Information Architecture Graveyards

I have dug up some examples (which weren’t hard to find) of instances where a website’s information architect a.) never existed b.) went on strike or c.) just plain sucked at their job.

An IA Graveyard is a collection of content that, for some reason, would not fit into the existing architecture of a website, often resulting in confusion and a lack of findability for the end user. A lack of proper planning, dramatic changes to an organization’s infrastructure, flat out laziness or a combination of all three often lead to these data dumping grounds.

“Quick Links”

So someone wrote an “important” article that doesn’t fit into any of the content areas defined by the site’s architecture… Why not just add the title or topic of the new article to a list of Quick Links?  Typically consisting of a laundry list of topics and titles that a user must sift through, these lists quickly get out of hand and offer no help to a user trying desperately to find information on your website.  The ironically labeled “Find it Now” feature of the Little League website is a prime example of a list of links that grew out of control.

If you’ve resorted to building a handy list of “Quick Links” on your website, it’s time to consider a few things (especially number one):

1. Is this content really necessary?
2. Does the content fit into or duplicate any existing content buckets; can it be modified to work into the existing architecture?
3. Is it time to modify or redesign the site architecture?

IfAQ – Infrequently Asked Questions

At some point people forgot what the “F” in FAQ stood for.  FAQs have transitioned from a useful Q&A repository into a wasteland of unorganized and often irrelevant content.  My advice: avoid setting aside an FAQ section in the site’s architecture entirely.  Design the architecture and craft the content in such a way that it will address the topics that are of primary concern to your users.  Kevin Kelly agrees:

And of course, your FAQ does not need to be in the form of a Q&A at all. You can cover the same ground by writing it in prose, or essay form, or even a story.

Doing this requires that you do your homework; understand the topics your users are primarily interested in and glean a solid understanding of how they would like to search for and find that information.  If, after doing your homework and researching your audience, the content on your website still hasn’t answered your users’ questions, make it easy for them to contact you directly to get a personal answer.

Don’t be a Lazy IA!

Speak with users and site stakeholder to ensure that the site is well-planned to accommodate necessary content.  Push back when stakeholders start creating content that doesn’t have a home within the site’s structure.  Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions, especially: is this content really adding value for the user? If the content isn’t valuable for the user or meeting the overall business goals, it doesn’t belong on the website.  Stop that IA graveyard before it gets out of control and makes you look bad.

Posted in Design, User Experience | Comments Off on Information Architecture Graveyards

Comments are closed.