Findability
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Card sorting: a definitive guide
by Donna Maurer and Todd Warfel | [38 comments]
Card sorting is a simple user-centered technique for obtaining insight into the structure of a site. But is it really so simple? This definitive guide to card sorting includes detailed instructions on how to execute and analyze a sort, plus helpful hints to improve your sorts. It is the first in a series of articles about card sorting. more...
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All About Facets & Controlled Vocabularies
by Fred Leise and Karl Fast and Mike Steckel | [17 comments]
Information architects are fascinated with faceted classification and its application to information architecture problems. Our three authors present a series of in-depth articles covering faceted classification and controlled vocabularies and their practical application. more...
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Enterprise Information Architecture: A Semantic and Organizational Foundation
by Tom Reamy | [12 comments]
People disagree on what happens when IAs grow up, but Tom Reamy knows. He offers a foundation for information architecture as it advances, grappling with problems across the enterprise. more...
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Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them
by Donna Maurer | [28 comments]
Information-seeking behavior varies from situation to situation. Donna Maurer explores different ways in which users look for information and offers tactics for accommodating them. more...
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The ABCs of the BBC: A Case Study and Checklist
by Helen Lippell | [3 comments]
Can A-Z indexes hold their own against other popular navigational elements like search and sitemaps? Helen Lippell guides us through how the BBC online, a site with over two million pages, handled their own A-Z index. more...
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Long Tails and Short Queries
by Christina Wodtke | [6 comments]
Why haven't we figured out search yet? Amanda Spink talks with Christina Wodtke on why searchers still can't ask a useful question of a search engine, and how Google may be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. more...
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Doing Today's Job with Yesterday's Tools
by Patrick Dubroy | [18 comments]
Where is the software that can help us cope with the massive amounts of information that we deal with on a daily basis? Patrick Dubroy points out the problems with current personal information management , and makes suggestions about how to improve the situation. more...
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Developing and Creatively Leveraging Hierarchical Metadata and Taxonomy
by Christian Ricci | [1 comment]
In content metadata and hierarchies, you will often find a goldmine of implicit and explicit data that you can leverage to creatively contextualize content. After a brief introduction on taxonomy and metadata, this article focuses on finding and utilizing such relationships in hierarchies. more...
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Strategies for Improving Enterprise Search
by John Ferrara | [6 comments]
Installing a search engine is just the beginning of creating an effective enterprise search system. John Ferrara addresses critical aspects of the user experience often overlooked or ignored. more...
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Advancing Advanced Search
by Stephen Turbek | [21 comments]
The success of the simple search box has relegated advanced search to second-class status. Stephen Turbek looks to resurrect this useful feature from the dustbins of the design toolbox and suggest some useful ways for designers to utilize it effectively. more...
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People Finder: Searching Without Logic?
by Vivek Deshmukh | [8 comments]
In large organizations, finding
people is a very common intranet task. Vivek Deshmukh gives us advice on how to improve people search and really help staff find
one another. more... -
Synonym Rings and Authority Files
by Fred Leise and Karl Fast and Mike Steckel | [2 comments]
In part 3 of the continuing series on controlled vocabularies and faceted classification, the authors explain synonym rings and authority files and how their use can bridge the gap between natural language and complex controlled vocabularies (taxonomies and thesauri). more...
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Sitemaps and Site Indexes: What They Are and Why You Should Have Them
by Chiara Fox | [10 comments]
Sitemaps and site indexes are forms of supplemental navigation. They give users a way to navigate a site without having to use the global navigation. By providing a way to visualize and understand the layout and structure of the site, a sitemap can help a lost or confused user find her way. more...