So over the past week I've been dealing with an issue I thought I had with the required government templates for my project. My supervisor had mentioned to me that he had been unable to get a search bar on our site so far because of some issue with the templates, he thought.
After getting to know the web team and chatting them up for a while, and assuring them I wasn't out to make their lives difficult by adding fancy design elements to the site because my focus was organization and architecture, I casually asked a quick and theoretic question--hey, if we wanted to, how hard would it be to add a search bar to the site?
My contact wrote me an email back saying she wasn't sure--in fact, they had never tried to do that before. Turns out it wasn't an issue with the templates, but with the fact that the USGS had signed a contract with Google so that they were doing all the searches on the main USGS sites. Were they also covering the smaller side sites, and was there a stipulation to the effect that all the searches needed to be run through the main pages? We had no clue. My contact said she'd have to do some research and get back to me.
As it turns out, yes, we can definitely add a search bar ("...would you like me to do a mock up for you?"). And my contact even thanked me for getting her to learn something new--we can add more than one site to the search bar; this was a concern because my site is currently under 2 domain names. However, they are merging to one as we migrate data from one to a new section on the other.
So my lesson of the day: it pays to be nice to the web team by trading strategies on simplifying 508 compliance, because they will return the favor when you ask them to go out of their way figuring out something new for you. Also, it never hurts to ask, even when you think the answer is going to be "no".
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wireframing
I started wireframing the first week of class because that's when I started doing some user interviews concerning what we wanted out of our site. All of the page direction outlines were done on scraps of whatever paper was available at the time and have been residing taped into my notebook for the last 2-3 weeks. Seeing as things are moving forward, and the lesson content on wireframming was posted, I thought it might be time to revisit the wireframing I had done and do some touch-ups and revisits concerning the interviews.
Looking at my scrappy do up, I thought it might be good to give Gliffy a go so I wouldn't lose my plans in a horrific coffee incident. So I got on, and I have to say, it's easier than any other electronic method of the sort I've tried when attempting web-type layouts. However, it still seems a little cumbersome for initial brainstorming sessions--I would still prefer the scribble and jot method for that. However, I would use it for final versions and presenting.
Looking at my scrappy do up, I thought it might be good to give Gliffy a go so I wouldn't lose my plans in a horrific coffee incident. So I got on, and I have to say, it's easier than any other electronic method of the sort I've tried when attempting web-type layouts. However, it still seems a little cumbersome for initial brainstorming sessions--I would still prefer the scribble and jot method for that. However, I would use it for final versions and presenting.
Why 508 applies to Information Architecture
Someone pointed out to me that my last post on ADA and section 508 was a little confusing. My particular site, being a government site, also uses approved templates--these tie in to 508 because the idea is that the templates are designed to handle resizing of text without jumbling or distorting. To be honest, there is a web team at my work that deals (very bravely) with all of these highly important and sometimes frustrating issues.
As described in my last post, I think that fair and equal access are huge issues in providing information. However, providing fair and equal access is sadly the road less traveled, and those of us who strive to do it do need to put in extra effort.
To reframe how 508 (a GUI issue, seemingly) applies to Information Architecture, I'll aim this post at individuals who were not in 501 last semester where we talked about different needs exhibited by different groups in information seeking behavior.
In a technical light, "fair and equal access" is most frequently called "universal usability." In "Chapter 14: Ethics" of Moreville and Rosenfeld's Information Architecture, under the section about physical access, section 508 is discussed. Also discussed is Ben Schneiderman, who extended the sentiments of 508 to include not just differences in physical ability, but uniqueness in all ability in the concept of universal usability. Different people think differently. Labels aren't intuitive to everyone--this concept is one we explore frequently in the field of Linguistics.
For a prominent example, read here about Benjamin Lee Whorf and the "empty" gasoline barrel. An "empty" gasoline barrel might be perceived as less dangerous because it is labeled "empty"--but "empty" gasoline barrels are actually more dangerous because it's the fumes that ignite. This opens the door to the idea that different cultures, languages, backgrounds...anything, really, could affect a person's cognition and what they perceive as useful or intuitive in the ways of information architecture and labels. To put it simply, what works for me might not work for everyone--I need to consider different abilities (physical and mental, with all abilities being equal and different) to more fully serve my users.
In terms of real world examples of information architecture being affected by issues of universal usability, I have quite a few. First, I couldn't find the page requirements for my final project in 840 (this probably sounds really stupid to some of you, as we're in a program about finding information). I was looking near the top of the project description, where I had trained myself to look because that's where other syllabuses have located it. After asking, I was told the page breakdown was located within the project directions; a completely valid way to do things, but not intuitive for me. Now, if I had read more thoroughly, I would have found it--but if everyone read websites thoroughly, there would be no sense in creating information architecture, would there?
In libraries, we are now seeing a shift from using the Dewey Decimal System to one that organizes the book as they might appear in a book store. Why? Well, the short answer is that DD is designed for use by librarians (who love highly organized structures, like databases) but not for patrons (who like browsing bookstores). Dewey Decimal is intuitive for librarians who are socialized to use it, but not for the end user patrons. The information architecture wasn't developed with the consideration that not everyone thinks like a librarian--the patrons are differently abled in their information seeking habits.
In terms of my project, 508 and universal usability are central to development, and because I work on a team with programmers and designers, and because I like those people, I'm not going to sit back and say "not my problem" to 508 and usability issues. Even Morville and Rosenfeld say that "information architects have a role to play in creating useful, usable systems, that work for diverse audiences" (pg 343). They also advocate that:
"As an information architect, you can define any or all of these ethical dimensions as 'not my problem'. Maybe the responsibility really belongs with the client, the business manager, the authors, the usability engineers, or the users themselves. Or, maybe we'll all just wait for a superhero to save the day." (pg. 344)
When working in a team, I believe that information architecture is the problem of the information architect because everyone is there to serve the user, and where 508 and the template allows things to go on the screen can change how many labels are used or what they appear as. It can change how much information we put on any given page for easy readability. It can change the amount of explanation we feel necessary for the terminology and jargon used on the site. I may not even be allowed to use a search bar (for some reason that will be explained to me via email), and that would affect my information architecture a great deal.
