process.

• Define content lifecycle for each type of information in your process.

• Identify the structure of each type of information – how will one class of information differ from another?

• How is content used? Who is using the content?

• Given 1000 documents of the same type of information, how would you tell them apart?

• How will content review processes differ according to the needs of the organization?

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Metadata Models

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• Knowledge about metadata can be modeled in a spreadsheet.

• This level of detail may be required for implementation.


This is where the bottom-up approach meets the top-down approach…

Mental modeling includes:

• requirements analysis

• personas

• task analysis

• use cases

• scenarios

• personalization design …and here is where construction begins.

content audit

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How Well Do the Data Fit the Users’ Mental Model?

• Steps to modeling people and tasks: identify audiences (user roles and groups) model individual users (personas) determine tasks (processes and interactions) determine content required to support tasks

• Many different methods for understanding users: interviews surveys working sessions observation/shadowing search log analysis content review content/task/audience analysis

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Requirements Analysis

• Data and observations from multiple sources can be summarized into key themes.

• AHEM: This should look familiar! See slide “Observe and Gather Data Points.”With the user-focused approach to IA, we started here!

content audit

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Gap Analysis

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Content Architecture

Desired Capability Gap Current State Assessment Preliminary Gap Closing Actions

27. Information is secure and only available to people with authorized access.

Major Gap

People have access to restricted information (electronic and paper), access permissions are not aligned with sensitivity policies.

Ensure that access control lists and permissions align with information sensitivity policies.

28. Trust in the currency and integrity of a record.

Major Gap

No consistent processes, methods and controls for versioning documents, removing duplicate copies, and managing document lifecycle state.

Develop clear and effective version control policies, procedures, and methods, and document lifecycle metadata. Configure and utilize ECM version control and lifecycle mechanisms. Educate employees.

29. Master Data is harmonized across systems

GapNo common language or framework for describing data across various systems to enable aggregating and analyzing data.

Develop a mapping / ontology of data across systems that need to be aggregated for analysis (BI), reporting, dashboards.

30. Documents have the necessary metadata to facilitate access control, retrieval, retention, and destruction.

Gap Inconsistent definition and use of metadata.

Develop a master metadata schema (mapped to content types) that can be used for both physical records and electronic content. Configure and utilize ECM application (DL, SharePoint) mechanisms to populate metadata. Use authoritative sources to populate metadata.

31. We do not recreate content for different media or publications - we create once and reuse.

Major Gap

Video and photos are repurposed on an ad hoc basis. Sites are locally created and managed.

Implement DAM. Implement Web Content Management. Redesign content creation processes to facilitate content reuse. Develop reuse metrics and monitor performance

32. Able to predict and control the growth of electronic and physical storage.

Major Gap

No measurements or metrics in place.

Develop KPMs for physical and electronic storage and archive. Identify key areas of need and develop countermeasures. Target areas of major growth fn physical storage for movement to electronic solutions.

Compare user requirements with the data model to measure current state.


Personas

content audit

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• Personas are representations of users Fictitious archetype of a person Embodies various characteristic, attitudes and quirks Includes lifestyle, education, demographics Can have multiple personas for a particular role or user type

• Apply knowledge about personas to the taxonomy: differences in terminology and controlled vocabulary differences in categorization (within a uniform collection) differences in association, relatedness differences overall approaches

• Taking the long view: multiple audience-driven entry points anticipatory navigation, suggestion building up the It thinks how I think impression


• Personal Profile• Ben Armstrong knows he’s a lucky guy,

since most of his life he’s been able to get by without a larger “life plan” in place.

• When it came time to select a college, Ben chose the arts program at NYU not because of its reputation, but because it was relatively close by and he liked art. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to make it his career, but he was willing to give it a shot.

• It was a savvy choice, not for what it taught him, but for the two people he met while he was there. The first was his friend Todd, the other was his future wife Sandy. Ken realized that while Todd wasn’t much of a painter, he had a fantastic eye for emerging talent. When Todd offered him a position managing his new gallery, Ben didn’t even think twice. Turns out that Todd was right, and the gallery has been growing increasingly more successful.

