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[edit] About the Information Architecture Project
- Purpose: As part of an overall look at the Simmons College GSLIS publications, the websites (www.simmons.edu/gslis and my.simmons.edu/gslis) are due for a 'refresh' as well. The Simmons College Director of Web Design, Shaun Gummere, invited the GSLIS Website and Publications team to oversee the process of examining the Information Architecture of the sites. Overseen by Director of GSLIS Curriculum & Communications Jennifer Doyle, the team is nearly twenty strong, and includes eleven students, six of whom are doing independent studies related to the project (under the supervision of GSLIS' Assistant Dean for Technology Terry Plum).
- The Team
- How to Participate
- Presentations (Dates, Notes, PPTs)
[edit] The Three Main Phases
[edit] User Persona Development
In order to ensure that the needs and preferences of all stakeholders are taken into account this process interviews stakeholders, whose profiles will be combined to create 4-6 fictitious user personas against which decisions for the rest of the project will be measured.
STATUS:
- The personas were revealed at team retreat and are now posted on the IA project wiki.
- The personas will be used to identify the representative behaviors and needs of each of the five primary stakeholder groups using the GSLIS web sites in the card sorting and paper prototyping phases.
- The User Personas are available for viewing on the User Persona Phase page (see below) and the Presentations page.
For more information on this phase click here: User Persona Phase
[edit] Card Sorting Studies
Card Sorting is a process used to find out how people group items. In the web site context it is used to learn how to name and organize categories so information can be easily accessed.
STATUS: The Card Sorting phase has been completed, but feel free to follow the below link to learn about it.
For more information on this phase click here: Card Sorting Phase
[edit] Usability Testing with Paper Prototyping
Usability testing is a means for measuring how well people use a web site to find what they are looking for. Paper prototyping is a method of conducting usability testing. Subjects work with a paper version of the interface, created in a software program. The participant interacts with the paper screens by indicating what actions they would take (eg, typing words, clicking on a button, what steps they would take next, etc.
STATUS:
- Launched Phase 2
- Held Phase 2 testing throughout the week
- Completed Phase 2 testing on Friday November, 9th
- Continued scheduling for GSLIS West testing on November 17th
- Compiled Data from Phase 2
- Compared Results from Phase 1 and Phase 2
- Generated Graphs Comparing Results from Phase 1 and Phase 2
For more information on this phase click: Usability Testing Phase
[edit] We Want Your Opinion
Where's Your Beef? - Give us feedback about what you like or don't like about the current sites. External GSLIS site (www) and Internal GSLIS site (my)
What Have We Missed? - Give us feedback on anything you think we might not have thought of.
Current Site Evaluation -- Take a survey to evaluate the architecture of both the internal GSLIS (my) and external GSLIS (www) sites.
[edit] About Information Architecture (IA)
Click on the above About Information Architecture page to learn about:
- The history of Information Architecture
- Interesting articles about IA
- An IA tutorial
- IA in the news
- Resources for IA information
- IA Summit
- IA Course
[edit] MediaWiki Help
The GSLIS Technology Lab has prepared a HOWTO sheet for editing your wiki.You can also consult the Mediawiki User's Guide or read the MediaWiki FAQ.