As described in my last post, I think that fair and equal access are huge issues in providing information. However, providing fair and equal access is sadly the road less traveled, and those of us who strive to do it do need to put in extra effort.
To reframe how 508 (a GUI issue, seemingly) applies to Information Architecture, I'll aim this post at individuals who were not in 501 last semester where we talked about different needs exhibited by different groups in information seeking behavior.
In a technical light, "fair and equal access" is most frequently called "universal usability." In "Chapter 14: Ethics" of Moreville and Rosenfeld's Information Architecture, under the section about physical access, section 508 is discussed. Also discussed is Ben Schneiderman, who extended the sentiments of 508 to include not just differences in physical ability, but uniqueness in all ability in the concept of universal usability. Different people think differently. Labels aren't intuitive to everyone--this concept is one we explore frequently in the field of Linguistics.
For a prominent example, read here about Benjamin Lee Whorf and the "empty" gasoline barrel. An "empty" gasoline barrel might be perceived as less dangerous because it is labeled "empty"--but "empty" gasoline barrels are actually more dangerous because it's the fumes that ignite. This opens the door to the idea that different cultures, languages, backgrounds...anything, really, could affect a person's cognition and what they perceive as useful or intuitive in the ways of information architecture and labels. To put it simply, what works for me might not work for everyone--I need to consider different abilities (physical and mental, with all abilities being equal and different) to more fully serve my users.
In terms of real world examples of information architecture being affected by issues of universal usability, I have quite a few. First, I couldn't find the page requirements for my final project in 840 (this probably sounds really stupid to some of you, as we're in a program about finding information). I was looking near the top of the project description, where I had trained myself to look because that's where other syllabuses have located it. After asking, I was told the page breakdown was located within the project directions; a completely valid way to do things, but not intuitive for me. Now, if I had read more thoroughly, I would have found it--but if everyone read websites thoroughly, there would be no sense in creating information architecture, would there?
In libraries, we are now seeing a shift from using the Dewey Decimal System to one that organizes the book as they might appear in a book store. Why? Well, the short answer is that DD is designed for use by librarians (who love highly organized structures, like databases) but not for patrons (who like browsing bookstores). Dewey Decimal is intuitive for librarians who are socialized to use it, but not for the end user patrons. The information architecture wasn't developed with the consideration that not everyone thinks like a librarian--the patrons are differently abled in their information seeking habits.
In terms of my project, 508 and universal usability are central to development, and because I work on a team with programmers and designers, and because I like those people, I'm not going to sit back and say "not my problem" to 508 and usability issues. Even Morville and Rosenfeld say that "information architects have a role to play in creating useful, usable systems, that work for diverse audiences" (pg 343). They also advocate that:
"As an information architect, you can define any or all of these ethical dimensions as 'not my problem'. Maybe the responsibility really belongs with the client, the business manager, the authors, the usability engineers, or the users themselves. Or, maybe we'll all just wait for a superhero to save the day." (pg. 344)
When working in a team, I believe that information architecture is the problem of the information architect because everyone is there to serve the user, and where 508 and the template allows things to go on the screen can change how many labels are used or what they appear as. It can change how much information we put on any given page for easy readability. It can change the amount of explanation we feel necessary for the terminology and jargon used on the site. I may not even be allowed to use a search bar (for some reason that will be explained to me via email), and that would affect my information architecture a great deal.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
508 strikes again!
I tried to write up a quick workflow diagram today detailing the workflow of my workplace. What a disaster. I'd like to state for the record that I love the 508 compliance rules and W3C, and I would love to see more private sites make their content more available--but boy oh boy, why are pdfs and ppts created so hard to tag?
The way workflow goes at my workplace is as such:
Researchers write papers in hopes of getting them published. These papers wind up sitting for a while, and in the mean time, other papers are written. These new papers site the unpublished waiting papers and then get published and posted to our site. To get them posted, the get sent to me for collection and organization into where on the site the are going. Then I send them to the web team. The web team really likes Word docs because they are easy to tag; sadly I don't get to send them a lot of Word, just pdfs and ppts. These typically do not pass 508 compliance and so must undergo rigorous testing and tagging before they can be put up, creating a lag in keeping the site current. Once they are compliant, a mock-up gets sent to me and we correct any errors, then the papers are up. Once these papers are up, the old unpublished ones are now published, making the references to "unpublished" works in the other papers outdated. I sigh heavily, and we might decide to go back and update the references--creating a new round of needing to make things compliant.
As you can imagine, the circularity of this workflow diagram was fun to look at. There were a lot of those finger looking delay symbols mentioned on the video in my guide, because I've got nothing but waiting when I need to request a paper from a researcher, send things to the web team, or wait for a decision on updating old references. Methinks I'm going to have a challenge creating a ROT policy given the current culture of citing unpublished works.
The way workflow goes at my workplace is as such:
Researchers write papers in hopes of getting them published. These papers wind up sitting for a while, and in the mean time, other papers are written. These new papers site the unpublished waiting papers and then get published and posted to our site. To get them posted, the get sent to me for collection and organization into where on the site the are going. Then I send them to the web team. The web team really likes Word docs because they are easy to tag; sadly I don't get to send them a lot of Word, just pdfs and ppts. These typically do not pass 508 compliance and so must undergo rigorous testing and tagging before they can be put up, creating a lag in keeping the site current. Once they are compliant, a mock-up gets sent to me and we correct any errors, then the papers are up. Once these papers are up, the old unpublished ones are now published, making the references to "unpublished" works in the other papers outdated. I sigh heavily, and we might decide to go back and update the references--creating a new round of needing to make things compliant.
