Structure and schema

Over the past two days I have been working on the documentation of the structure and schema for the showcase portal. I needed to get it done by the end of the day today since I'll be off next week and the developers need that information.

Schema: 
I defined the facets for the schema, described their inputs, what they will do in the entry interface and in the portal interface. It took some time to write up the descriptions. I had to consider whether or not each element was required, because not all elements will apply to all projects, and how each element would be handled in searches.

Boolean AND and OR make a difference in the advanced search. After considering how the elements work together, I defined the Booleans values thus:

            Selecting multiple facets in an advanced search should search with a Boolean “AND”; results will be returned for projects meeting all search criteria.

            Selecting multiple terms in a single facet in advanced search should search with a Boolean “OR”; results will be returned for projects meeting any of the search criteria.

The logic behind this is that if someone wants to search for a virtual reality (category facet) project in medicine (discipline facet), they want projects that meet both criteria. If someone is searching for projects that are virtual reality or augmented reality (both in the category facet), they want projects that fit either criteria.

Structure:
I also diagrammed the structure of the portal and made wireframes for each of the four page types.

Portal site structure

I had a rough draft of the home page that I was able to update based on the notes and decisions from Monday's meeting. I also wireframed the advanced search, search results and project description pages. I also took a sample project from that spreadsheet of examples and used the information to create a mockup project description page to show what an actual page might look like.

Now that some decisions have been made, I have felt very productive. Wireframes, sitemaps (the structure diagram), the detail of the schema--I was able to get a lot of work done in two days. I submitted the document to the developers this afternoon. Hopefully it contains the information they need to get started. And hopefully they will give me feedback after spring break if there was anything missing or if anything was unclear. 

The point of the internship is to learn and to gain experience. Most of the projects I have done to this point have been theoretical class exercises, so having feedback from actual developers on an actual project will be helpful for my future practice. Did I use correct terminology? Were the diagrams understandable? Did I provide the information they needed? Too much? Too little? Did I miss something? I look forward to hearing back from Dave and Patrick when I get back in to the office.

Fields, still

I'm still working on fields.

Next Monday, I am supposed to present a solution for the controlled vocabulary. And I'm still working on fields.

Part of the problem is that my supervisor has been away at a conference for the past week, and I'm at a point where I need some feedback. So, I'm waiting. Hopefully she'll be back tomorrow and we can meet, even briefly, to go over what I have so far.

I've had plenty to do trying to sort and narrow and expand fields. I created index cards so I could look at all the fields, move them around, see which felt closer and further from each other.

That's a lot of academic fields.

I have also been working in my spreadsheet, documenting how I am sorting fields so I can justify my decisions. 

A highlight of Monday: the new User Experience Office (UXO) gave a presentation to interested staff. They introduced what user experience is, talked about why this new office was created and elevated to cabinet level, rather than the afterthought that the IT communications office (ITCO) sometimes seemed to be. It's very exciting that UX is getting a lot of attention. They are going to be hiring some new positions soon. I need to keep my eye out for those postings, although I don't graduate until December. 

Take away this week: Sometimes working on a project can seem like spinning your wheels, especially when you have to wait on other people. But, opportunities can appear if you keep your eyes and ears open.

Persuasion

Monday I presented my project progress to a small group, including the manager and director. One of the things I have been working on, as you know if you've been reading this blog, is coming up with controlled vocabulary terms for filters.

Filters, especially drop-down menus, get a bad rap from some folks, but they are actually very useful in helping website visitors to find what they are looking for. Without filters or some way to narrow down selections, a large collection of items, which this site will be, can be overwhelming. Yes, it's good to allow free text search, especially if someone knows exactly what they are looking for. But not everyone does.

Controlled vocabulary and filters aid browsing and serendipity.

In the presentation, I ran into some pushback on the idea of having a controlled vocabulary and having filters, because "I hate drop-down menus." So what was supposed to be an hour-long meeting where I presented my progress and we set down next steps became an hour and a half meeting wherein several of us spent about 45 minutes persuading the director that a controlled vocabulary was both necessary and useful.

We did convince him. He did agree that we could implement a controlled vocabulary in a way that would not be onerous and would make things work better.

We also agreed on the categories for filters and/or keywords:

• Category - What is the thing? The controlled vocabulary for this is pretty solid and might need minor tweaking.
• Field - What academic field(s) does the project apply to? I have a start on this controlled vocabulary, but there are a lot of possible fields, plus I want to limit the list to about 20, if possible.
• Campus - Since the AVL spans all 8 IU campuses, a project might be initiated at a particular campus. Controlled vocabulary for this will be fairly simple: we just have to decide on the format (e.g., IUB or Bloomington).
• Year - I think this will be a simple 4-digit year.
• Name - This would be a tricky one for a controlled vocabulary (it could be done). The agreement we came to was that this field would be free-text for data entry, which may or may not be the best. Hopefully we can set a standard (first name first or last name first? initials or full names?).

My task for the rest of this week is to nail down the controlled vocabulary. I'm also supposed to work up some test cases to demonstrate how the controlled vocabulary will aid someone in finding an item.

The original schedule had me designing, which I had started, but they are less concerned with following that schedule than with getting this part worked out since this is where efforts at organization have failed in the past.

