michael adcock: fringe ia
DESCRIPTION
Scientific Discovery, Tools and Context, all of which contribute to making the unclear clear.TRANSCRIPT
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Michael Adcock
World Information Architecture Day 2014
Fringe IA?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/aego/4885953564
Fringe?
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IA?
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http://understandinggroup.com/2013/07/presentation-at-uxpa-2013-understanding-information-architecture/
Where to Start?
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LookToThePast
Connections
S01E
10: “
Yeste
rday
, Tom
orro
w, and
You”
…because the future hasn’t happened yet, and because the future is simply the present, with extra bits attached! - James Burke
Look to the Past
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Message from 1978
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A Warning Before We Look at IA
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“let's look… and see what it's doing — that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”
- Richard Feynman
Knowing We Don’t Know
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IA Understanding
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http://si658.danklyn.com/Class-5-Fall-2013
What & How
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What & How
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IA Understanding
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http://understandinggroup.com/2013/07/presentation-at-uxpa-2013-understanding-information-architecture/
IA/UX Models
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http://www.slideshare.net/Hienadz.Drahun/50-visual-definitions-of-user-experience
IA in Practice
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BUSINESS SYSTEMS
USER EXPERIENCE
CODING
Object Models
Process Mapping
Information Model
Structural Design
Personas
Journeys
User Research
DESIGN
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Reframing with Why
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We know how to REFRAME problems.
We can ask WHY.If I asked you to build a bridge for me, you could go off and build a bridge. Or you could come back to me with another question: “Why do you need a bridge?” I would likely tell you that I need a bridge to get to the other side of a river. Aha! This response opens up the frame of possible solutions. There are clearly many ways to get across a river besides using a bridge. You could dig a tunnel, take a ferry, paddle a canoe, use a zip line, or fly a hot-air balloon, to name a few.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672354/how-reframing-a-problem-unlocks-innovation
#ReframeIAat the 2013 IA Summit
“Architect” vs. “Builder”
“Meaning” (Do we discover it, create it, or both?)
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http://lanyrd.com/2013/iasummit/sccpbp/
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IA/UX as Discovery
This is not a process of invention.This is a process of discovery.
Jesse James Garrett, IA Summit 2009
Advice from 1957…
“Discovery should come as an adventure rather than as the result of a logical process of thought.”
- Theobald Smith
http://archive.org/details/artofscientifici00beve
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IA as Scientific Discovery
"...intuitions always appear at the fringe of consciousness, not at the focus.“
"...the great scientist must be regarded as a creative artist and it is quite false to think of the scientist as a man who merely follows rules of logic and experiment."
http://archive.org/details/artofscientifici00beve
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IA as Scientific Discovery
“…the most difficult mental act of all is to re-arrange a familiar bundle of data, to look at it differently and escape from the prevailing doctrine.” - Professor H. Butterfieldhttp://archive.org/details/artofscientifici00beve
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Tools and Structures
Tools for discovering Meaningyet
Structures to create Context
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http://www.slideshare.net/danfnord/determining-what-good-means-ux-strat-2013
An Example from My Work…
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Company Background
• SaaS solutions for libraries
• Electronic Resource Management
• Bibliographic & publisher metadata
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What’s the Problem?
Here’s an example:
Given nearly 1000 client configurations stored in multiple XML and JSON files, “migrate” the information over from an old technology to a new implementation.
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RTA Migration
Oh, and by the way:
Some files are for legacy/inactive clients.
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RTA Migration
Oh, and by the way:
Some files are for legacy/inactive clients.Some files are for trial/demo clients.
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RTA Migration
Oh, and by the way:
Some files are for legacy/inactive clients.Some files are for trial/demo clients.Not sure how many clients must be migrated.
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RTA Migration
Oh, and by the way:
Some files are for legacy/inactive clients.Some files are for trial/demo clients.Not sure how many clients must be migrated.It’s NOT a matter of “mapping” or “copying”.
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RTA Migration
So, um… yeah. Can we do that?
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RTA Migration: Approach
We needed a tool to help us understand.Something that could put all this stuff in a meaningful context.I decided to use aTiddlyWiki,and build onto it.
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
Under the hood:
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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RTA Migration: Resulting Tool
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My Final Thoughts
IA needs freedom to experiment and play.
Sometimes we need to be tool builders.
We can learn from scientific discovery.
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Know You Don’t Know
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Help Others Understand
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Translate Knowledge
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Ask Questions
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Explain Clearly
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Ask for Explanations
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Thanks!
"What you must understand, is that as scientists we must embrace every possibility. No limitations, no boundaries, there is no reason for them.“
- Walter BishopU.S. Army ResearchHeadquarters, 1986
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