As you can imagine, the circularity of this workflow diagram was fun to look at. There were a lot of those finger looking delay symbols mentioned on the video in my guide, because I've got nothing but waiting when I need to request a paper from a researcher, send things to the web team, or wait for a decision on updating old references. Methinks I'm going to have a challenge creating a ROT policy given the current culture of citing unpublished works.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Facebook, anyone?
Today I had a rather informative foray into the friendlier of Web 2.0 when a co-worker requested a quick tutorial on Facebook. Now, I have never actually owned a Facebook account; I've done MySpace, but by and large I only use it to spy on people in the least malevolent way possible. You need an account to view other people's pages, and my sister is constantly asking me if I saw this/that/the other on someone's page. So I have an account with minimal information so people can't find me and suck me into the vortex of online social networking. Social networks are great, but becoming cyber-glued to them via phone, email, and chat just isn't for me. Maybe I'll give them another try now that I'm out of high school, and perhaps the experience will be more beneficial.
Anyway, we were trying to set up a Facebook account with some basic applications and a layout and user pic, and I was really taken by a few things I encountered. First, some of those applications really aren't intuitive to install, even the second time around. I much prefer a good old place to edit code as opposed to ambiguous box moving and accepting applications, but that's probably just me.
Second, some ads are really gaudy and annoying. I recognize that ads are the price we pay for free code and downloads (those site owners have to put bread on the table somehow), but when did sites start plastering them over 75% of the screen, sacrificing good design for a few extra bucks? I know I won't be going back to those sites. Is it really profitable for them to lose return visitors over whatever the ad placer is paying? I would love to see the statistics on how annoying those ads need to be before the site is actually *losing* visitors.
So me and my friend set up the Facebook account, and then got to talking about other fun things the Web now offers. I do hate to admit this, but I worship at the "evil" throne of Google. Whatever you think of the materials that search engine returns, my goodness do they deliver on great applications. And even then, the search engine is sweet (it's frequently the crap posted online that's the problem). I think Google is great for beginners and even experts--it's simple and straightforward for people who need it, and you can tool around with Google sites or dabble with some open source at Google code. Google does things well. I have a strong belief that the sheer simplicity and ease of customization play a big role in their success; anyone who doesn't believe me need to check out iGoogle for a couple of weeks, then decide if they want to leave.
Anyway, we were trying to set up a Facebook account with some basic applications and a layout and user pic, and I was really taken by a few things I encountered. First, some of those applications really aren't intuitive to install, even the second time around. I much prefer a good old place to edit code as opposed to ambiguous box moving and accepting applications, but that's probably just me.
Second, some ads are really gaudy and annoying. I recognize that ads are the price we pay for free code and downloads (those site owners have to put bread on the table somehow), but when did sites start plastering them over 75% of the screen, sacrificing good design for a few extra bucks? I know I won't be going back to those sites. Is it really profitable for them to lose return visitors over whatever the ad placer is paying? I would love to see the statistics on how annoying those ads need to be before the site is actually *losing* visitors.
So me and my friend set up the Facebook account, and then got to talking about other fun things the Web now offers. I do hate to admit this, but I worship at the "evil" throne of Google. Whatever you think of the materials that search engine returns, my goodness do they deliver on great applications. And even then, the search engine is sweet (it's frequently the crap posted online that's the problem). I think Google is great for beginners and even experts--it's simple and straightforward for people who need it, and you can tool around with Google sites or dabble with some open source at Google code. Google does things well. I have a strong belief that the sheer simplicity and ease of customization play a big role in their success; anyone who doesn't believe me need to check out iGoogle for a couple of weeks, then decide if they want to leave.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Where I was this week
I've been rather remittent in my postings this week--some of you are probably wondering where I was and why I wasn't here. It was a busy week for me. My husband and I adopted 2 kittens from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley last Sunday, and they've been keeping me on my toes all week. Due to my father's birthday being in close proximity to Father's Day, and the fact that it's very difficult to get my whole family together on any given holiday, we held a birthday/Father's Day celebration yesterday for all of the dads in the family. I'm going to have to leave here shortly to celebrate Father's Day (again) with my husband's family, so I'll hurry through all of my posts that have built up in my brain this week.
For anyone that doesn't know, the BVHS has a wonderful facility and website. Given the amount of animals they adopt out on a regular basis, it's amazing they can keep up. Check it out here:
www.boulderhumane.org/
If you hover over the animals tab, it will show the animals available for adoption. These are updated regularly with pictures and descriptions of available animals--I've even noticed that they update the pictures regularly, too. While I was in the shelter I was amazed at the number of people who had come to see a specific animal they had found online, which really demonstrated to me the power of a good website with intuitive design that handles ROT very well--the two kittens we adopted were taken down from the online listing by the time we got home.
For anyone that doesn't know, the BVHS has a wonderful facility and website. Given the amount of animals they adopt out on a regular basis, it's amazing they can keep up. Check it out here:
www.boulderhumane.org/
If you hover over the animals tab, it will show the animals available for adoption. These are updated regularly with pictures and descriptions of available animals--I've even noticed that they update the pictures regularly, too. While I was in the shelter I was amazed at the number of people who had come to see a specific animal they had found online, which really demonstrated to me the power of a good website with intuitive design that handles ROT very well--the two kittens we adopted were taken down from the online listing by the time we got home.
Capstone and Technology
On Thursday I got to meet the library staff at my work, including Jenny, who was the one who passed on the job opening. She gave me a little heads-up on Capstone, which I've had a lot of questions about. I should note that though I had searched, I couldn't find this information on the ESU site--talking to a few other students in my cohort, I think the idea of Capstone has been a little murky for everyone. Jenny explained that Capstone is basically a general overview of all of the classes and experiences of the program and how they relate to the overall program objectives and outcomes. She recommended writing down the course outcomes from each class I take and then relating them to the desired overall program outcomes.