Take-away: Sometimes you have to step back and slow down to do things right. Rushing would get something done, but it might not be as long-lasting. Also, sometimes you have to stand up for what will be a better choice. 

Assessing and reassessing

Last week I made 3 rough wireframes to show a few basic ideas for the AVL Showcase website. 

Then I had a weekend to think. And I thought about the idea that the director keeps referring to as his idea for the site. 

So Monday I went back to the beginning and really looked at that example and how the search and filtering work. I took a second look at some examples I had gathered of sorting and filtering. I really spent some time assessing the pros and cons of the differences in the sites and wrote up a brief to explain what I liked and didn't like about each option as it relates to this project. 

I also added a fourth rough wireframe based on that original site, something I hadn't really thought about before in the design.

A 4th design for the homepage

We have a meeting scheduled for next Monday where I will present what I have so far, and decisions can be made so I can move forward. I don't want to spend time wireframing further pages until we establish which of the 4 versions is the most suited. There are pros and cons to each, which I will need to talk about when we meet. 

Once that is settled, we need to prioritize the keywords and their categories, deciding which are going to be used in the filters because I will need those filters for the wireframing. 

Waiting to get feedback

This week involved a lot of looking at lists of keywords, arranging and rearranging them to try to make meaningful sense of all the possibilities. I spoke to a non-team member who might be the type of user this web portal will be designed for. Her feedback on how she would search for projects was very helpful, especially in terms of the labels for the main categories.

I also made some very rough wireframes of the idea I'm currently working with. And now I'm at a point where I really need some feedback.

I have 3 basic layout ideas, trying to balance "easy" buttons with the vast array of descriptors that will be used. Making a decision on which of those ideas to work from will allow me to start wireframing in earnest.

Version 3 of the basic layout

The second thing I need feedback on is my organization of the keywords and which should be used in filters and which just left to search terms. Or, do we leave all of them in a big tag cloud? Maybe not the best idea, but possibly closer to what is desired.

I also need to start gathering the assets that will go into the website. We need to organize the items, give them appropriate keywords, create a database or spreadsheet, write descriptions, etc.

So, I am waiting for my supervisor to look over what I have done and then we need to schedule a meeting with the manager and director so those decisions can be made.

And that's the take away this week: sometimes people are busy and you have to move to another part of the project you can do while you wait.

What this project is and what it isn't

Monday morning began with a meeting with my supervisor, the group manager, and the division director. We went over the work I had done so far, with me leading the discussion.

The meeting was helpful in clarifying a few questions I had encountered about what the project is and what the project isn't. The proto-personas I created were well-received, so I will continue fleshing them out as I gather more information.

We were also able to agree on the next steps, which mostly involves interviewing each of the group members and collecting some representative samples of the visual assets that the project is about. The interviews are brief, about 30 minutes each, and are helpful in gathering requirements. Part of the interview is requesting information on representative samples, as mentioned above, so I can start creating a list of descriptors. The descriptors will be useful for search terms in the eventual site.

I was able to do the first interview Monday afternoon. I have two more planned for Thursday and another planned for Friday, when I'll finally make a trip to IUPUI to see the other facilities. Interviews will take some time to complete because I have to work around everyone's schedules.

There are plenty of things I can do in the meantime. I've been reading up on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). I have also been typing up my handwritten notes, which helps me think about what the notes mean. In typing them, I can add context and questions, and make connections.

Take away: Meetings aren't always bad. This was more of a work session than a meeting, with the goal of putting us all on the same page.

Week one: Getting to know you

I have a desk.

The first week of my internship was dedicated to getting to know the group I'm working with: who is in the group, who does what, what do they do as a whole, etc. This was also a chance for them to get to know me a little.

Let's get started!

I haven't talked to everyone in the group yet. Several team members work at IUPUI, so I'll either need to travel to Indianapolis or video conference with them. The people I did talk with included the developers I will be working with on this project. They both shared very useful information that will help with the project: some thing to think about regarding the eventual coding as well as previous efforts that this current project builds on. Some of those efforts were more successful than others.

What I learned from seeing those previous efforts is that team buy-in is important, but also good design. One effort, a folder of visual assets for tours, is poorly organized, making it difficult to find specific examples. It is also limited to machines it has been loaded on. 

Another lesson learned is that technology can make a difference. One effort to curate AVL content, which was successful for the specific purpose it was designed for but is now outdated, was programmed using Flash. Even if the content were still being updated, Flash programming would be a problem now. Choosing how the new site is programmed is the job of the developers, but it is useful to keep this in mind to understand the choices they make.

Along with talking to the developers, I also took a tour of some of the facilities with several team members. The tour was a good introduction to some of the work the AVL does but also demonstrated part of the problem of digital assets being located in various places. 

Finally, I was able to clarify that the portal I am working to design will serve two purposes. First, it will be a portal that staff can use to access their showcase visualizations for teaching, tours, or other purposes. Second, it will hopefully also serve as a public face for the group. While they have an official webpage with the university, the portal would be a place they can refer people who want to see examples of the work they do.

All in all, my first two days were interesting and helped clarify what I'll be doing. I think the problem will be a good test of my skills and an excellent opportunity.