C-Inspector: Task-Based Category Testing

Steffen Schilb is at it again. First came CardSort. Now he’s developed another interesting tool to test your information architecture called C-Inspector:

“C–Inspector is a web–based application that helps you to test the information architecture of your website. By analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data collected through the remote test, you can gain insight into the users’ mental models and identify possible issues with labelling or grouping.”

I’ve not tried the tool myself yet, but it looks promising. The task-based approach would appear to give rich feedback on your IA. This isn’t new, though–the guys over at Optimal Usability also just recently launched TreeJack, which I got to see at the IA Summit in Memphis. It also takes a task-based approach.

Congratulations, Steffen.

Fast Company on Info Viz

Fast Company has an interesting piece on information visualization: Is Information Visualization the Next Frontier for Design? Author Michael Cannell is placing big bets on the future of info viz:

Designers have historically excelled at finding insightful ways of looking at complex problems. Visualization will likely play a prominent role as design evolves beyond the consumer economy (selling $2,000 poufs and other high-end furnishings) and helps create efficient new forms of buildings, food distribution and transportation.

He also mentions Edward Tufte:

You might think of visualization as the antithesis of Power Point, which sometimes seems to make us dumber. Six years ago, Edward Tufte, a Big Thinker in the field of information graphics, issued a 28-page pamphlet that dumped on Power Point as “a faux analysis” that “turns everything into a sales pitch.” Visualization does the opposite: it reflects the complexity of the world in simple terms. It is a window onto the world, in all its digital complexity. Though of course data can be skewed in deceitful and insidious ways.

I quite like that last bit. It reminds us that information visualization isn’t about reducing complexity, but embracing it and devising ways to make the complex clear.

There are some interesting examples of information visualization in the article, reflecting a rather broad definition of the field. In particular, the article links to a YouTube video of the introduction of a “word cloud” on CNN.

I’m a big fan of info viz in general and feel there is a wealth of potential there we’re just starting to realize. In Designing Web Navigation I briefly touch on the subject, but I warn that most info viz mechanisms aren’t mainstream yet–use them with caution. I wrote:

Visualization mechanisms tend to have limited use and should be reserved for special situations. General web users may not be accustomed to them. But, as research in information visualization mechanisms continues, their application may become more widespread.

I think that’s still true. You don’t want to have info viz be you’re ONLY navigation possibility on your site or application–at least not at the moment. But leveraging them as supplements to traditional browse and search options can bring value to users. And in doing so, info viz may become more and more common and understood.

Journal of Information Architecture, Issue 1, Volume 1

The first issue of the Journal of Information Architecture (JofIA) has finally arrived. I contributed a piece on uncertainty. Here’s the table of contents:

• Dorte Madsen
  Editorial: Shall We Dance?
  pp. 1-5
• Gianluca Brugnoli
  Connecting the Dots of User Experience
  pp. 6-15
• Helena Francke
  Towards an Architectural Document Analysis
  pp. 16-36
• Andrew Hinton
  The Machineries of Context
  pp. 37-47
• James Kalbach
  On Uncertainty in Information Architecture
  pp. 48-55

It was a long time coming and a lot of people put a ton of work into the launch of the journal. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Auftritt im Fools Garden – Sa. 2.5.

Hallo an alle, die in Hamburg sind.

Meine Band–Helmut and the Lampshades–wird morgen am Samstag den 2.5. mit unserem neuen Programm im Fools Garden auftreten.

-> Spoken-Word: Jazz-Arrangements zu den Erzählungen, so wie Songs von Neil Young und eigene Stücke.

Mehr Details auf unserer Website: http://lampshadejazz.wordpress.com/