For this reason, I'm becoming ever more attached to this blog--I'm hoping I'll be able to use it to document my program and class experiences from here out and then use it as a resource for my Capstone.
For this reason, I'm becoming ever more attached to this blog--I'm hoping I'll be able to use it to document my program and class experiences from here out and then use it as a resource for my Capstone.
SLA Conference
For anyone who hasn't heard (or read, I guess), lbenkert got to go to attend the Special Libraries Association conference in DC. I'm flaming jealous because I got my first taste of conferences back at midwinter in Denver, and they're so cool. Anyone who hasn't been to one needs to find one and go--you will meet so many people, it's worth it just for the networking. Then there are the talks, the presentations, the freebies from booths, the emails about new things being offered to libraries...
My mother-in-law (a school librarian) is attending one today or tomorrow that is aimed at new technologies, and she's going to bring back the schedule for me so I can see what they're talking about. I forget the name of this conference, but in the past they've talked about Twitter, blogs, RSS, etc.
But anyways, Lee Ann tipped me off to the conference handouts for those with library tech backgrounds:
http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2009/Conference/handouts/index.cfm
What I found most interesting was the "Needs Assessment Questionnaire" listed for Sunday; a lot of the same questions I started with when trying to decide the best changes for the project site assessment in terms of the Content, Context, and Users. Some of you might remember that I actually started these interviews some time back (see Chapter 10 and my job); I think my real life has jumbled my approach to this class in that I read through the book pretty quick the first week so I could tackle some issues at work.
I pretty well had a handle on the diverse needs of my users (everyone from the general public to the researchers that post to the site). Using the new material made available this week, I more closely examined the content available and the context. My new impressions are that I may need to talk to my supervisor about possible jargon problems and the purpose of our content. The issues I'm now looking at are tat while the site is supposed to serve as a reference for both researchers and the general public, there is very little presented in the way of explaining the conferences referenced or much of the highly academic and specialized vocabulary.
My mother-in-law (a school librarian) is attending one today or tomorrow that is aimed at new technologies, and she's going to bring back the schedule for me so I can see what they're talking about. I forget the name of this conference, but in the past they've talked about Twitter, blogs, RSS, etc.
But anyways, Lee Ann tipped me off to the conference handouts for those with library tech backgrounds:
http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2009/Conference/handouts/index.cfm
What I found most interesting was the "Needs Assessment Questionnaire" listed for Sunday; a lot of the same questions I started with when trying to decide the best changes for the project site assessment in terms of the Content, Context, and Users. Some of you might remember that I actually started these interviews some time back (see Chapter 10 and my job); I think my real life has jumbled my approach to this class in that I read through the book pretty quick the first week so I could tackle some issues at work.
I pretty well had a handle on the diverse needs of my users (everyone from the general public to the researchers that post to the site). Using the new material made available this week, I more closely examined the content available and the context. My new impressions are that I may need to talk to my supervisor about possible jargon problems and the purpose of our content. The issues I'm now looking at are tat while the site is supposed to serve as a reference for both researchers and the general public, there is very little presented in the way of explaining the conferences referenced or much of the highly academic and specialized vocabulary.
Scopus
On Thursday, I attended a work training on Scopus, which is a literature and website database. What got me most about Scopus is that the mainpage (if you have an account) resembles an iGoogle page a little--it has several independently updated fields for your unique information searching needs. Given the success of customizable homepages like iGoogle, I was wondering if this method of information display might be more readily accessible to users because the concept is becoming more familiar.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
ADA and section 508
On Monday of this week I made a point of making contact with the Web team at my work; this contact happens 100% through email because the team is actually in a different state. My first email was basically a heads-up to watch for the email I was going to send about new documents we needed to add, and I talked a little about the class project for 840 and how I might send those suggestions on towards the end of the semester. I got a less-than-enthusiastic and very apologetic email back about how they would be happy to do what they can with my project suggestions, but that the site was really dependant on several government approved templates and ADA restrictions.
I mostly already knew this from chatting with my supervisor, but let me discuss it here because it's highly relevant to Library Science. The Americans with Disabilities Act and 508 compliance basically sets out rules for government websites to make them as highly accessible as possible to everyone regardless of their unique abilities. For example, all video clips need to be captioned so they are accessible without audio, and all pictures need to have text descriptors so they are described if a user is employing a screen-reader. While color can be used on a site, it cannot be used as a sole indicator of navigation (i.e. "press the red button....") for users who have color blindness. For a complete description, check out the 508 compliance codes here:
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm
It has implications for my project because it does add a extra level of consideration, but it's also part of the ethics of the profession we discussed in 801 last semester in terms of providing fair and equal access to patrons.
Anyways, I wrote back telling my contact on the web team that I understood about the unique needs of government sites and that I had read over 508 compliance, and explained about how the project was really more an exercise in reducing the number of clicks between a user and the information they are seeking through intuitive design. I also said that I was 100% here to learn on this one, so it would be great if there were any resources they could send on to me. I got back a very relieved email stating what a frustration it was every time someone wanted to add something neat they saw on another site, and they had to explain the rules--they would be very happy to work with me, and highly recommended Krug's "Don't Make Me Think!" (a book we discussed in class) for user-centered design in websites.
I mostly already knew this from chatting with my supervisor, but let me discuss it here because it's highly relevant to Library Science. The Americans with Disabilities Act and 508 compliance basically sets out rules for government websites to make them as highly accessible as possible to everyone regardless of their unique abilities. For example, all video clips need to be captioned so they are accessible without audio, and all pictures need to have text descriptors so they are described if a user is employing a screen-reader. While color can be used on a site, it cannot be used as a sole indicator of navigation (i.e. "press the red button....") for users who have color blindness. For a complete description, check out the 508 compliance codes here:
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm
It has implications for my project because it does add a extra level of consideration, but it's also part of the ethics of the profession we discussed in 801 last semester in terms of providing fair and equal access to patrons.
