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Modeling the Content Experience: Delivering the Right Content, to the Right Person, in the Right Place, at the Right Time
The document outlines a workshop on content experience modeling led by Andrea L. Ames at the 2017 STC Summit, focusing on delivering effective content strategies through structured information architecture. Key topics include defining use, content, and access models, and understanding the roles of information architecture in enhancing user experiences and achieving business goals. The workshop aims to equip participants with actionable strategies for modeling their enterprise content experience to improve client success.
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Modeling the Content Experience: Delivering the Right Content, to the Right Person, in the Right Place, at the Right Time
- 1. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Modeling the Content Experience: Delivering the Right Content, to the Right Person, in the Right Place, at the Right Time Andrea L. Ames, IBM @aames Senior Technical Staff Member & Enterprise Content Experience Strategist/Architect/Designer 07 May 2017 Washington, D.C. Much of the material in this deck was developed in partnership with Alyson Riley and is used with permission © IBM Corporation 2017. All Rights Reserved
- 2. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 2 About Andrea Areas of expertise Content experience: Content strategy, content architecture, and interaction design for content display and delivery, within products and interactive content delivery systems Architecture, design, and development of embedded assistance (content within or near the product user interface) Content and product usability, from analysis through validation User-centered process for content and content experience development IBM Senior Technical Staff Member/Enterprise Content Experience Strategist, chief content strategists for the IBM Digital Integrated Content Center of Excellence UCSC in Silicon Valley “Technical Writing and Communication” certificate program chair and instructor STC Fellow, past president (2004-05) and former member of Board of Directors (1998-2006) ACM Distinguished Engineer @aames
- 3. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Agenda Workshop introduction Level set: Information architecture Process and pre-work: Requirements, scenarios, and experience design Developing and applying models: Use, content, and access 3 @aames
- 4. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Setting the scene for the workshop Experiential through exercises The project is merely the bagel (or cracker-–your choice) on which to deliver the cream-cheesy goodness of the modeling concepts J The scope of the project and discussion is primarily product-specific, due to time constraints There’s more, and I’ll occasionally mention the “more” If you're a smart content strategist, information architect, technical communicator, etc., you'll be thinking about the “more” and trying to integrate Whenever there’s time, I’ll address the “more” questions For “more,” see (URLs in references): 2013 LavaCon Unified Content Strategy Workshop session: Building a Content Strategy Ecosystem 2013 STC Summit Strategic IA Bootcamp certificate 4 @aames
- 5. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 5 Success factors Share a definition of content experience modeling—understand what models are and why they are important Take away some actionable ways that you can approach modeling your own enterprise content experience Understand the general modeling process, from analysis and requirements definition through delivery of a release-specific information architecture, and how it functions within the product development process Define and create use, content, and access models Apply abstract models to create a concrete IA for a specific product release Have fun! @aames
- 6. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Level set: Information architecture @aames
- 7. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 7 Information architecture: A simple definition Information architecture is about Delivering high-value content In an effective content experience That enables client success @aames
- 8. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 8 Information architecture: 2 scopes Strategic IA (aka Content Strategy) § Abstract § Typical tasks include: —Architect a product’s total information experience (not just technical docs) Tactical IA § Concrete § Typical tasks include: —Update a navigation tree according to design guidelines and standards —Apply models and guidelines to develop information architecture for a product release or self-contained information deliverable —Solve architectural issues with guidance from a strategic information architect (IA) or information strategist —Develop a cross-product or portfolio information experience —Prioritize requirements —Apply models in new and novel ways to get validated improvements in the end-to- end information experience —Provide input for model or guideline improvement —Create and validate new models and guidelines @aames
- 9. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 9 IA in technical communication Concrete resultProduct-specific details + = We deliver consistent information architecture across a diversity of teams and products through a repeatable process that involves applying concrete data to abstract architectural models. Abstract model @aames
- 10. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 10 IA impact: On the client experience Our customers—and probably yours, too!— consistently request: § Better retrievability § Solution-oriented information § A seamless information experience Good information architecture fulfills these requests by delivering: § Retrievable information § Consumable information § Cohesive information based on a consistent mental model, especially across products § Appropriate information—that is, only the information our customers need, where and when they need it, for their particular business goals @aames
