INFM 700: Information Architecture

Transcription

1 INFM 700: Information Architecture Section SG01: Fall 2014 Wednesdays 6-8:45 p.m., Building 3, Room 4215 Dr. Katy Lawley, Instructor (voice or text) College Park: Hornbake 411G Office visits by appointment - I am always happy to meet with students and can meet in person, by phone, or Skype. 1. Course Calendar Date & Topic Read before class Assgn t given Session 1: 9/3/14 Project 1 Assgn t due Course introduction; What IA is and isn't Session 2: 9/10/14 Principles of IA Session 3: 9/17/14 Organization & Navigation Session 4: 9/24/14 M & R 1-3 M & R 4-7 M & R Research & Strategy Session 5: 10/1/14 M & R 9 Project 1 Metadata & Taxonomies

2 Session 6: 10/8/14 Design approaches Session 7: 10/15/14 TBD Project 2 M & R 8 TBD Search Session 8: 10/22/14 Project 2 Work Session Session 9: 10/29/14 Business Issues Session 10: 11/5/14 M & R Project 3 TBD Project 2 Students' Choice and/or Guest Speaker Session 11: 11/12/14 TBD Session 12: 11/19/14 TBD Project 3 Work Session 11/26/14 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Session 13: Project 3 12/3/14 Project 3 Presentations; Course Review Session 14: 12/10/14 Final exam

3 2. Course Description Catalog Description: Prerequisite: INFM603 or equivalent experience or permission of instructor. Principles and techniques of information organization and architecture for the Web environment. Structured description of digital resources, including data modeling techniques, metadata schemes, and user-oriented navigation systems A central goal of the course is to enable students to equip themselves with (1) solid understanding of the principles that underlie sound information architecture in its context, and (2) awareness of and practice with procedures and tools for evaluating, planning, and implementing information architecture. 3. Student learning outcomes Demonstrate mastery of concepts, models, and information structures for organizing and providing access to information assets in Web environments. Demonstrate knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of current methods for evaluating, planning, and implementing, and maintaining information architecture solutions. Demonstrate proficiency in creating and applying models, processes, and tools that introduce or improve the information architecture of a Web site. 4. Grading and assessment Each element of your grade is described in more detail below. The percentage breakdown is: Project 1: 15% Project 2: 20% Project 3: 40% Final exam: 15% Participation: 10% 4.1 Project 1: Sorting Out Craig's List. 15% Students will create a new way to organize and present content from a subset of washingtondc.craigslist.org. Students will also submit a short document (one page or less) describing how the submission improves upon the original Craig's List architecture. The emphasis of this assignment will be on organization, navigation, and layout as ways of helping users to navigate the ads posted on Craig's List. To be completed individually. More details are available on the assignment page.

4 4.2 Project 2: Developing a Controlled Vocabulary. 20% Students will create a controlled vocabulary for a Web site (to be assigned by the instructor). In order to complete the assignment successfully, students will consult multiple sources for candidate terms, then they will organize those terms and establish relationships with other terms as appropriate. The emphasis of this assignment will be on classification, organization, and labeling in the context of a specific Web site. To be completed in pairs. More details will be available on the assignment page. 4.3 Project 3: Redesign of a Web Site. 40% Using the content of an existing Web site, students will present a new architecture for the Web site that supports the goals of the parent organization and the needs of the site's user's. This assignment has a broad emphasis, as teams will be encouraged to demonstrate mastery of concepts from throughout the course. In addition to the live Web site, each team will deliver a minute presentation highlighting various aspects of the implementation process, including analysis, research, strategy, user testing, and design. To be completed in pairs. More details will be available on the assignment page. 4.4 Final Exam. 15% The final exam will be given during the last class session and will assess the student's ability to understand and discuss the core principles of information architecture. 4.5 Participation. 10% In order to receive full credit for the Participation portion of your grade, you need to do more than just show up. Please engage in classroom and online discussions for your own benefit and to allow classmates the benefit of your perspective. Each student comes into the semester with a score of 5 (out of 10) on participation. Your attendance and engagement can increase or decrease your score from there. You are responsible for all material presented during class, including announcements and changes in the course calendar and syllabus. Also, your attendance in class is a component of your participation grade. If you must miss a class, please notify the instructor as soon as possible, preferably before class. You should also contact one or more classmates to arrange sharing of any notes and announcements you missed. 5. Course Materials The required course text is Morville & Rosenfeld, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large Scale Web Sites (Third Edition, 2006, ISBN ) (referred to in the reading assignments as MR ). Individual reading assignments are noted on the course calendar, above.

5 Optional supplementary readings will be shared in the Course Canvas space. 6. Students with Special Circumstances If you are a student with a documented disability, please see the instructor as soon as possible to discuss appropriate academic accommodations. If you are a student for whom religious observances will affect your attendance or ability to complete any assignments on time, please see the instructor as soon as possible so that we may figure out the appropriate adjustments. If you have any other circumstance that might affect your attendance, participation, or performance, you are welcome and encouraged to communicate with the instructor. There is much more room to adjust course requirements if notification is given in advance of any lag or lapse in performance. 7. Academic Integrity Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Any abridgement of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the campus judiciary. Confirmation of such incidents will result in the earning of an "XF" grade for the course and may result in more severe consequences such as expulsion. Students would be wise to familiarize themselves with the University's Code of Academic Integrity at Bottom line: If you have any questions about permissible behavior, ask first!