Ia - Idea Plan Build

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A PROCESS BY ANY OTHER NAME…

Applying Information Architecture With Bridges, Cooking & Hardware

Adam Polansky Lead Information Architect Travelocity.com

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Maybe because it's entirely an artist's eye, patience and skill that makes an image and not his tools. Ken Rockwell, Your Camera Does Not Matter, 2005

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So there’s this guy….

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THERE AIN’T NO RECIPE!

Good Thing: IA is becoming recognized in more firms. Bad Thing: Misguided demand for a process based on artifacts. Worse Thing: Push-back because time needed for artifacts seen as bottle-neck 14

Shhhhhh!

Matters not…. the process does

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COMMON FOR ALL PROCESSES

IA

Ide a

IA

Pla n

Build

Every development process includes three basic areas of activity. The job of the IA is to find ways to close the gaps between them

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INFORMATION TRANSFER

Info Origin

Vehicle

Destination Disposition

• Look at these elements. • Characterize the forces that act upon them. • Decide what you can do to bridge the communication gaps. 17

CHARACTERIZATION FORCES Time Cost Quality Skill Sets Domain Expertise Institutional Knowledge Location of Resources Size of Team New Development System Constraints Mature or Existing Product New Technology Need For Archived Documents Need For Research

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FACTORING FORCES IN

Ide a

FORCES?

FORCES?

IA

IA

Pla n • Conversation • White board • Thumbnail Sketch • Process Flow • Site Map • Lo-Fi Wireframe • Hi-Fi Wireframe • Interactive Wireframe

Build

• Annotated Wireframe • Annotated Mock-ups • Narrative Document • Interaction-Level Spec

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FACTORING FORCES IN Developing a Web Site

Idea

Plan

Build

IF: • The team is small • They’ve all worked together on the product before • They’re all located in the same room • Time is short (but reasonable) • The features exist elsewhere in the site • Documentation exists from previous projects THEN: • White-board session to see where high level changes occur • Tactical Wireframes to model the functionality • Annotated Screen shots from existing product to show where changes occur

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FACTORING FORCES IN Developing a Web Site

Idea

Plan

Build

BUT… IF: • The team is small • Some of them worked together on the product before • Some of them are located in Bangalore and they are new to the team • Time is short (but reasonable) • The features are new to the site • No documentation exists from previous projects THEN: • Process Flows to see where high level changes occur • Tactical Wireframes to model the functionality • Detailed functional spec to include screen shots and interaction details

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It’s not the process. It’s not the tools. It’s the practitioner.

Choose artifacts based upon your understanding of the forces that will affect communication 29

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Special Thanks To… Travelocity IA Team –Leah Cave, Candy Bernhardt, Jay Fichialos, Jo Anne Wright, Vinu Singh, Jason Chloupek, Miriam CabralYnocencio, Sonya Smith-Wong, Valerie Milner, Val Jolls Ryan Kowalczyk – Compiling and releasing the Wireframe stencil Michelle Peluso, Jeff Glueck, Troy Whitsett, Dana Thomas & Noel Holmes – The chance to prove this stuff Marc Rettig – External Validation Travelocity Customer Experience Team – General Support All the contributing photographers at Morguefile.com

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