LIS5786 – INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

SPRING 2017, MONDAY 8:00-10:00PM,

Blackboard Collaborate Synchronous Sessions

Instructor: Laura-Edythe Coleman, PhD

Email: lcoleman@fsu.edu
Office: Via Skype
Course Location:
https://us.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/657b48b1c8a741a0b8476aa14b78821c
Course Website: https://fsu.instructure.com/courses/38871
Office Hours: By appointment only via email lcoleman@fsu.edu
(In-Person) or Via Skype “LauraEdythe”
Note: The best way to contact me is via email. I check email regularly from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on
Mondays through Fridays and I try to respond to email promptly. If you do not hear back from me
within 48 hours, resend the email. Make sure that you note the course number and title in the subject
line and include your name in the body of the email. Consultations should be scheduled at least a day
prior via www.lauraedythe.com (we will use this service for scheduling progress meetings). If you need
to cancel or will be late to a scheduled appointment please email me promptly.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course provides instruction and learning experiences in user-centered design of information
spaces, especially web sites. The entire Information Architecture process from learning the user's
needs through organizing the information to be presented to specifying the final design
parameters is covered. The result will be a technical solution to a specific information system
need that takes into account its social and organizational context.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Apply concepts of information organization to real-world situations

2. Develop needs assessments appropriate to particular information systems
3. Integrate information organization into the overall information architecture design process
4. Integrate concepts and skills in thesaurus design, controlled vocabulary construction, and meta-
data into overall system design
5. Specify, design, and implement navigational systems
6. Graphically and verbally communicate the design rationale and functionality of specific
information systems
7. Have an in-depth knowledge of components of the information architecture design process, and
will be able to integrate those components in the design of information systems
8. Apply the skills and knowledge in (6) in the context of group work and collaborative projects
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COURSE PREREQUISITES (Recommended):

• LIS 5362 Design and Production of Network Multimedia
• LIS 5703 Information Organization

COURSE MATERIALS:
• Rosenfeld, L., Morville, P. & Arango, J. (2015). Information architecture : for the web and
beyond. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034674.do
• Additional readings will be assigned from current literature, websites, and professional blogs
addressing Information Architecture and related topics

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION:

SUBMISSION TYPE POINTS %
FIRST LOOK SCREENCAST INDIVIDUAL 100 10
PROJECT PROPOSAL GROUP 50 5
PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS INDIVIDUAL 100 10
CONTENT AUDIT GROUP 100 10
CONTENT TAXONOMY GROUP 200 20
SITEMAP INDIVIDUAL 100 10
WIREFRAMES GROUP 200 20
PRESENTATION GROUP 50 5
CLASS PARTICIPATION INDIVIDUAL 100 10
TOTAL 1,000 100

ISCHOOL POINT BASED GRADING SCALE:

Letter Grade Points
A 950 and above
A- 900 - 949
B+ 870 - 899
B 840 - 869
B- 800 - 839
C+ 770 - 799
C 740 - 769
C- 700 - 739
D+ 670 - 699
D 640 - 669
D- 600 - 639
F below 600
• Grades below B- are considered failing in
graduate school. The grading scale is subject to
change with advanced notice.
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COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week Topics Monday Readings In-Class Homework
Lecture Activity Due Dates1
1 Introduction What is M&R Chapter 1 Defining IA First Day January 14
to Information Information M&R Chapter 2 Practicing IA Attendance
Architecture Architecture

2 Designing for NO CLASS M&R Chapter 4 Design for None January 21

Understanding MLK Understand
Holiday

3 Users Understanding M&R Chapter 3 Design for Finding January 28

Research Users M&R Chapter 10 Research
Skills • Usability.gov User
Research
Basics. http://www.usabilit
y.gov/what-and-why/user-
research.html (Links to an
external site.)
• Palmer, L. (2011). What's
data got to do with it?
Information Architecture
and
analytics. Intercom. Retri
eved
from https://www.research
gate.net/publication/27777
6367_What's_Data_Got_to
_Do_with_It_Information_
Architecture_and_Analytic
s (Links to an external
site.)

