introduction to course and Final Project

The Sociology of Information Architecture, Alex Wright
Jesse James Garrett's intro to IA

Topic: Garrett's lifecycle method (basic IA systems)
Readings: Morville & Rosenfeld , chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4
Garrett, chapters 1& 2 and 8
Additional readings:
The Planes, and The Planes Detail, Jesse James Garrett
Information Architecture: A Rose by Any Other Name, Lynn Scott
Expanding Approaches to User Experience, George Olsen
The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface, Marcia Bates

Topic: Strategy (gathering requirements)
Readings: Garrett, chapter 3
Morville & Rosenfeld, chapter 10
Wodtke, chapter 4 and 7
Additional Readings:
Web Traffic Analytics and User Experience, Fran Diamond
Making Personas More Powerful: Details to Drive Strategic and Tactical Design, George Olsen
Extending a Technique: Group Personas, Mike Kuniavsky
Archetype Model Sample
Using Site Evaluations to Communicate with Clients, Dorelle Rabinowitz

Topic: Scope lecture
Readings: Garrett, chapter 4
Morville & Rosenfeld: chapter 11, 16
Wodtke, chapter 9
Additional Readings:
Representing Data and Content in Wire frames, Dan Brown
Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? (and why an IA should care), Dan Willis
Views and Forms: Principles of Task Flow for Web Applications Part 1, Bob Baxley
Wizards and Guides: Principles of Task Flow for Web Applications Part 2, Bob Baxley

Due: Draft project plan

Topic: Organization Systems, Labeling Systems (lecture)
Readings: Morville & Rosenfeld, chapter 5,6
Wodtke, chapters 1& 2, and 5
Understanding Visual Organization, Luke Wroblewski
Cognitive Psychology & IA: From Theory to Practice, Jason Withrow
Card Sorting: A Definitive Guide, Donna Maurer and Todd Warfel
Exercise: Information Architecture--evolution
http://web.archive.org/web/20000229130226/http://www.ddj.com/ (2000)
http://web.archive.org/web/20010118200300/http://www.ddj.com/ (2001)
http://web.archive.org/web/20020122054111/http://ddj.com/ (2002)
http://web.archive.org/web/20030123130300/http://ddj.com/ (2003)
http://web.archive.org/web/20040101013357/http://ddj.com/ (2004)
http://www.ddj.com/ (Dec, 2004)

Topic: Navigation Systems (lecture)
Readings: Morville & Rosenfeld, chapter 7
Wodtke, chapter 7 [pages 114-119]
Site maps and Site Indexes: What They Are and Why You Should Have Them, Chiara Fox
Bread crumbs
Breadcrumbs by Angela Colter

Due: Organization, Labeling, and Navigational System Analysis

No Class--Work on Semester Projects

Topic: Taxonomies, vocabularies, meta data, thesauri (lecture)
Readings: Morville & Rosenfeld, chapter 9, 16
Wodtke, chapter 6
Semiotics: A Primer for Designers, Challis Hodge
Developing and Creatively Leveraging Hierarchical Metadata and Taxonomy, Christian Ricci
Synonym Rings and Authority Files, Fast, Leise & Steckel
Example meta thesaurus
News site for exercise
Examples of faceted browsing:
Epicurious 
MSN Shopping
IBM 
Flamenco

Due: Verbal update of project status

Topic: Structure (lecture)
Readings: Garrett, chapter 5
Morville & Rosenfeld: Chapter 12
Wodtke, chapter 9
"A visual vocabulary for describing information architecture and interaction design", Jesse Garrett
www.iawiki.net/DeliverablesAndArtifacts

In-class: pasta assignment
pictures of pasta
pasta thesaurus

Topic: Search (lecture)
Readings: Morville & Rosenfeld, chapter 8
Do Search Engines Suppress Controversy? Susan L. Gehart
The Lucrative Internet Search Business, Richard Waters
Search Engine Glossary, Danny Sullivan
Search Engine Watch: All about search engines
Google Guidelines
Practical Search Engine Optimization, Nicholas Tolson

Due: draft structure and skeleton design of final project

Topic: Info design, nav, interaction design (skeleton plane) (lecture postponed to 4/20)
Readings: Garrett, chapter 6
Morville & Rosenfeld: chapter 12
Wodtke, chapter 9
Information Design: The Understanding Discipline, Dirk Knemeyer

Due: Controlled Vocabulary and Search systems analysis

Topic: Visual design (surface plane) (lecture)
Readings: Garrett, chapter 7
Don't Test Users, Test Hypotheses, Soudack
Don’t Listen to Users, Jakob Nielsen
What an IA Should Know About Prototypes for User Testing, Chris Farnum
Examining the Role of De Facto Standards on the Web, Heidi Adkisson
The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness, Steve MacLaughlin

Topic: Workshop, tech run-through
Guest Lecture: Steve Cleff, MBC, and possibly Patrick Hunt, Strategux

Due: draft prototype testing report

Topic: Final Project Presentations