Information Architecture Evaluation Methodology

summary | detail | methodology

To perform an information architecture (IA) evaluation, Tec-Ed creates a team of experienced information architects who evaluate a product’s information content and its possible impact on usability.

The IA team looks for potential usability problems by conducting:

A basic content analysis to enumerate and describe the content of a website or other product.
A findability analysis to identify and evaluate available paths to content.

If other usability methods such as card sorting are included, the results are examined in conjunction with the content analysis.

Findings from an information architecture evaluation include:

Problems or concerns about the findability of the content.
Notes about effective features that shouldn’t be changed.
Recommendations for improving the structure of information.
High-level conceptual diagrams of suggested content organization.

Findings do not include a complete structural redesign; such a project requires information architecture design, a larger, more comprehensive design effort to overhaul a complete information set or system.

Tec-Ed categorizes IA evaluation findings for a website into the following areas:

Organization—How well is the site organized? How complex is its structure (for example, breadth and depth)? What types of hierarchies are used? Are they appropriate for the content? How well organized is the site index, and how easy is it to access? How well is content organized and presented at the page level? How scalable is the site organization?
Navigation—How are global and local navigation implemented? Are there links to related content? Can users determine their exact location in the site? Does the site support random access? Do elements of the navigational scheme disappear at any point or level? What facilities are available for returning to a previous location?
Labeling—Does the site use labels appropriate for the intended users? Does the site rely heavily on acronyms or insider jargon? Do link labels match their target pages? Are labels too long or too short? Are page headings and bookmark/favorite names consistent and reflective of the specific content on a particular page? Are links to external sites clearly differentiated? Is there a glossary?
Search—How accurate is the search? Does the search “forgive”—that is, accept—errors such as typos and misspellings? What search help or tips are available, and how prominent are they in the interface? Are advanced help tips or Boolean operators available for advanced searchers? How well are search results presented—can users determine how relevant results are? Can users perform successively refined searches within selected categories or areas? Does the search engine use metadata to improve search results? Is subject or keyword indexing available for search results?
Processes—Do all procedures clearly indicate the number of steps, and which step is the current one? How easily and simply can users cancel or abandon a process? How usable are forms, the data input mechanisms on forms, and other interactive features?