4 Personas Personas & M&R Chapter 12 Strategy

Strategy Scenarios M&R Chapter 13 Documentation February 4
Design & • Usability.gov
Documentation Personas. http://www.usabil
ity.gov/how-to-and-
tools/methods/personas.htm
l (Links to an external
site.)
• Usability.gov
Scenarios. http://www.usab
ility.gov/how-to-and-
tools/methods/scenarios.ht
ml (Links to an external
site.)
 LIS5786 – Information Architecture, p. 4 of 9

5 Information Information M&R Chapter 6 Organization February 11

Organization Organization Systems
Systems, I • Usability.gov. Card
Tools, Sorting http://www.usabili
Software ty.gov/how-to-and-
tools/methods/card-
sorting.html (Links to an
external site.)
• Spencer, D. (2004). Card
sorting: The definitive
guide.
http://boxesandarrows.com/card-
sorting-a-definitive-guide/ (Links to
an external site.)

6 Thesauri, Information M&R Chapter 10 February 18

Controlled Organization Thesauri, Controlled Vocabulary,
Vocabularies, II and Metadata
Schemas, and • Hedden Chapter 3:
Metadata Creating Terms (pp. 67-
96).
• Spencer, D. (2010)
Classification Schemes
and When to Use
Them. http://www.uxboot
h.com/articles/classificatio
n-schemes-and-when-to-
use-them/ (Links to an
external site.) UX Booth.
• Leise, F. (2003) Creating
a Controlled Vocabulary.
Boxes and
Arrows. http://boxesandar
rows.com/creating-a-
controlled-
vocabulary/ (Links to an
external site.)

7 Navigation, Navigation & M&R Chapter 7 February 25

Labeling, Browsing Labeling Systems
Taxonomy M&R Chapter 8
Navigation Systems
Hedden Chapter 9
Taxonomy Displays
8 Searching Metadata & M&R Chapter 9 Search Systems March 4
Information Searching • Tunkelang, D.
Retrieval (2009). Faceted search.
San Rafael, Calif.: Morgan
& Claypool
Publishers. [Link ]
o Chapter 2:
Information
Retrieval

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o Chapter 3:
Faceted Search

9 Folksonomy Folksonomies • Vanderwahl (2007) March 11

Tagging Tagging, Folksonomy Coinage and
and User- Definition http://www.van
based derwal.net/folksonomy.ht
systems ml (Links to an external
site.)
• Scott Golder and Bernardo
A. Huberman. (2006).
"Usage Patterns of
Collaborative Tagging
Systems." Journal of
Information Science,
32(2). 198-
208. http://www.hpl.hp.co
m/research/idl/papers/tags/
tags.pdf (Links to an
external site.)
• Madrigal, A. (2014)
Netflix's metadata
secrets . The Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.co
m/technology/archive/201
4/01/how-netflix-reverse-
engineered-
hollywood/282679/ (Links
to an external site.)

10 Spring Break NO CLASS NO CLASS

11 Wireframes Wonderful • Usability.gov March 25

Wireframes! Wireframing http://www.u
sability.gov/how-to-and-
tools/methods/wireframing
.html (Links to an external
site.)
• Interactive Sketching
Notation (See the attached
file )
o This PDF
provides a basic
overview of
interactive
sketching
notation.
12 Wireframe April 1
Workshop
13 IA in Practice Guest Speaker April 8

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14 Project Studio April 15

15 Project
Presentations April 22

16 Project
April 29
Presentations

Course Policies
• Student Responsibilities
o The course requirements include the readings, completion of all written and
applied works, including asynchronous activities, in-class exercises, and
participation in discussions during BB Collaborate sessions and on the
Discussion Boards in the course Canvas.
o Read the discussion boards regularly, and participate in the discussions. Ten
percent of the total score will come from your participation and discussion
(through weekly BB Collaborate and the discussion boards)
o It is vital that you read your FSU email regularly. Important announcements
will be made only through your FSU email through the semester. Mail sent from
non fsu.edu accounts will most likely be ignored.
o This course will not allow students to have an incomplete grade due to the heavy
dependency on group work. Thus, it is important for students to participate in
activities each week and complete assignments on time without delay in order to
receive the course grade.
• Course Announcement Policy
o All announcements will be posted on course Canvas.
o Students are required to read announcements on course Canvas regularly or
check their associated emails to catch up with the guidance.
• Attendance Policy
o Synchronous meetings are required for this course.
o Students should notify the instructor in advance if a class is going to be
missed. Unexcused absences will affect final grades.
o The use of audio with microphone for participation is strongly recommended. A
headset mounted microphone works best. Most built-in computer microphones
can also work, but may create a great deal of noise and echo during
conversations in class. Test your setup before every class.
• Policy Regarding Late Work
o Late work will constitute a five percent (5%) per day penalty for the
assignment (no exceptions unless otherwise negotiated with the instructor “prior
to” the deadline). If you find that you can’t meet the deadline, please contact the
instructor immediately.
o Assignments submitted more than two days after the deadline will NOT be
graded.

