Information architecture (IA) is the way you organize and label the content and features of your website or app to help users find what they need and achieve their goals. IA is not a one-time task, but a continuous process that requires regular evaluation and improvement. In this article, you will learn how to improve your IA over time by following these six steps:
Before you make any changes to your IA, you need to understand how it works and how it affects your users. You can use various methods to assess your current IA, such as user testing, card sorting, tree testing, analytics, and feedback. These methods will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your IA, as well as the opportunities and challenges for improvement.
When you assess your current IA - do it with your users (not stakeholders) and review data from actual user sessions (e.g. Hotjar). Ensure the review includes the actual users of your website/app. Card sorting and tree testing are powerful tools when it comes to assessing your current IA.
Once you have a clear picture of your current IA, you need to define what you want to achieve with your IA and how you will measure your success. Your IA goals should align with your business objectives and user needs, and your metrics should reflect the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter for your IA. For example, some common IA metrics are bounce rate, time on page, search queries, task completion, and satisfaction.
The goals of your IA should closely align to the questions your users need answering, or the problem they're trying to solve. This in turn, should also align to your business goals. Understanding common tasks for your users and what they are trying to achieve should shape the future of your IA. Look at behaviours, not personas, and give them the tools to find information intuitively and timely.
Now that you have your IA goals and metrics, you can start generating and prioritizing ideas for improving your IA. You can use various techniques to brainstorm and evaluate ideas, such as affinity mapping, user scenarios, personas, journey maps, and competitor analysis. You should prioritize the ideas that have the most impact on your IA goals and metrics, as well as the feasibility and resources required to implement them.
When designing an IA structure, it's important to be curious and thoughtful. First, understand the overall goals of the project and the needs of the users. Consider any limitations, such as budget or technology. Next, brainstorm as many ideas as possible, even if they seem unconventional. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts and build on each other's ideas. Carefully evaluate each idea, considering its ease of use, effectiveness, efficiency, consistency, and feasibility. Make sure the IA aligns with the organization's brand and meets user expectations. Document the IA structure clearly, including navigation pathways and content. Create mockups to visualize the IA. Get feedback from stakeholders and collaborators to refine the ideas.
Before you implement your IA ideas, you need to create and test prototypes to validate them with real users. You can use different tools and formats to create IA prototypes, such as wireframes, mockups, sitemaps, navigation menus, and labels. You should test your prototypes with representative users and collect feedback on their usability, clarity, and relevance. You should also compare your prototypes with your current IA and measure the difference in your metrics.
An important aspect when designing new IA prototypes is to also consider the tone of voice used for the elements within it. If for example you are redesigning a navigation menu or sidebar, it's really important to uncover if users find the menu items clear.
After you have tested and refined your IA prototypes, you can implement them on your website or app and monitor their performance. You should use the same metrics that you defined earlier to track the results of your IA changes and see if they meet your expectations. You should also monitor the user behavior and feedback to identify any issues or opportunities for further improvement.
It is important to monitor and receive feedback on user interactions and navigation of the information architecture, especially on enterprise platforms. Sometimes, there could be more than one correct way to position, label, and map out your UI layout. Only by monitoring and receiving feedback will you know the optimal solution.
Improving your IA over time is not a linear process, but a cyclical one that requires constant iteration and adaptation. You should repeat the steps above regularly and adjust your IA based on the changing needs and preferences of your users and the evolving goals and strategies of your business. You should also keep learning from best practices and trends in IA and UX design to keep your IA up to date and effective.
One thing to remember is that it's always better to simplify than add more to a design. Simplicity is key to making interfaces more user friendly and easier to digest.
The majority of people think IA is just the main navigation - but that's only one aspect to it. IA expands into content models, search functions, sort & filter features, in-page navigation, related content. Don't get stuck in the trap of not thinking beyond the main navigation.