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At the Information Architecture Summit in March 2002, I presented a poster defining wireframes and exploring their pros and cons. A wireframe, in information architecture parlance, is a method to show relative content priorities on a Web page. This poster offers and alternative to wireframes that mitigates some of the risks.

This file includes all the components of the poster but does not show the layout. A photograph of the presentation will be uploaded shortly.

The IA Summit included a panel discussion with Jesse James Garrett, Erin Malone, John Zapolski, and me. The topic of the panel was the art of deliverables, and each of us discussed techniques for making outputs better.

The presentation is a bit unwieldy because it includes screen shots of large-format deliverables. You can download the very same documents I used in the presentation from this portfolio. I've posted the remaining slides here.

Completed in January 1999, this site structure represents my first departure from traditional site maps. Although I had done large-format diagrams previously, they remained in the usual boxy style of the day. In addition to using circles, which freed me from the two dimensions of the page, I employed narrowing lines to show directionality between the areas of the site. This approach reduced the amount of noise on the page that usually comes with arrow heads.

Other items of note: the call-outs showing site structure improvements, the use of color to show interactive and static parts of the site, and the list of overall goals. This last is significant and it will become typical in my work. Among the most important parts of consulting work is helping clients understand where a particular deliverable fits into the entire project. This reminder, which appears on the diagram itself, allows us to control scope creep and client expectations.

This software company asked us to develop a site that would take their users through the installation process for their product. They had developed a particular methodology and wanted the site to support it. This diagram shows the two main outputs from the process: a profile storing the customer's progress, and a library storing the physical outputs from the process.

The client appreciated this view into their system, which finally tied together the methodology and the Web system. The engineering team also appreciated this diagram because it allowed them to interpret the user experience as system objects.

For this project, I worked with the Madrid office of marchFIRST. They asked me to look at their client's Web site and evaluate its usability. Since the client wanted something quickly, and wanted a review with respect to best practices, a heuristic evaluation was the most appropriate course of action.

I used the report as an opportunity to educate the client about usability issues and make both tactical and strategic recommendations for their Web site. The client appreciated the format which (along with the potential of translation) challenged me to keep my points concise. Today, the Web site shows marked improvement over the original.

Our client, a financial institution, was preparing to launch a new credit card product. They asked that we develop the acquisitions process quickly because it needed to be integrated with their standard credit application. While breaking some of my information architecture principles (like showing page layout) this diagram allowed the client to get a jump start on the integration. Developed collaboratively with the client and the design team, the diagram provided a sufficient level of detail for the engineers to understand the scope of the process.

The primary challenge in developing this process was the order in which customers select credit card attributes. Customers were allowed to select a design for the card, a pricing schedule, and a rewards program. The client's conception of the process put these in a particular order, but they weren't sure in what order to put them. Our suggestion to them was to let the customer decide the order in which they selected card attributes. Customers are presented one screen that summarizes the credit card. They can then click on any one of the card's attributes to change it.

Once the acquisitions flow was in place, the same financial institution asked us to design the experience for the entire Web site. The primary purpose of the site was to allow card-holders to manage their account with a standard array of credit card functionality.

This diagram expands on the technique developed for the travel Web site (see above). While the travel Web site was a much simpler information structure, this diagram needed to show many more levels of information. This visualization also includes a more thorough summary of the business goals and strategic foundation for the site and ties site features back to a requirements document delivered earlier.

I consider this diagram a great success because upon presentation to our client, they began discussing the user experience of the site. They did not need to be walked through the diagram: the experience design was immediately clear to them.

As our company continues to evolve, it was necessary to develop a framework to describe our work. The framework provides a vocabulary for modeling and evaluating our clients, a system for analyzing enterprises in the Internet age. In developing the framework, I also developed a diagram to explain it.

This visualization shows two main layers of information: the nature of the enterprise itself, and the ways in which consultants can affect it.

In Spring 2001, I developed this diagram showing the relationships between the story of Passover and the symbolism during the Seder.

As I became more interested in Interactive Television, I sought to understand the nuances of the industry relationships through visualization. This diagram represents my attempts to get my head around the complex network of businesses that supports this technology.

Starting in the summer of 2002, I began a semi-regular column in Boxes and Arrows, and online journal for information architects, on IA deliverables. The column explores all aspects of deliverable production, from diagramming techniques and Visio tips, to a literature review and the pros and cons of wireframes.

The best way to learn about any industry is to attend conferences. I wrote this report on Broadband Outlook 2002, a conference in Washington, DC regarding the state of regulatory policy surrounding broadband and interactive television.

Jef Raskin's book, The Humane Interface, represents a new way of thinking about human-computer interaction. He offers interface designers the basics of cognetics, the study of human cognitive limitations, and explores ways to design interfaces to accommodate them. This book review appeared in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue of the CHI Bulletin.

Much effort and many trees have been expended to establish web design guidelines as our community has attempted to reconcile its dual heritages of graphic design and ergonomics. In Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Web Sites, Tammy Sachs and Gary McClain make their effort, presenting guidelines based on years of user research.