- 11. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 11 IA impact: On business strategy and success Effective information architecture contributes to: § Product awareness, interest, and consideration—through aligning all aspects of the information experience to ensure strong, visible, consistent messaging (does your technical information prove what your marketing information promises?) § Mindshare—through content that is ranked highly by search engines and information experiences that generate social capital (which also leads to awareness, interest, and consideration—key precursors to revenue opportunities) § Sales and revenue—through referrals from technical information and reuse in sales collateral § Customer satisfaction by: Reducing time-to-value and speeding time-to-success Reducing total cost of ownership Reducing customer support calls @aames
- 12. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 12 Use Model Common scenarios that describe interactions between users and content Content Model Building blocks— how we create content to make reusable, consistent assets Access Model Navigation, wayfinding, discovery, and retrieval— how users find information Progressive disclosure Model for revealing only the content that users really need Navigation patterns Consistent structures for content retrieval based on user goals and tasks Content types Definitions and templates used to deliver consistent, complete content Taxonomy & metadata Classification schemes that help IBM manage and reuse its content and customers find it Tagging & labels Consistent labeling and tagging of content, by IBM and its clients Search Methods to ensure that content and structures are optimized for search Information Model Abstract model to which teams add unique offering details to create concrete, consistent IA + = Models in IA We use these architectural models: … to help us define and apply: … to deliver high-value content in an information experience that enables client success.@aames
- 13. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Process and pre-work @aames
- 14. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit The information architecture process 14 design analyze develop deploy maintain plan § Development plans § User needs § Business strategy § Information & UX strategy § Deep understanding of company and customers § Scenarios § Information requirements § High-level architecture § Inputs to information and quality plans § Infrastructure and other requirements § Detailed architecture § Education § Design validation and design iterations § Additional plan inputs § User validation data and analysis § Draft of next-release IA § User validation data and analysis § Usage stats and trend analysis § Customer feedback § Issue resolution § Further refined draft of next- release IA § Usage stats and trend analysis § Customer feedback § Issue resolution § Requirements for next release § High-level IA for next release @aames
- 15. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 15 Identifying and prioritizing requirements Identifying requirements involves scientific research, followed by artful analysis. The process looks like this: 1. Gather business data 2. Gather client data 3. Gather the current content ecosystem 4. Gather history 5. Gather political landscape 6. Extract requirements from data 7. Prioritize requirements After completing this task, you will have: § A deep, nuanced understanding of business strategy, market drivers, client needs, why things are the way they are, and what it will take to drive change in the current climate § A list of business and user requirements for your information architecture to address >>> > > @aames
- 16. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 16 Where requirements come from Portfolio technical strategy Marketing Product management DevelopmentInformation team Manager Customers Corporate strategy Division Portfolio business strategy Information architect Interaction design Industry trends @aames
- 17. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 17 Developing scenarios Before you can define an architecture, you have to know what your users need: 1. Define your users 2. Define their goals, tasks, and motives 3. Identify the content that would be high- value to them After completing this task, you will have a collection of scenarios that define: § Who your clients are—buyers, users, etc. § What they already know § What they need to know § Why they need to know it >>> > > @aames
- 18. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Content Presentation Delivery Navigation User Message Motivation Form/format Layout Where When Organization Structure Users: The center of the content experience Bring their perceptions and judgments Access the target of their motivation—content – through layers of experience If well designed, enable user-content interaction If poorly designed, inhibit user-content interaction Effective content experience 18
- 19. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Creating and applying models
- 20. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 20 IA & models IA is scientific: It requires us to follow repeatable processes It requires us to clearly define metrics It requires us to define and validate theories It requires us to identify variables It requires us to know about things like human cognition IA is art: We develop a deep understanding of the human experience We create meaning We create simplicity and elegance out of complexity and chaos Models help IAs blend science and art to achieve measurable results: They help us follow the scientific method by defining and refining theories until we achieve predictable, consistent results They help us ask the right questions, discover patterns, and tolerate the ambiguity that comes from dealing with people They help us discover solutions by applying concepts in a systematic manner nuanced by a vision for the human experience—NOT by following rules and recipes @aames
- 21. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 21 Models, defined: an example Model house §A blueprint that shows the ideal state of the whole and ideal relationships between constituent components §A pattern for perfection §A representation of what’s possible if price were no object Real house § Might differ from the model— sometimes significantly—but is still recognizable as a home § Purpose, form, and structure are the same § Details may vary as a result of the humans involved @aames
