Pre-Conference Workshops

Pullman Paris Bercy
1 rue de Libourne
75012 PARIS
FRANCE

Andrea Resmini

What is information architecture?
What are the key considerations when designing an information architecture?
What are the tools we have at our disposal?
And what about methodologies?
Is it true that information architecture relies on user-centered design?
How can we put theory into practice?

These are some of the questions we will try to tackle during the workshop. To answer them, we won't be just chit-chatting along, though: more than half of the time we will be spending together will be devoted to getting our hands under the hood and designing for real. The workshop is designed to provide an easy introduction to what practicing information architecture is to people who are new to the field and have no clear ideas of what mainstream information architecture work is like, or to people who are used to do lone-wolf freelancing work and want to see how it works out when you do information architecture in packs and your ideas and sure-foot methods are put to the test by peers.

The workshop is roughly divided in three parts:

• an overview of the field, which traces back its roots, influences, and many hues and introduces the basics of the theory and methods of information architecture;
• a hands-on design exercise on a real-life case study which provides a general framing for a sound design process and then focuses on flow, navigation, classification, and layout;
• a final evaluate-and-iterate co-design review of what has been done.

References will be provided to both books and articles covering both the basics of the practice of information architecture and the various topics encountered during the hands-on exercise.

No computers will be used: we will work with good old plain pens and paper. If you are the creative type and feel lost at sea without your favorite markers, you are more than welcome to bring in whatever fancy
sketching aides suit you best.

James Page, Sabrina Mach, UK

Remote Usability is a collection of methods that over the last year has become increasingly popular. Most of us are designing and developing products that will be used anywhere in the world, but most of our research methods are tied to a physical location. Remote sets the researcher free from being tied to a place, and also enables the testing of more people. By the end of the session you will become familiar with a number of remote research technologies, from remote ethnography to synchronous and asynchronous tools, and will be able to explain when such tools are suitable for user research. We also will cover the basics of Asynchronous testing.  Asynchronous is significantly different from the usual user research methods, The workshop will demystify the basic statistics that will help you understand the results. You will also learn the basics about how to carry out a International Study, from the legal issues to how to deal with translation.The workshop will cover:

• The different methods
• Remote ethnography
• Surveys
• Synchronous
• Asynchronous
• Study design
• Recruitment Methods
• Basic Analysis
• International Studies
• Legal

Eric Reiss, FatDUX, DK 

Quick question: Have you ever been to an atrocious website for a subject that really interests you? Yeah, probably. And you probably forgave the brain-dead structure and dilettantish design. Why? Because the content was interesting/relevant/useful/entertaining.

This is why the Nobel Prize for literature doesn’t go to the designer of the dust jacket. It’s also why content remains the single most important element in most on-line UX projects.

In just three hours, Eric will show you how to create findable, scanable, skimable, and readable on-line content. This is the stuff that creates understanding, builds trust, and increases conversion rates. Topics include:

• Why writing for the web is different (basic observations and hard facts)
• Navigation (labels, not graphics)
• Shared-reference building (getting folks on the same mental page)
• Descriptions (core content)
• Contextual navigation (locally relevant links)
• Convenience text (alt texts, pop-ups, FAQs, and instructions)
• Information architecture (from a content-provider point-of-view)
• Metadata (machine-readable keywords, titles, and descriptions).     
  

Eric won’t teach you how to un-mix your metaphors (if you’re a lousy writer, this is not the workshop for you). But if you’re already a decent wordsmith, here’s how you can take your talent to the web. And Eric will also kill off a bunch of myths about what works and what doesn’t, and give you the tools needed to enjoy online success.

James Kalbach, LexisNexis, DE 

Faceted navigation has become very popular in the last decade. It’s seen as way to improve the findability of information on many sites, particularly those with large collections of products or documents. The design of real-world faceted navigation systems, however, proves to be more intricate than people first assume, and designers must be aware of many details.

This half-day workshop covers principles of faceted classification and shows you how to use facets in web design. Many examples of faceted navigation will be presented and discussed. A clear, structured framework for understanding the individual components is presented to help you understand all the decisions involved. The topics are brought to life through several hands-on exercises.

Topics covered include:

• Background to facets
• Faceted analysis
• Layout and display of facets
• Interaction with facets
• Advanced topics: selecting multiple values, grouping, and more