1. Steve Krug asis&t 2002 IA Summit Baltimore March 16, 2002 Confessions of a SIGIA-L Lurker: A Pinhead's View of Information Architecture

2. All contents © 2002 Steve Krug

3. For the benefit of Mr. Kite 9:00 - 10:00 As advertised, Mr. K. will attempt to… Squeeze the entire field of IA through the wringer of common sense and take a look at what comes out the other side Touch on topics like the difference between IA and usability (slippery slope, or just a complex Venn diagram?) Enumerate the top [ten] five things Information Architects love to talk about (and why they can't stop talking about them) Explore the art of selling luxury services (like IA and usability) in a franks-and-beans economy Repeat five somersets on solid ground (time permitting)

4. For the benefit of Mr. Kite 10:00 - 10:30 Questions from our studio audience 10:30 – 11:30 Raked over coals by irate--and distinguished--panel

5. By the way… What is this thing?

6. Who is this guy, anyway Steve Krug (steev kroog) (noun) 1. Resident of Brookline, MA 2. Usability consultant 3. Husband, father Advanced Common Sense Me and a few well-placed mirrors Corporate motto: Its not rocket surgery

7. What I do all day Expert usability reviews Teach workshops Occasional testing Mostly neighbor testing

8. How did I get here? Odd data point You can discount me entirely Typesetting > Computers Computers > Tech writing Kurzweil Reading Machine > Xerox Star Im old You had a cardboard box to sleep in? Tech Writing > Software usability Software Usability > Web Usability Web Usability > Book

9. Im not an Information Architect Dont even play one on TV I dont know what you know, I havent seen what youve seen (Hear My Song) I know how to do Lou and Peter IA Hierachies/organization (broad sense) Navigation Labeling Search Dont have specialized skills Couldnt create a thesaurus if… …or detailed insights gained by experience

10. Scott McCloud proves beauty, creativity, and good IA arent incompatible

13. Towards a taxonomy of keynotes Was going to create one: Lofty appeal to principles Taking the audience to task Inspiring call to action/New Directions Taking stock/retrospective Taking stock/looking forward Thinly veiled marketing Audience-serving vs. self-serving Has content vs. doesnt

14. So whats this one? A pinheads view An interested outsider A picaresque novel

15. Fastest recorded connection speed in the history of the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront

16. Show of hands? Who reads SIGIA-l? Digest or full-flow? Contributed in the last month? Why I lurk on the digest Reduces in-box clutter Reduces temptation to do something else (reading incoming messages, instead of whatever I should be doing) Reduces temptation to reply (if you wait a little while, somebody else will answer that question)

17. I confess. The octopus was mine. (But its a friendly octopus.)

18. My original speech Been thinking about it since November Was all set to go, then… How did Jesse get his hands on it? See IA/Recon at http://www.jjg.net/ia/recon/ Waiting on the dock for the next installment Advanced Common Sense TM seal of approval

19. Top five list Things Information Architects Cant Stop Talking About #5: Tools Visio, Inspiration, Denim, etc. My platforms better than yours The mythical tool in development Frustrating for me Tool would advance the profession (but market needs to be broader) Include spidering > diagram feature, please

20. Top five list #4: Defining things

25. Top five list #2: Big IA vs. Little IA Or Big IA and Little IA I always forget the difference I know it matters, but not to me Talk amongst yourselves

26. Top five list #3: Research findings X is better than Y

27. © 2000 Steve Krug

28. Top five list #2: Research findings Does anybody have research that shows that X is better than Y Would a big league glove give you confidence? Same as certification and standards discussions I have found very little research that helps me practice my profession If you can prove it, its probably obvious You need to make sense to people You need to be able to apply principles to specific cases

29. Top five list #1: Proof of ROI Gee, why isnt there any [much]? Holy Grail (or stigmata) Would help convince some people, but I suspect an intelligible explanation of what you do would go further My book gets bought to hand to other people Lou, Peter? September 2002?

31. What is to be done? Not proof of ROI Not grabbing for turf

32. What is to be done Jakobs overshadowed speech at UPA Theres too much work Most people who need an IA cant even afford to rent one Real task: educate and generate best practices Personally, I dont feel bad if current project is less than optimal

33. Usability Tasks: Everybody Simple user testing (debugging a design) Applying guidelines to design Simple heuristic evaluation (debugging a design) Field studies Source: Jakob (UPA 2001)

34. Usability Tasks: Professionals Enforcing standards compliance Measurement studies User tests of new technologies Comparative usability studies Evangelizing usability inside company Source: Jakob (UPA 2001)

35. Usability Tasks: Senior Pros International user testing Strategic heuristic evaluation (setting directions) Developing/refining methodology Identifying guidelines Defining design standards Evangelizing usability to the world Source: Jakob (UPA 2001)

36. Many pieces to this puzzle Affective Cognitive Organizational Technological Economic Interpersonal

37. My definition of legacy data

40. How do you get respectability? Not by grabbing for turf See Nathan Shedroff The making of a discipline: the making of a title http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/002328.php

41. Any questions?

42. Anonymous flames go to… Email: skrug@sensible.com www.sensible.com