- 22. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 22 Lessons about models from our model home example Models are a pattern, not a rule Patterns are always adapted to the “fabric” with which you’re working Fundamental purpose, form, and structure remain the same Details may vary according to human need or circumstances FNote: If your circumstances include things like “the developer says so” or “but we’ve always done it this way,” we strongly encourage you to roll up your sleeves and fight for your user! Sometimes details are a big deal Which house would you want to live in? Good architects leverage the flexibility of the model only in ways that benefit the humans involved (example: “I just don’t like windows” isn’t a reason to break from the model) Good architects always balance business issues (cost, time, etc.) with user issues (wants and needs) What’s boring in neighborhoods can be good for user experiences Consistency is predictability Consistency leads to recognizable brands and strong identity @aames
- 23. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 23 Why models? Models help businesses think Think, not cut-and-paste For many larger organizations, it’s too expensive to develop templates for every possible design context Templates are hard-coded and can’t handle more than cut-and-paste design work Scalability and adaptability Abstract models scale with increases in complexity, number and diversity of users Models are abstract, and as a result, ensure the information architecture remains above the fray of trends and change Abstract models can be adapted to handle technological innovation, changes in strategy, flux in a product portfolio, new business processes, and evolution in the market Focus on high-value user interactions Abstract models force an organization to identify, prioritize, and design for the user interactions that are critical to business success Technology, marketing strategies, and brand identity may evolve— core user interactions are more stable Consistency, with room for creativity Abstract models can be used to align all aspects of a content experience Abstract models drive focus on predictable user interactions while allowing for interesting change at the presentation level @aames
- 24. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 24 Why models? Models help users think What users want to think about Users want to think about their primary goals and tasks Users do not want to spend time on figuring out how to use our frameworks to achieve their goals and tasks Our job is to eliminate cognitive load and help users focus mental space on what’s really important to them Toward an invisible architecture Good abstract models are based on cognitive science and user-centered design principles As such, abstract models help us deliver an information architecture that users don’t have to think about Abstract models help our users maintain focus the things they really care about— not navigating our framework Abstract models make obvious things like: What to do next Where to go next Whether the information answers the question How to find more or different information that will answer the question Thanks to Steve Krug and his first law of usability— “Don't make me think!” @aames
- 25. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 25 Why models? Models help communicators think Abstract models remove the guesswork for technical communicators Abstract models provide a framework for teams to think through things like: Access Delivery Content Presentation Currency Maintenance Invaluable for teams new to information architecture or who lack a dedicated information architect on their projects Abstract models encapsulate lots of helpful theory The best abstract models reflect current theory and research into human cognition, user information-seeking and processing behaviors, and so on This enables teams to focus less on theory and more on the specifics of their target users and their needs, and how best to apply the models in their design contexts Teams learn by experience, with a solid foundation @aames
- 26. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 26 Why models? Models help IAs think Abstract models encourage an IA to: Keep user needs and business strategy in the forefront of her thinking Take risks and be creative in an intelligent, calculated, data- centered, purpose-driven manner Maintain the integrity of the overarching experience—that is, ensure that the fundamental purpose, form, and structure of the information experience remain the same Tailor an information experience to meet specific user needs or business challenges—that is, allow freedom in the details as dictated by user need Avoid confining an information experience to template boundaries Keep the focus on outcomes—results, not rules @aames
- 27. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 27 Key types of models Use Model Content Model Access Model Information Model Defines ideal interactions between users and information—what they need, why they need it, what they’re doing when they need it, and how they’ll use it. Defines standard building blocks of content, from the atomic level to larger “deliverables,” including subject, presentation, taxonomy, and metadata. Defines a vision for how users will find your information, including organization, structure, relationships between chunks of information and full deliverables, and a big picture view of navigation strategies. Defines how all dimensions of the information experience fit together and how content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to produce a concrete, project- specific, and user-centered information architecture @aames
- 28. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 28 Developing a Use Model: Steps 1. Develop use scenarios. Describe user interactions with the system. Develop a scenario for each type of system/subsystem in the product, offering, or solution. List the high-value tasks (vs. system features). 2. Develop information-use scenarios. Describe the ideal user interaction with content. Ensure that information scenarios follow use scenarios. 3. Validate the model. @aames
- 29. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 29 Developing a Use Model: Result A standard set of scenarios that describe an optimal user experience with information A standard set of user information requirements for specific product or system contexts A document describing how the use model can be applied to produce an offering-specific information architecture @aames
