IA Summit 2012 Redux

Editor's Notes

• #5: The thing with channels is that it can be relatively simple – mobile on a few different types of devices + the web
• #6: More complex view of channels – many more places to interact, but focus still on digital
• #7: Really complex – beyond digital
• #8: Regardless of scale, many of the challenges are fairly universal One this immediately apparent from the conference was that the same themes kept popping up over and over Many of the tools and techniques were the same
• #9: One concept that many people addressed right away was that multi-channel is not the same thing as cross channel Multi-channel = same thing in multiple channels - choose 1 channel to perform a task Cross-channel = different features on different platforms – use multiple channels to complete a task Multi-channel – responsive web design Cross-channel – Apple eco-system – iPod vs. iTunes desktop software vs. iTunes store
• #10: Many challenges and barriers also universal Organization structure – we get in our own way Complexity – this isn’t easy – takes thought, collaboration, planning Different data sources The key themes that arose addressed these top challenges
• #11: Key themes that stuck in my mind were content, context, the organization Several of the talks were also about systems and complexity
• #13: Content is at the hub of everything
• #14: Karen McGrane’s talk was a real standout, with her NPR case study being really compelling NPR had to pull in content from a number of sources and then push it out everywhere This diagram doesn’t quite do it justice, as you don’t see other channels like podcasts via iTunes and syndicated content on affiliate websites
• #15: The approach McGrane is advocating is COPE = Create Once, Publish Everywhere Anyone who remembers Ann Rockley’s work with single sourcing for publications back in the late 90s/early 2000s recognizes this approach immediately
• #16: Key pillars of the approach are multiple sizes, tagging everything with metadata, writing for reuse, and having a CMS that strongly supports workflow Multiple sizes – depending on the channel, the size of the “bucket” available for a particular type of content can vary – product description – high level vs. detailed Descriptive metadata data – date, colour, category – it identifies objects – enables context Administrative metadata – access rights, content owner expiry dates – enables consistency – often used in workflow Structural metadata identifies composition of compound objects e.g a news article – enables interoperability Written for reuse – separate form from presentation Better, easier-to-use CMS: Happy content authors produce better content
• #18: Myths vs. reality Can start with a simplistic view regarding context that doesn’t hold up
• #20: Context really isn’t so simple – Earth is big compared to us, but not compared to Jupiter
• #21: People 89% use mobile at home – phone is nearby, computer is not Mindset – what you want to do – sets priority for features to surface on mobile; you might be bored, not rushed People consume content on tablets
• #23: Currently in organizations, different groups have different goals and incentives – often motivated to break the cross-channel experience Samantha Starmer, REI Moved all content creators from different channels into one group Aligned vocabularies across these channels How do you display a URL on store signage, on a receipt, with a QR code
• #24: “ When people at the top start thinking about their business model is when organizational changes can happen” - Peter Morville
• #25: Role of UX group as facilitators who lead and enable conversations Vision, and strategy, guide the experience Seeking clarity was essential for ensuring that you build the right thin Who – if you know, leads to scope creeps, building features for edge cases What – eg. Build a chair – what kind of chair – leads to poor requirements and lack of priorities Why – arguments of how requirements are interpreted – build to the letter, rather than focussing on the user Starmer talked about the importance of sharing, both tools and success stories
• #27: Many, many tools – most are familiar
• #29: Customer journeys focus on Relationships Narrative – series of events Touchpoints Lots of different ways to do this Mentioned by many different people Drives discussion
• #31: Another discussion tool Understand the business Ask “naïve” questions
• #33: High level view of tasks and how they map to channels Priorities by task, by channel Shared components across channels