信息组织架构信息组织架构19uxmatters-IndexPagesUnsuspectedProject-ProfitabilityKillers.docxVIP

Index Pages: Unsuspected Project-Profitability Killers By Nicola Rovetta Published: October 4, 2010 “This article cautions youagainst following a common information-architecture practice that can have negative consequences in terms of costs: the creation of index pages that correspond to a single item in a category.” During an information architecture project, creating index pages for items within categories can result in a lot of unexpected work. Organizing and classifying a Web sites’ content when you’re developing its information architecture (IA) is one of the key activities you must undertake to deliver a usable site. Designing an information architecture to ensure users can reliably reach the information they want—and in less time—is the main focus of an information architect’s work. To accomplish this goal, information architects employ user-centered design methods, keeping users at a project’s center. Over the years, the design and development of user interfaces for products and services has evolved, resulting in design conventions and best practices that we follow when designing a user interface. However, following common practice can occasionally lead us astray. This article cautions you against following a common information-architecture practice that can have negative consequences in terms of costs: the creation of index pages that correspond to a single item in a category. During the site-mapping phase of a IA project, an information architect typically groups subsections under broader categories of items, with the goal of helping users find the content they are seeking among fewer options. Thus, they create directories of groups of links. What Users Expect “When we create directories comprising categories of links, most users assume that clicking a category label will simply display that category’s list of links … rather than displaying new content….” When we create directories comprising categories of links, most users assume that clicking a categor