- 30. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 1. Leverage your use model to determine users’ information needs: The subjects and atomic units of information your users will need The best ways to structure and combine the information The best presentation style and media to communicate the information The deliverable (or delivery vehicle) that will work best 2. Standardize common subjects of information in an enterprise-level taxonomy (a structured collection of terms that describe what the information is about). 3. Standardize your list of required atomic units of information—the information objects that you can’t break down into smaller pieces without making them meaningless. 4. Define standard information deliverables and delivery vehicles, specifying how to combine atomic units of information and common subjects to deliver understandable, stand-alone information products that humans will see and touch. 5. Develop presentation templates, indicating how to use media to present the information deliverables for human consumption. 6. Validate your model. 30 Developing a Content Model: Steps @aames
- 31. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 31 Developing a Content Model: Result A document describing required and optional deliverables (collections of information atoms), how they relate to one another and are used and delivered, and how the content model can be applied to produce an offering-specific information architecture A collection of templates—one for each deliverable—describing the required and optional elements of each @aames
- 32. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 32 Developing an Access Model: Steps 1. Leverage your use model to determine how users are most likely to access (or need to access) your content to: Searching for and finding relevant information Following leads when searching Scanning an information space to develop a sense of its contents Staying informed about updates or new content Evaluating information for relevance Using information to achieve a goal 2. Define the overarching strategy for user access to information. 3. Depict how a collection of access methods work together to accommodate the wide range of user behaviors when navigating to and within an information space. 4. Validate your model. @aames
- 33. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit A document describing the overall access strategy, how multiple access methods work together, and the details about how specific areas of access can be supported, as well as how the content model can be applied to produce an offering-specific information architecture Any technology, business requirements, and user needs that emerge from the detailed access-related patterns, schemes, and strategies 33 Developing an Access Model: Result @aames
- 34. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 34 Developing an Information Model: Steps 1. Start with the output of the other three modeling processes—use each of the other models as input to the Information Model. 2. Define a high-level information architecture that defines the entire information strategy and experience. 3. Define one or more low-level information architectures that are focused on the details of specific pieces of the total information solution. 4. Validate your model. @aames
- 35. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 35 Developing an Information Model: Result A written description of an information strategy—that is, a document describing the abstract model that includes: How all dimensions of the information experience fit together How content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to the abstract information model in order to produce a concrete, project-specific, and user-centered information architecture @aames
- 36. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 36 Applying models Apply the models to create a detailed, prioritized, information architecture for a specific product (or release): 1. Develop the high-level design 2. Develop the product- or release-specific Use Model 3. Consider the Content Model to determine what content collections should be provided and how the content will be presented 4. Consider the Access Model to determine how users will find the content After completing this task, you will have: A detailed information architecture defining: § What content will be provided § Where/when in the users’ task flow it will be provided § How the content will be delivered § How the content will be presented § How users will find the content § Priorities for the content § Mockups and designs for specific, high-focus content components, such as “Welcome” >>> > > @aames
- 37. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 37 Applying your models, part 1 Models have value when applied systematically: They enable IAs to develop usable architectures that in turn make it easy for users to accomplish their goals with your product, project, solution or other kind of offering. They provide a consistent information experience across multiple products, product families, or enterprises—even if information in various places are developed by different writers and architects, or if offerings have different product strategies or goals. They also help writing teams by providing a framework for discovering important details such as: The order of user tasks Which tasks to emphasize (and not) The appropriate level of detail to include The type of information to provide (expertise vs. “click this”) The potential for gaps between tasks or across components or products Content to include in any examples or samples @aames
- 38. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 38 Applying your models, part 2 It’s important to validate across several different instances of the applied model to ensure that the model works when instantiated with various types of products or systems. The key to applying the models is in the process of developing your offering-specific information architecture. 38 @aames
- 39. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Questions? Comments? 39 @aames
- 40. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit References and resources @aames
- 41. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 41 References Building a Content Strategy Ecosystem, LavaCon Unified Content Strategy Workshop, April 2013: http://slidesha.re/17S782A (or http://www.slideshare.net/aames/creating-a-content-strategy-ecosystem) Strategic Information Architecture Boot Camp, STC Summit, May 2013: http://slidesha.re/1t4o7eu (or http://www.slideshare.net/akriley/stc2013-strategic-iacertcourseallchartsamesriley) @aames
