Paul Sizemore

Paul Sizemore  //  

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Information Architecture

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Nov 21 / 8:31am

IA and the prospect to lead cycle

Navigation, Information Architecture (IA) and site maps helps users understand where they are on the site, and helps them quickly get to where they want to go. Users will not continue to use a site that is difficult to use. Because of this, navigation and IA is a core requirement to align with the online prospect to lead cycle.

It's very important that the navigational elements are consistent across the entire site. This allows users to have a visual indicator of where they are on the site, and determine where they want to go. It's of utmost importance that users know what the links are, and they are not confused with other elements of the site. Stay consistent. Often users end up minesweeping for links (moving the mouse to what they think is a link to ensure that it is a link). That scores up a deficient site in user's eyes. 

Users that arrive on site through searches have to have an easy way to understand the site IA and navigate around their destination to refine their information. The easiest way to alleviate this is to have  breadcrumb navigation. 

As far as the prospect to lead, it's important that the site's IA mirror the user's trigger events or personas. This will allow immediate identification of needed information, and you can define a site segmentation consistent with that trigger event. Once the user is on that path, you can pull the content pages that are applicable to that segmentation. Move that prospect to lead cycle up each time that user visits the site. 

For example, if the user goes to the third step of a prospect to lead cycle of 20 steps, the next time the user visits the home page, highlight the fourth step in the process. 

Remember, your site needs to be designed to help your prospects. The IA needs to be task-based in most cases. Help them find what they want to find, and you'll have returning visitors, and then leads. In most cases sites mirror a company's organizational structure, and not the hierarchy of prospect needs. 

Gather the requirements from your prospects, not your staff. 
Filed under  //  IA   Information Architecture   Internet Marketing  

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Nov 2 / 1:44pm

Outputs of Information Architecture

Site-level concerns are often overlooked, as developers are charged with balancing the visible page-level Human Factors, Interaction Design and Usability engineering. The implications are long lasting, especially as the site grows and become a complex and growing system. 

Below is a breakdown of areas that are often left behind, and a list of outputs. Comparing the list to the outputs from your process can help you find the process gaps.

XD: Experience Design - XD is driven by the touch points between people and your site/brand; therefore, a major output of XD is to increase those touch points to create a stronger outcome. 

XD Outputs
customer lifecycle plan
marketing campaign
multichannel strategy

IA: Information Architecture - AI is information in complex systems bound by a model. It's building the way information is structured, and labeling it to support usability and findability. 

IA Outputs
taxonomies
site maps
flow diagrams
screen-level design
navigation maps
thesaurus
dictionary
prototypes
swimlane chart
wireframe

UX: User Experience - UX is looking at the system from the user's perspective, and how they interact with the information therein. 

UX Outputs
Usability Site Audit
flow diagrams
navigation maps
user stories
personas
site map
content inventory
wireframes/storyboards
prototypes
written specs
graphic mockups
Filed under  //  IA   Information Architecture  

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