Anyways, I wrote back telling my contact on the web team that I understood about the unique needs of government sites and that I had read over 508 compliance, and explained about how the project was really more an exercise in reducing the number of clicks between a user and the information they are seeking through intuitive design. I also said that I was 100% here to learn on this one, so it would be great if there were any resources they could send on to me. I got back a very relieved email stating what a frustration it was every time someone wanted to add something neat they saw on another site, and they had to explain the rules--they would be very happy to work with me, and highly recommended Krug's "Don't Make Me Think!" (a book we discussed in class) for user-centered design in websites.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Drupal and Plone
I've just spent some time catching up on the rest of this week's lesson content and perusing through Drupal and Plone. My initial impressions of these sites compared to Joomla! is that Plone seems to have (for me, at least) the most intuitive layout. The site seemed to know where my thoughts were going in terms of the most prominently displayed links, and offered up easily accessible case studies and lists of hosting providers--I haven't decided yet if I'm going with a hosting provider or setting up one of our old boxes in the closet to do it myself. Probably the later because I tend to be a control freak.
I think Joomla! has the "friendliest" language in that it approaches the subject of CMS from a beginner's standpoint in the pages and documentation I found. Drupal's three-column layout was a little overwhelming at first, and it seemed that the menus kind of jumped around a little as I paged through and I got a little lost--however, Drupal also offered some readily available forums for the contributors which openly discussed problems and fixes.
I'm going to need to do a little more research before I pick one, I think, because I'm really looking for a CMS that would allow me more access to play with the "guts" (the back-end programming language). Ultimately, I think I'm going to spend some time looking through the case studies more to see how the final sites turned out. Aesthetics are important, and good layout potential is currently topping the list of "needs" for my friends' blog.
I think Joomla! has the "friendliest" language in that it approaches the subject of CMS from a beginner's standpoint in the pages and documentation I found. Drupal's three-column layout was a little overwhelming at first, and it seemed that the menus kind of jumped around a little as I paged through and I got a little lost--however, Drupal also offered some readily available forums for the contributors which openly discussed problems and fixes.
I'm going to need to do a little more research before I pick one, I think, because I'm really looking for a CMS that would allow me more access to play with the "guts" (the back-end programming language). Ultimately, I think I'm going to spend some time looking through the case studies more to see how the final sites turned out. Aesthetics are important, and good layout potential is currently topping the list of "needs" for my friends' blog.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Joomla!
Last night we had the presentation on Joomla!
I was trying to download it when we suddenly lost audio--I thought the download might have been eating into my RAM so I aborted the operation. As it turns out, that wasn't the issue, but oh well--long story short I don't have Joomla! downloaded yet because it was too late last night to get the ball rolling. I have, however, read over some of the user manual and instruction guides, and I'm very excited at the possibilities.
I've been wondering about expanding the functionality of some of my blogs for a while now. In particular, I have a personal blog that I keep with 4 of my friends from high school. We use it as a sort of small in-group newsletter where we keep current on each other's lives. Because we live pretty spread out--everywhere from Colorado to Georgia--this is our typical way of keeping in touch. However, with five of us posting, and five different ideas on how the site should be, things get cramped. I'm hoping I can expand us comfortably using Joomla! somehow. From what the presenter said, Joomla! is a pretty friendly environment for people who do or do not want to deal with XML, so I'm looking forward to some good templates and maybe some of my own upgrading.
However, I do feel the need to remark on the guides I looked over. For a product designed to be so user-friendly, the install looks to be pretty complex. Also, it looks like it might be a little confusing for individuals who are not familiar with hosting and hosting services. After I scope this one out, I'll report back.
I was trying to download it when we suddenly lost audio--I thought the download might have been eating into my RAM so I aborted the operation. As it turns out, that wasn't the issue, but oh well--long story short I don't have Joomla! downloaded yet because it was too late last night to get the ball rolling. I have, however, read over some of the user manual and instruction guides, and I'm very excited at the possibilities.
I've been wondering about expanding the functionality of some of my blogs for a while now. In particular, I have a personal blog that I keep with 4 of my friends from high school. We use it as a sort of small in-group newsletter where we keep current on each other's lives. Because we live pretty spread out--everywhere from Colorado to Georgia--this is our typical way of keeping in touch. However, with five of us posting, and five different ideas on how the site should be, things get cramped. I'm hoping I can expand us comfortably using Joomla! somehow. From what the presenter said, Joomla! is a pretty friendly environment for people who do or do not want to deal with XML, so I'm looking forward to some good templates and maybe some of my own upgrading.
However, I do feel the need to remark on the guides I looked over. For a product designed to be so user-friendly, the install looks to be pretty complex. Also, it looks like it might be a little confusing for individuals who are not familiar with hosting and hosting services. After I scope this one out, I'll report back.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Design gripes about operating systems...
In light of recent reading from Ambient Findability, I need to gripe a little about Windows. Today I was chatting with Lisa, who I work with, about school (she's in my program, but opted for the online tech course this summer over 840--so we're trading knowledge back and forth in the practice of good information sharing for universal benefit). Anyways, she asked me about where to find the add/remove programs list in Vista, and off hand all I could remember was that they stuck it somewhere different from where it was in XP. I had to come home and look at my machine to figure out it's in Control Panel->Uninstall Programs.
Why Uninstall Programs? Why not Manage Programs, or Program List, or something else? You don't just uninstall things when you're there, so why call it that?
I'm guessing this is part of what I like to call Windows Intuition. There's regular intuition, and then there's W.I. W.I. is what people have developed in response to the fact that Windows really isn't that intuitive. You have to push start to turn the thing off. Things need to "download" to "update". You need to go to a highly specifically named place "Uninstall Programs" to do anything with your programs. People have come to accept these things and hardly give them a second thought because the have become so ingrained...hence Windows Intuition. Of course you push start to stop using your computer--makes total sense because that's the way it's always been.