- 42. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 42 Additional resources Online resources: The Society for Technical Communication—http://www.stc.org Intercom magazine’s January 2012 issue—a special edition devoted to information architecture! Boxes and Arrows—http://www.boxesandarrows.com The Information Architecture Institute—http://iainstitute.org Print resources: James Kalbach. “Designing for Information Foragers: A Behavioral Model for Information Seeking on the World Wide Web.” Internetworking, Internet Technical Group newsletter. 27 January 2001. Available at http://www.internettg.org/newsletter/dec00/article_information_foragers.html. William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler. Universal Principles of Design. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. (ISBN 978-1592535873) Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media. (ISBN 978-0596527341) Jeffrey Rubin and Dan Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing, 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc. (ISBN 978-0470185483) Richard Saul Wurman. Peter Bradford, ed. Information Architects. New York: Graphis. (ISBN 978- 1888001389) @aames
- 43. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Backup Model-development details @aames
- 44. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Defines how all dimensions of the information experience fit together and how content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to produce a concrete, project- specific, and user-centered information architecture 44 Key types of models Content Model Access Model Information Model Defines ideal interactions between users and information—what they need, why they need it, what they’re doing when they need it, and how they’ll use it. Defines standard building blocks of content, from the atomic level to larger “deliverables,” including subject, presentation, taxonomy, and metadata. Defines a vision for how users will find your information, including organization, structure, relationships between chunks of information and full deliverables, and a big picture view of navigation strategies. Use Model @aames
- 45. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 45 Developing a Use Model, part 1 1. Develop use scenarios Describe user interactions with the system. Develop a scenario for each type of system/subsystem in offering/solution. Be sure the scenarios provide insight into questions such as: Who are the users? What are their goals? What’s the purpose of the product, system or solution? What tasks will users do with the product? (Be sure to decompose high-level tasks into lower-level tasks or procedures. Identify prerequisite tasks and any dependencies for successful task completion.) Which tasks are the high-value ones necessary for achieving a broader goal, and which ones are tasks merely required as a result of product design or system features? @aames
- 46. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 46 Developing a Use Model, part 2 2. Develop information-use scenarios Describe the ideal user interaction with content. Ensure that information scenarios follow use scenarios. Be sure the scenarios provide insight into questions such as: What information do users need to complete the tasks defined in the product- or system-usage scenarios, and at what points during product use is the information needed? What information do users need to achieve their broader business or personal objectives? How will users experience or interact with that information, both for their own goals and as required by product or system tasks? Be sure to address this question for each of the necessary tasks you have defined in your product or system lifecycle. How close to the product or system user interface does the information need to be? Is it the interface? Or does it support the interface? Is it task-disruptive to take the user away from the primary product or system interface to access the information they need? @aames
- 47. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 47 Developing a Use Model, part 3 3. Validate the model. Socialize it. Conduct reviews with members of your IA community. Validate with customers, in several concrete contexts, if possible. @aames
- 48. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Defines how all dimensions of the information experience fit together and how content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to produce a concrete, project- specific, and user-centered information architecture 48 Key types of models Use Model Access Model Information Model Defines ideal interactions between users and information—what they need, why they need it, what they’re doing when they need it, and how they’ll use it. Defines standard building blocks of content, from the atomic level to larger “deliverables,” including subject, presentation, taxonomy, and metadata. Defines a vision for how users will find your information, including organization, structure, relationships between chunks of information and full deliverables, and a big picture view of navigation strategies. Content Model @aames
- 49. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 49 Developing a Content Model, part 1 1. Leverage your use model to determine users’ information needs: The subjects and atomic units of information your users will need The best ways to structure and combine these building blocks of information to reflect the user’s task flow The best presentation style and media to communicate this information to users given their skills and the tasks they’re trying to accomplish, such as, interaction or information, text or images, static images or moving images, audio, or combinations of these The deliverable (or delivery vehicle) that will work best, such as, product- or system-embedded information, topics and multimedia in a hypertext environment, animation with voice- over, podcast @aames
- 50. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 50 Developing a Content Model, part 2 2. Standardize common subjects of information, or a common collection of terms that describe what the information is about, in an enterprise-level taxonomy. 3. Standardize your list of required atomic units of information, or the information objects that you can’t break down into smaller pieces without making them meaningless. Hint: Consider DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) and its information types (concept, task, and so on) and specializations. @aames
