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The space metaphore is still alive. How about space as in on sea, where you have to steer (a.k.a. cybernetics)?
“Good navigation, like good design, is invisible. Applications with good navigation just feel simple and make it easy to accomplish any task, from browsing through pictures to applying for a car loan.”
Theresa Neil a.k.a. /theresaneil | @theresaneil ~ O’Reilly Radar ★
Concepts and theories are tested through technology developments. Will show technology independent they are.
“This article will examine the opportunities for data-driven navigation design without the dependency on physical device sensors or cookies, and without building out the intricacies of an elaborate recommendation engine. Leveraging even traditional analytics and usage metrics alone can go a long way in differentiating the content locating experience on conventional websites.”
Dan Owens a.k.a. /thedanowens | @HelloDanOwens ~ UXPA magazine ★
‘Mutual exclusive’ sounds like taxonomy thinking. There’s one best to organize stuff.
“Role-based IAs increase cognitive effort and user anxiety. Clear language and mutually exclusive categories reduce the chance of harming the user experience.”
Katie W Sherwin a.k.a. /katiewsherwin | @kwsherwin ~ Nielsen Norman Group ★
Defining IA as the structure of navigation (menus) is IA of the 00’s.
“The number and order of navigation categories, and use of hover menus for touchscreens are frequently asked questions that arise when organizing information on a website or application.”
I would call it the difference between the algorithms and the synapses.
“When websites prioritize search over navigation, users must invest cognitive effort to create queries and to deal with the weak implementations of site search. (…) Site search is vital and can save the day for those users who have well defined goals and a good understanding of the information space in which they are searching. However, if you’re considering pushing search on your site at the expense of navigation, think again. Navigation serves important functions: it shows people what they can find on the site, and teaches them about the structure of the search space. Using the navigation categories is often faster and easier for users than generating a good search query. Plus, many times site search does not work well or requires users to have a good understanding of its limitations.”
Simple interpretation of IA: How you move or travel from one place to the next one in this space. Navigation needs a map, compass and a goal.
“IA is the information backbone of the site; navigation refers to those elements in the UI that allow users to reach specific information on the site.”
Categories, tags, and facets are the descriptors for topics, themes and areas of interests.
“Facets are categories into which the properties of an object or topic can be divided. These categories in turn contain ‘values’: the sub-objects by which the list of items can be filtered. A classic example is the classification of wine. There are many properties by which wines can be categorised: region, colour, type, vineyard and price, among others.”
(Jim Kalbach a.k.a. @JimKalbach ~ Creative Blog)
I think Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan will have to say a few things here.
“The terms ‘filters’ and ‘faceted navigation’ are often used interchangeably; while related, these concepts have important differences. Both are tools to help users narrow down large sets of content, but faceted navigation – while more flexible and powerful – is more difficult to create and maintain.”
“We see this Linnean mentality often deployed all over our information spaces, and its consequences still produce scaffoldings that simply expose internal structures, be those the enterprise’s, the organization’s, or the university’s, with no concern for actual usefulness. The move towards cross-channel experiences is turning this into an even more complex scenario, where the different nature of the channels themselves (staff at a store, a mobile phone, a kiosk, signage) introduces one additional dimension to an already layered problem space.”
(Andreas Resmini a.k.a. @resmini)
“Information can be organized in either flat or deep hierarchies; both have their advantages and pitfalls.”
“Some navigation implementations risk pushing users into a state of cognitive strain which lessens the likelihood of them taking desirable actions.”
(Jen Cardello ~ NNGroup)
“Why do we even need web navigation at all? Well, for one, navigation provides access to the content of a site. But more important, it’s the way that it provides access that makes navigation necessary. After all, site search also provides access to content. Why not just have site search and be done with the problem of designing and maintaining a complex navigation system?”
(James Kalbach a.k.a. @JimKalbach ~ Experiencing Information)
“Most users are unable to solve even halfway complicated problems with search. Better to redirect their efforts into more supportive user interfaces when possible.”
(Jakob Nielsen ~ NNGroup)
“Regardless of how you organize the content, the larger point is this: giving users a table of contents does much more than simply provide users with a means of navigating the content. The table of contents expresses the hierarchical relationships of your content, and by so doing gives users a sense of your content’s overall story and structure. Even if users can’t find the answer to their question by navigating the table of contents, they can find other meaning in browsing and perusing the structure of your content.”
“This article is about the tiniest of details that goes into creating the main centerpiece of your digital product – the construction of the elements of your navigation. This is the most important aid you can possibly give to your users as they are constantly seeking a reason to walk out on you.”
(Petter Silfver a.k.a. @psilfver ~ Smashing Magazine)
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