Now, when Microsoft discovers that 90% of the time people are removing programs when they visit the program list, they think "hey, let's just call the link Uninstall Program." This actually works counter to Windows Intuition, because we've all developed the tendency to look elsewhere for this link (say, under "Add or Remove Programs", as it was in XP, or "Add/Remove Programs" in Windows 98). Another fantastic example are the personal settings. It used to be difficult to change the personal settings on your computer because it involved a few well-placed clicks to get to the right screen; when I updated to Vista, I just about lost my mind when my husband explained that in Vista, you just right click the desktop and click "Personalize."
"Personalize" makes sense. So easy; so intuitive. But not Windows intuitive.
Windows isn't intuitive. Now that they are trying to correct their design flaws, I find myself getting lost, ironically. I understand that they want to create a better, more intuitive and useful architecture, but the years I spent building Windows Intuition resist. Why go changing things around after your audience has already learned the nuances? Is anyone else confused by the simplified operating systems, or have I just been hanging around too many engineers lately?
Why Uninstall Programs? Why not Manage Programs, or Program List, or something else? You don't just uninstall things when you're there, so why call it that?
I'm guessing this is part of what I like to call Windows Intuition. There's regular intuition, and then there's W.I. W.I. is what people have developed in response to the fact that Windows really isn't that intuitive. You have to push start to turn the thing off. Things need to "download" to "update". You need to go to a highly specifically named place "Uninstall Programs" to do anything with your programs. People have come to accept these things and hardly give them a second thought because the have become so ingrained...hence Windows Intuition. Of course you push start to stop using your computer--makes total sense because that's the way it's always been.
Now, when Microsoft discovers that 90% of the time people are removing programs when they visit the program list, they think "hey, let's just call the link Uninstall Program." This actually works counter to Windows Intuition, because we've all developed the tendency to look elsewhere for this link (say, under "Add or Remove Programs", as it was in XP, or "Add/Remove Programs" in Windows 98). Another fantastic example are the personal settings. It used to be difficult to change the personal settings on your computer because it involved a few well-placed clicks to get to the right screen; when I updated to Vista, I just about lost my mind when my husband explained that in Vista, you just right click the desktop and click "Personalize."
"Personalize" makes sense. So easy; so intuitive. But not Windows intuitive.
Windows isn't intuitive. Now that they are trying to correct their design flaws, I find myself getting lost, ironically. I understand that they want to create a better, more intuitive and useful architecture, but the years I spent building Windows Intuition resist. Why go changing things around after your audience has already learned the nuances? Is anyone else confused by the simplified operating systems, or have I just been hanging around too many engineers lately?
I am the "Cybrarian" of which Morville speaks...
I was reading through Chapter 2 of Information Architecture today when I found the section on who's qualified to do information architecture, and I was absolutely taken with the word "cybrarian." It's page 19, for anyone who wants to check it out. I've also been doing some readings from Ambient Findability, so if I start talking about stuff that's not in our text, that's where it's from.
I think becoming a cybrarian is my ultimate career goal through all of this; this class has been so helpful in just giving things names. I used to tell people I wanted to use my librarian skills to design better databases and search systems, and now I have terms--real career terms, and not words I bumble around trying to explain--for information architecture and cybrarian. (And even better, the jobs actually sound as cool as I think they are!)
Somehow in my brain this whole phenomenon of naming ties back to good labeling practices in design. It's like when a website is poorly designed and you kind of have to hit around a lot of related concepts before you get where you want to go vs. having a direct keyword link. Words for concepts are absolutely amazing in the power they can give you; I think that's why I first became interested in linguistics.
I think becoming a cybrarian is my ultimate career goal through all of this; this class has been so helpful in just giving things names. I used to tell people I wanted to use my librarian skills to design better databases and search systems, and now I have terms--real career terms, and not words I bumble around trying to explain--for information architecture and cybrarian. (And even better, the jobs actually sound as cool as I think they are!)
Somehow in my brain this whole phenomenon of naming ties back to good labeling practices in design. It's like when a website is poorly designed and you kind of have to hit around a lot of related concepts before you get where you want to go vs. having a direct keyword link. Words for concepts are absolutely amazing in the power they can give you; I think that's why I first became interested in linguistics.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
I.A. for me
In a previous post I talked about the wave of new information (mostly papers and presentations) that were handed over to my inbox when I started talking about updating the webpage where I work. Yesterday brought a new complication when an email arrived asking me if I had 8 particular papers, and I realized the file names of the documents I had weren't descriptive enough for me to tell; they weren't even consistent, as they arrived from several different individuals who each have their own idea of what is descriptive enough for a file name.
Thanks to a project I'm already doing, I knew what was already on the site, which was a huge plus. However, I realized I'd been pushing off sorting my email attachments because I wasn't ready to do anything with them yet. Looking through, I realized I'd received some files more than once (or maybe the files were different, but the file names weren't). What a mess I'd made for myself by not being ready for the information--having a personal information management system is where designing one for someone else starts.
I made a folder on my desktop and created a new text document in it where I listed the things people "wanted" me to have for posting to the site. I downloaded all of my attachments into that file, and then started the ardous task of detailing which posters, presentations, and papers I had. I got rid of duplicates and renamed files that had the same name and different content. Now I have a system to deal with incoming papers and a list of what's in there and what needs to get in there, so it's all ready when I am to go to the site (hopefully not more than 2 weeks).
Thanks to a project I'm already doing, I knew what was already on the site, which was a huge plus. However, I realized I'd been pushing off sorting my email attachments because I wasn't ready to do anything with them yet. Looking through, I realized I'd received some files more than once (or maybe the files were different, but the file names weren't). What a mess I'd made for myself by not being ready for the information--having a personal information management system is where designing one for someone else starts.
I made a folder on my desktop and created a new text document in it where I listed the things people "wanted" me to have for posting to the site. I downloaded all of my attachments into that file, and then started the ardous task of detailing which posters, presentations, and papers I had. I got rid of duplicates and renamed files that had the same name and different content. Now I have a system to deal with incoming papers and a list of what's in there and what needs to get in there, so it's all ready when I am to go to the site (hopefully not more than 2 weeks).