- 51. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 51 Developing a Content Model, part 3 4. Define standard information deliverables and delivery vehicles, or how you combine atomic units of information and common subjects to deliver understandable, stand-alone information products that humans will see and touch. 5. Develop presentation templates, or how you will use media to present the information deliverables for human consumption. Consider the templates necessary to ensure an integrated, consistent user experience. Develop new templates by starting with those that are most impactful to your user’s information experience or that support business priorities. @aames
- 52. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 52 Developing a Content Model, part 4 6. Validate your model. Socialize it. Conduct reviews with members of the enterprise-wide IA community. Validate with customers, in several concrete content contexts, if possible. @aames
- 53. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Defines how all dimensions of the information experience fit together and how content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to produce a concrete, project- specific, and user-centered information architecture 53 Key types of models Use Model Content Model Information Model Defines ideal interactions between users and information—what they need, why they need it, what they’re doing when they need it, and how they’ll use it. Defines standard building blocks of content, from the atomic level to larger “deliverables,” including subject, presentation, taxonomy, and metadata. Defines a vision for how users will find your information, including organization, structure, relationships between chunks of information and full deliverables, and a big picture view of navigation strategies. Access Model @aames
- 54. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit Developing an Access Model, part 1 Stay informed about updates or new content How will you ensure that users have the most up-to-date content? How will you communicate the availability of fresh or refreshed content? Evaluate information for relevance How will you help users discover the value of your information as it relates to their goals and needs? What techniques will you use to distinguish information objects from one another? Will you allow users to apply their own metadata to help themselves and others with differentiation? Use information to achieve a goal What techniques will you use for in-page or in- task wayfinding and discovery? Will you allow users to customize the information or the space for their own use, and if so, how? Search for and finding relevant information How do your chosen approaches for information delivery impact its findability? What are the likely entry points into your information architecture—marketing pages, out-of-box materials, Google, “likes” on Facebook? How will your information architecture promote search engine optimization (SEO)? Follow leads when searching How will users find their way through your information space once they’ve found it? Where do your users want or need to go next? How will you enable discovery? Scan an information space to develop a sense of its contents How will you enable users to develop a good mental model of the information within a particular space? How will users self-locate within a navigation hierarchy or other structure? 54 1. Leverage your use model to determine how users are most likely to access (or need to access) your content to: @aames
- 55. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 55 Developing an Access Model, part 2 2. Define the overarching strategy for user access to information. 3. Depict (with text, images, wireframes and prototypes) how a collection of access methods work together to accommodate the wide range of user behaviors when navigating to and within an information space. Drill down into the user experience and interface associated with specific areas of access, and define things typically associated with IA work like navigation patterns, labeling schemes and linking strategies. 4. Validate your model: Socialize it. Conduct reviews with members of the enterprise-wide IA community. Validate with customers, in several concrete content contexts, if possible. @aames
- 56. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 56 Key types of models Use Model Content Model Access Model Defines ideal interactions between users and information—what they need, why they need it, what they’re doing when they need it, and how they’ll use it. Defines standard building blocks of content, from the atomic level to larger “deliverables,” including subject, presentation, taxonomy, and metadata. Defines a vision for how users will find your information, including organization, structure, relationships between chunks of information and full deliverables, and a big picture view of navigation strategies. Information Model Defines how all dimensions of the information experience fit together and how content teams can apply product-, solution-, project- or other kinds of offering-specific details to produce a concrete, project- specific, and user-centered information architecture @aames
- 57. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 57 Developing an Information Model, part 1 1. Start with the output of the other three modeling processes—use each of the other models as input to the Information Model. 2. Define a high-level information architecture that defines the entire information strategy and experience. 3. Define one or more low-level information architectures that are focused on the details of specific pieces of the total information solution. Example: Business strategy or product usability issues might require an information architect to give particular focus to the information strategy in support of a product out-of-box experience—one specific piece within an overarching information architecture. @aames
- 58. Content Experience ModelingWorkshop—2017 STC Summit 58 Developing an Information Model, part 2 4.Validate your model. Socialize it. Conduct reviews with members of the enterprise-wide IA community. Validate with customers, in several concrete content contexts, if possible. @aames