start anywhere what Faceted Navigation is not good for

peter boersma

henning fischer

three locations

events

4,000 p a r t i c i p a n t s

20 c o u n t r i e s

50 c o n s u l t a n c i e s

consulting

e x p e r i e n c e

researche x p e r i e n c e

designe x p e r i e n c e

strategy

hundredso f a r t i c l e s

r+d

8b o o k s

thousandso f r e a d e r s

Adaptive Path helps teams and organizations create products and services that deliver great experiences to improve people’s lives.

our clients ask for it

“wouldn’t it be cool if...”“we want to...”

“we already have...”“can you make it like...”

Faceted Navigation 101

facets=

attributes of content items

navigation=

finding your wayin (an information) space

faceted navigation=

selectingattributes of content items

in order tofind your way

in an information space

typical design

facet1 value1.1(#) value1.2(#)

facet2 subfacet2.1(#) subfacet2.2(#)

item item item

item

item item item

item itemall content items(or none)

typical design

facet2 subfacet2.1(#) subfacet2.2(#)

value a.b (x)

item item item

item

item item

item itemall content items

whose attributes matchvalue a.b

typical design

facet2 subfacet2.1 value2.1.1(#) value2.1.2(#)

value a.b(x) subfacet c.d(x)

item item item

item itemall content items

whose attributes match value a.b and subfacet c.d

When to useFaceted Navigation

Good when:all your content items have

all the metadata

online magazines

books

training & events

software & tools

news

about Kluwer

scientific articles

Good when:your facets and values

actually distinguishcontent items

Good when:your users understandthe facets and values

When NOT to useFaceted Navigation

Not good when:your users may have problems with the UI

e.g. select/deselect facets,orthogonal hierarchies,controlled vocabulary

Not good when:your users prefer search

over browse

Not good when:your content items have

optional features

facets

facets

optionalfeatures

optionalfeatures

Not good when:you only have

a small collection

Not good when:your users are

in non-selection phases of the purchase process

Not good when:you want to

encourage serendipity

related

top 5

recent

soon

Known alternatives

search

directory listing

product tables,comparison charts

product configurators, wizards, advisors

top 5/10/50 lists

fewer products

Adaptive Path’sTips & Tricks

#1make sure thatselected facetsremove other,

non-relevant facets

#2at some point,

comparison charts may be a better solution

#3for products that appear in

many categories,add a “for general use”

facet/value

#4the order of facets

determines how they will be used

#5use faceted navigation

in combination withother navigation types

related

top 5

recent

soon

search & filter

#6“view all designs”

is not a filter

#7ask yourself:

should weuse faceted navigationfor all content types?

Summary

Goodwhen:

Not Good when:

- metadata in place- facets distinguish content items- users understand facets

- problems with UI- users prefer search- optional features- small collection- non-selection phases- serendipity

Alternatives- search- directory listings- product tables- comparison charts- configurators/wizards/advisors- top 5/10/50 lists- fewer products

Tips & Tricks

#1 selected facets remove non-relevant facets#2 comparison charts may be better#3 consider a “for general use” facet

#4 think about order of facets in interface

#5 combine facets with other navigation#6 “view all” is not a filter#7 use facets only for content where it makes sense

Questions?

start anywhere what Faceted Navigation is not good for

peter boersma

henning fischer