Friday, June 5, 2009
First Weekend LI802 (part deux, after the break)
Robert Taylor created the levels of information need; his article is on reserve for my class. Maybe I'll be able to find a copy to link to here. Update--I found a link to this article and posted it below.
Robert Taylor's Process of Asking Questions
Taylor's Levels of Information Need:
-Visceral Need (actual, but unexpressed)
-Concious Need (within-brain description)
-Formalized Need (formal statement of the need)
-Compromised Need (as presented to the information system)
Lynch (1978) wrote in her paper that most librarians used close-ended questions in most reference interactions. This is important because it defines the user in terms of the library instead of vice versa; it forces the expectations of the library onto the user instead of asking what the user desires. Also, open-ended questions tend to create a more welcoming environment ("How may I help you?") than closed-ended questions ("Can I help you?").
Grover's Diagnostic Cycle (1993) also explored the librarian/user interaction.
-Diagnosis Stage: What? Where? When? Who?
-Prescription Stage: resource is proscribed
-Treatment Stage: user considers resource in relation to need, perhaps the need is fulfilled--the librarian should always ask.
-Evaluation Stage: If information need is not fulfilled, then the cycle starts all over again.
Robert Taylor's Process of Asking Questions
Taylor's Levels of Information Need:
-Visceral Need (actual, but unexpressed)
-Concious Need (within-brain description)
-Formalized Need (formal statement of the need)
-Compromised Need (as presented to the information system)
Lynch (1978) wrote in her paper that most librarians used close-ended questions in most reference interactions. This is important because it defines the user in terms of the library instead of vice versa; it forces the expectations of the library onto the user instead of asking what the user desires. Also, open-ended questions tend to create a more welcoming environment ("How may I help you?") than closed-ended questions ("Can I help you?").
Grover's Diagnostic Cycle (1993) also explored the librarian/user interaction.
-Diagnosis Stage: What? Where? When? Who?
-Prescription Stage: resource is proscribed
-Treatment Stage: user considers resource in relation to need, perhaps the need is fulfilled--the librarian should always ask.
-Evaluation Stage: If information need is not fulfilled, then the cycle starts all over again.
First Weekend LI802
Theoretical Foundations of Service: Diagnosis and Customization.
For the record, I rarely remember the names of the classes I take. I remember the content, and the people, but not the complex names. For me this class is 802. This class is about how people seek information from a cognitive and cultural perspective; I'm hoping the lessons will go hand in hand with some of the cognitive science classes I've taken for my CompLing MA.
non-human intermediaries: exactly what we discussed in 840. It's information architecture; providing effective information services and easily accessible resources to humans through computers.
information seeking behavior/information use behavior: how people seek and use information.
diagnosis: process of assessment/examination of a condition to determine needsand responsive solution
customization: design and construction of a service to suit an individual's or group's needs based on their specifications.
system-centered: prior to the 1960s, the librarian was the Keeper of Information. In a system-centered approach, the research focused on the library (i.e., how many people came there, how often, and for how long).
user-centered: the research focuses on how people seek and use information (notice the removal of focus on the library).
We apply a user-centered and interdisciplinary approach in LIS.
A note on social linguistics: linguistics is my *other* MA, so I was pretty pleased when the professor started talking about research she'd read on social linguistics. Social linguistics in big now, especially in the way of conversation analysis. The bond between culture, language, and cognition is huge in research in many fields (psychology, speech language and hearing sciences, artificial intelligence, linguistics, computer science...). Also big right now (and usually the topic I pick when I have to do a conversation analysis project) is language and technology--how texting, emailing, and IMing has affected language. One of the most interesting facets of texting analysis is the invention and use of emoticons--the little smilies and faces that convey emotion when we don't have a facial expression or vocal tone to accompany our words. ;)
And a funny story on GPS devices (the professor mentioned GPS devices as a major change in information exchange): I don't own one. However, a lot of people do, and a lot of things are now getting defined in terms of coordinate location. This affects me because the nerds on World of Warcraft have invented a GPS coordinate system for the game. So when you're looking for something, you go online and find, "Oh yeah, thats in Winterspring area at XX, YY." And it's really annoying because I do not have this game app installed, so whatever coordinates are given do not help me. I need directions such as "go southwest from the major town and look for a cave..."
My story on the importance of information: My first semester of graduate school, I also got married and bought a HUD house. The house was missing windows, had holes in the walls and doors, needed repairs to the heating system, and needed all of the floors and major appliances replaced. Before we did any of this, we got internet. Literally. I was without floors, heat, laundry services, fridge, oven, dishwasher, home security, and privacy, and all I wanted was my access to world information. We had it before we even moved all of our furniture in, because there was no way I could turn in my assignments without it (...and this program wasn't even internet based).
For the record, I rarely remember the names of the classes I take. I remember the content, and the people, but not the complex names. For me this class is 802. This class is about how people seek information from a cognitive and cultural perspective; I'm hoping the lessons will go hand in hand with some of the cognitive science classes I've taken for my CompLing MA.
non-human intermediaries: exactly what we discussed in 840. It's information architecture; providing effective information services and easily accessible resources to humans through computers.
information seeking behavior/information use behavior: how people seek and use information.
diagnosis: process of assessment/examination of a condition to determine needsand responsive solution
customization: design and construction of a service to suit an individual's or group's needs based on their specifications.
system-centered: prior to the 1960s, the librarian was the Keeper of Information. In a system-centered approach, the research focused on the library (i.e., how many people came there, how often, and for how long).
user-centered: the research focuses on how people seek and use information (notice the removal of focus on the library).
We apply a user-centered and interdisciplinary approach in LIS.