• Assignment Submission in General

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o Students need to submit all of the assignments to Canvas, using the assignment
links. The links are available in the assignment description pages.
o It is students' responsibility to check whether their assignment files are properly
uploaded to Canvas or not.
o If you have a trouble to upload your assignment files to Canvas, email the
assignment files to the instructor immediately. You will receive late assignment
submission penalty if you do not make them available to the instructor by
deadline.
Emergencies and Technical Problems
• No Show Policy
o Students should remain available for class for 15 minutes if the instructor is late
or has not communicated (This is very unlikely!). This complies with the
University’s policy for face-to-face situations.
o If the BB Collaborate server goes down, students should remain available for
class and should try to reconnect every five minutes. If the server does not come
back online within 15 minutes, students in class will receive an excused absence.
• Weather Emergency
o In the event of serious weather, such as a hurricane or blizzard, class WILL
NOT be canceled unless Tallahassee is directly involved.
o You will be expected to attend class unless the bad weather hits your area or you
are in the midst of an evacuation or preparation before the storm.
• Technical Difficulties
o The instructor and TA are not likely to be able to help you with technical
problems. They need to be handled by the Blackboard staff, the school’s tech
support staff, or Canvas staff.
o You only need to inform the instructor if the technical problem interferes with
class attendance or assignment completion.
o Contact the following help staff if you have technical problems:
§ Blackboard help staff: 850-644-8004
§ CCI Information Technology Helpdesk: it-help@fsu.edu or 850-644-
4357(HELP)
§ Canvas help: http://guides.instructure.com/
Academic Honor Policy
• The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s
expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for
resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities
of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible
for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be
honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at
Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found
at http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.) (Links to an external site.)
Americans with Disabilities Act
• Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register
with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and (2)
bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what

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type. This should be done during the first week of class. This syllabus and other
class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
• For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities,
contact the Student Disability Resource Center, 97 Woodward Avenue, South108
Student Services Building Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL 32306-4167(850)
644-9566 (voice)(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu (Links to an external site.)
Syllabus Change Policy
• This syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advanced notice
Acknowledgements
• This course is built on the contributions of the previous course instructors, Dr. Lisa
Tripp, Dr. Peter Jorgensen, Dr. Sanghee Oh, and Dr. Richard Urban.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

UNIVERSITY ATTENDANCE POLICY:

University-wide policy requires all students to attend the first day of class meeting of all
classes for which they are registered. Students who do not attend the first class meeting of a
course for which they are registered will be dropped from the course by the academic
department that offers the course. This policy applies to all levels of courses and to all
campuses and study centers. It remains the student's responsibility to verify course drops
and check that fees are adjusted.
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented
crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University
activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize
students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose
dependent children experience serious illness.

ACADEMIC HONOR POLICY:

The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations
for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations
of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members
throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy
and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for
personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University
Academic Honor Policy, found at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academics/Academic-Honor-Policy ).

PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism of any type, including material from Internet sources, will not be tolerated.
Cases of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism and cheating will be investigated &
pursued vigorously according to departmental and (if needed) university procedures.
Before submitting any work for this class, please read the "Academic Honor System" in its
entirety (see link above) and ask me to clarify any of its expectations that you do not
understand.

ADA STATEMENT:

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Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:

1. Register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource
Center; and
2. Bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and
what type. This should be done during the first week of class.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact
the:

Student Disability Resource Center

874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT:
Some of the materials in this course are possibly copyrighted. They are intended for use only by
students registered and enrolled in this course and only for instructional activities associated
with, and for the duration of, the course. They may not be retained in another medium or
disseminated further. They are provided in compliance with the provisions of the Technology,
Education, And Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act (refer to the 3/7/2001 TEACH Act at
www.copyright.gov/legislation/archive/ ).

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT POLICY:

It is the policy of the University that its employees and students neither commit nor condone
sexual harassment in any form. http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/grad/info/university_notices.htm

ISCHOOL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:

A list of all hardware and software requirements for students participating in the School of
Information (iSchool) courses can be found at the following location:
http://ischool.cci.fsu.edu/academics/online/requirements/