• Despite the gallery’s growing success, Sandy is definitely the breadwinner of the Armstrong household. Since she is usually either involved with her career or the children, Sandy has ceded control of the family’s finances to Ben, which he’s handled capably, if not entirely intuitively. He’s wary of overspending, but will occasionally splurge on “fun” items such as toys for the kids or a Calphalon pot for the kitchen.

• Although technologically facile, Ben only uses the family computer when he has to. He doesn’t delve very deeply into search results, preferring to settle on something that’s “good enough” to match most of what he’s looking for.

Ben Armstrong Domestic Consumer

“I want technology to enhance, not define, my life.”

background• 27-year-old, married, man, 2 young children,

Democrat• BFA in Art from NYU. Works as a gallery manager in

Manhattan; owns a 2BR apartment in Hoboken. Does not own a car.

• Wife works in publishing• $150K combined income / $160K net worth ($100K

in home equity)• Hobbies: High-end audio, fan of new music and vinyl• Favorite Web sites: Salon, Food Network, Yahoo!

Ticker, Gorp.com, Bank of New York. Has a PayPal account.

attributes• Somewhat afraid of risk; can be impulsive if sure of

something• Investigates only a few competing web service

options• Prefers human rather than online experiences

site needs• Values an aesthetic user experience• Sophisticated back-end functionality that minimizes

the need for further research• Informative, relevant information that quickly

explains and defines his needs• Appreciates highly personalized on-line experience• Unaware of privacy and security issues• Ability for site to grow as his relationship with it

matures

Featured Scenario:

Scenario

Feature

Behavior

Although he’d been trying to avoid it, Ben has come to the realization that he really needs to research his family’s insurance needs. This is mostly due to the fact that his friend Todd, the owner of the gallery where Ben works, was shocked when Ben told him that he didn’t have life insurance. “How can you not have life insurance,” Todd asked. “You’ve got two kids!” During some downtime in the afternoon, Ben uses the gallery’s computer to see what he can find out about financial planning in general, and life insurance in particular.

• Ben does a Google search on “life insurance”• Among the returned links are insurance information sites and providers; primary

among them is ABC• He clicks on the link to abc.com• Ben types “life insurance” in the Search field• Site presents Ben with life stages information and a “total insurance and financial

plan.” Ben prints these so that he can show Ken.• On a lark, Ben performs a Google search on “ABC agent” and notes that one has

an e-mail address. He quickly shoots an e-mail to that broker with a request for info.

• Ben runs his info by Todd to validate he is on the right track. He also phones and picks the brain of the agent he e-mailed, though he has no intention of purchasing insurance at that time.

• Three months later, while watching Trading Spaces, Ben sees an ABC commercial, reminds himself of his needs for Insurance, and calls his broker back the next day!

Alternative Scenarios• Ben decides to get started on a comprehensive financial plan• Ben, in a follow-up visit to abc.com, is cross-sold homeowners insurance• Ben is already a customer• Ben has an auto policy with ABC, and needs to make a claim

“Understand, educate and transact on the customer’s terms”

• Persistent information• Has own “account,” like he has with his bank• Audience segmentation, well-managed content• Easy access to offline resources• Optimized search• Value-added calculators & other widgets

Ben finds and uses the abc.com website to learn about his family insurance needs

Audience: Consumer

Country: USA

Language: English

Personas


Task Analysis

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• Audiences need content to support their tasks.


Task Analysis

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Approximately 100 tasks plus several not covered


Task Analysis

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Use Cases and User Scenarios

• Users can be identified by their characteristics, tendencies, preferences, and aptitudes through the development of user profiles and personas.

• A profile is a description of a user role based on their job tasks and objectives.

• A persona is a description of their personality and details of their lifestyle.

• Use cases are specific, step-by-step interactions with a system.

• A scenario is a day-in-the-life, higher-level description of the things that users need to accomplish.

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Workflow and Process

• Use cases provide step-by-step instructions. They describe how each type of user interacts with an application. They are also depicted as diagrams that visualize the steps and paths needed to complete a task...