A note on social linguistics: linguistics is my *other* MA, so I was pretty pleased when the professor started talking about research she'd read on social linguistics. Social linguistics in big now, especially in the way of conversation analysis. The bond between culture, language, and cognition is huge in research in many fields (psychology, speech language and hearing sciences, artificial intelligence, linguistics, computer science...). Also big right now (and usually the topic I pick when I have to do a conversation analysis project) is language and technology--how texting, emailing, and IMing has affected language. One of the most interesting facets of texting analysis is the invention and use of emoticons--the little smilies and faces that convey emotion when we don't have a facial expression or vocal tone to accompany our words. ;)
And a funny story on GPS devices (the professor mentioned GPS devices as a major change in information exchange): I don't own one. However, a lot of people do, and a lot of things are now getting defined in terms of coordinate location. This affects me because the nerds on World of Warcraft have invented a GPS coordinate system for the game. So when you're looking for something, you go online and find, "Oh yeah, thats in Winterspring area at XX, YY." And it's really annoying because I do not have this game app installed, so whatever coordinates are given do not help me. I need directions such as "go southwest from the major town and look for a cave..."
My story on the importance of information: My first semester of graduate school, I also got married and bought a HUD house. The house was missing windows, had holes in the walls and doors, needed repairs to the heating system, and needed all of the floors and major appliances replaced. Before we did any of this, we got internet. Literally. I was without floors, heat, laundry services, fridge, oven, dishwasher, home security, and privacy, and all I wanted was my access to world information. We had it before we even moved all of our furniture in, because there was no way I could turn in my assignments without it (...and this program wasn't even internet based).
Egads! No weekend?
Second week in a row where I've had to run home from work to hustle through some chore duties before heading off to class. LI802 starts tonight, runs through tomorrow, and then I have just enough time Sunday to do laundry and dishes before the week starts again. Thank goodness for Sunday; I'm not speaking to my husband today because I left this morning before he got up and I have to leave for class before he gets home. I need to go to bed right when I get home tonight so I can be up in time tomorrow.
I'm still not sure how this is going to work when my linguistics classes pick back up in the fall. If nothing else, it should be interesting.
I'm still not sure how this is going to work when my linguistics classes pick back up in the fall. If nothing else, it should be interesting.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Influx of Information
In class, we talked about how one of the biggest challenges of information architecture was all the information. Today, I experienced this phenomenon.
After reading Chapter 10, I returned to work to ask some educated questions about our site (which I will most likely be using for the class project). My supervisor answered my questions about the things we needed to update, and then said he'd forward on a few things that we needed to add to update the papers. Two hours later I went to my inbox to find 15 emails containing several attachments in the form of papers and presentations to add to the site. Also, I had been cc'd on a handful of emails to other individuals asking them to forward more papers to me.
And in my head, I'm asking myself, "What have I gotten into here?"
So I wrote my supervisor an email and we had another brief meeting. Now we have a two step plan that includes putting the new documents on the web, and then dealing with some organizational upgrades. Piece of cake--communication is everything.
After reading Chapter 10, I returned to work to ask some educated questions about our site (which I will most likely be using for the class project). My supervisor answered my questions about the things we needed to update, and then said he'd forward on a few things that we needed to add to update the papers. Two hours later I went to my inbox to find 15 emails containing several attachments in the form of papers and presentations to add to the site. Also, I had been cc'd on a handful of emails to other individuals asking them to forward more papers to me.
And in my head, I'm asking myself, "What have I gotten into here?"
So I wrote my supervisor an email and we had another brief meeting. Now we have a two step plan that includes putting the new documents on the web, and then dealing with some organizational upgrades. Piece of cake--communication is everything.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Chapter 10 and my job
I just got around to reading Chapter 10, and my initial impressions are that I wish I had read it earlier this week. Part of my job involves some management of the content and design of our website, and lately it's been lacking in updates and organization due to some shifts in upper management. Monday and Tuesday, I spent some time with my coworkers and supervisor discussing the ways we want the site to look and function, and I wish I would have had some of the lists of questions from the book with me. I'm not sure yet if this is the site I'm doing for the class project or not, but the book has proven helpful nonetheless.
I think my plan of action from here is to take the lists and suggestions from the book and target them to my needs before approaching some of the individuals who have been around a little longer. The site kind of functions as a respository for all of the publications, proposals, and presentations from over the years. I'm curious to see if many of the people in my workplace spend a lot of time there, or if they do more on our developing wiki (that's a separate site and project for employees only, whereas the website is open to the public).
I think my plan of action from here is to take the lists and suggestions from the book and target them to my needs before approaching some of the individuals who have been around a little longer. The site kind of functions as a respository for all of the publications, proposals, and presentations from over the years. I'm curious to see if many of the people in my workplace spend a lot of time there, or if they do more on our developing wiki (that's a separate site and project for employees only, whereas the website is open to the public).
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
New Pages!
Because Blogger has yet to institute a way to easily add pages, I have simulated links to aphabetized pages for the texts, sites, and terms discussed in class.
For anyone nerdy enough to care, I managed this as decribed by Nischal Shetty. Basically, the "pages" are past dated posts with comments disabled. Then, an if statement is created around the code that displays the date for the post such that if comments are disabled, date is also disabled. Then I added links to the "about" section on the blog. :)
This was my first try at this method of "pages" in Blogger, and I'm very pleased with the results. It was a good learning experience, and I'll probably be implementing the method again on other blogs.
Links to the new pages are located beneath the heading at the top of the page, just above the tag cloud.
For anyone nerdy enough to care, I managed this as decribed by Nischal Shetty. Basically, the "pages" are past dated posts with comments disabled. Then, an if statement is created around the code that displays the date for the post such that if comments are disabled, date is also disabled. Then I added links to the "about" section on the blog. :)
This was my first try at this method of "pages" in Blogger, and I'm very pleased with the results. It was a good learning experience, and I'll probably be implementing the method again on other blogs.
Links to the new pages are located beneath the heading at the top of the page, just above the tag cloud.
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