• Use cases can be used to test the ability to locate specific content through labeling, hierarchy, and faceted keyword search.

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Example Scenario

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Example Use Case

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mental models


wireframes


Audience Analysis & Personalization

• Active personalization design (by role):Pull of content to users based on personal preference

• Passive personalization design (by role):Push of predefined content targeted to users based on audience

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes

Matrix included:• Role Mapping • Applicable Systems• Preferred Content Types• Topical Interests• Required Content• Related Roles


Example of Active Personalization

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes

User Selected Preferences


Construction begins.

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes

Step Approach Output Design Artifact

1. Arrange and cluster terms

Post it note exercise, term generation, card sort and clustering

Navigational representation of content

Site map*

2. Contextualize terms Link scenarios to terms Conceptual representation of terms

Annotated site map

3. Create concept map around scenarios

Mind mapping Conceptual representation of themes and attributes

Mind map

4. Translate overarching theme into design constructs

Determine central theme and questions that a user seeks to answer

Mock up of user interaction and flow

Storyboard

5. Condense story boards into wireframes

Arrange themes into pages and attributes as search/navigational elements

Search, Navigation and Attribute interaction

Wireframe


Term Generation, Clustering and Card Sorting

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


Clustering/Grouping

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes

Goal is to have users group like types of content together in

meaningful ways.

Provide an intuitive, unambiguous and meaningful name for the group of content


• Site maps provide a visual illustration of the logical organization of site content.

• They can also serve as the basis for global navigation (and global context).

Site Map Design & Global Navigation

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes

Named Cluster


Wireframes

• Wireframes are a visual representation of how features, functionality, and content will appear in the user interface. Common elements Navigation Taxonomy integration Libraries and views Search experience

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


Wireframes

• Wireframes are a visual representation of how features, functionality, and content will appear in the user interface (e.g., page templates). common elements navigation taxonomy integration libraries and views search experience

There are many differentways to create wireframes,because the primary goalis idea communication.

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


Concept Modeling

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


Summary

• Taxonomy and metadata provide the foundation for user experience

• User experience is at the intersection of content models and user intent

• Use cases and user scenarios help to define the mental model of our audience

• Site maps are the physical representation of navigation

• Wireframes illustrate where all of the elements come together to present content in context supporting user tasks

• Starting with the correct foundation will allow for meaningful development of the user experience

content audit

taxonomy

metadata

content models

mental models


wireframes


SharePoint Information Architecture Updated for 2013

• The Information Architecture Process User Research & Requirements Gathering

Audience and Process Analysis

Roles, Responsibilities, Use cases, Personas and scenario development

• Managed Metadata and the Term Store Metadata Schemas and Taxonomy Development

Creating Managing and Term Sets

Using the Term Store for Navigation

Term Driven Pages

• Creating and Leveraging Content Types Properties (Site Columns, Workflow, IM Policies)

Content Modeling

Document Library Construction

• Wireframes and the User Experience Aligning Use Cases with Content

Developing Wireframes for Navigation and Search

• Designing Search Based Applications Result sources, Query rules, Result templates

Linguistic Processing

Search Metrics

Location Date

Arlington, VA March 13-15

Boston (Metro) May 8-10

3-Day Hands-on Course


Whitepapers

http://info.earley.com/what-is-the-business-value-of-taxonomy/

Digital Asset Managementhttp://info.earley.com/download-whitepaper-critical-success-for-dam-project/

Information Supply Chainhttp://info.earley.com/retail-whitepaper-use-taxonomy-to-optimize-retail-information-supply-chain/

Get it here:

Other Whitepaper Topics

The Role of Taxonomy & Metadata in Searchhttp://info.earley.com/taxonomy-metadata-search-whitepaper-request-download/


Contact

Seth EarleyCEO

_____________________________

EARLEY & ASSOCIATES, Inc.Cell: 781-820-8080Email: [email protected] Web: www.earley.com Follow me on twitter: @sethearleyConnect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sethearley

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.earley.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sethearley

User-Centric Design: How to Leverage Use Cases and User Scenarios to Design SharePoint Functionality...

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