Ambient FindabilityAmbient Findability

• Peter Morville- Information Architect- founder Semantic Studios

• Ambient Findability blog

• What does Ambient Findability mean to you?

FindabilityFindability

• The quality of being locatable or navigable.• The degree to which a particular object is

easy to discover or locate.• The degree to which a system or environment

supports navigation and retrieval.

• These systems & objects need architecting to allow findability.

• Findability (information) literacy?

Lost & FoundLost & Found

• Information Access is expanding- Content- Availability- Technology- “an information-rich world with new possibilities and

problems” (p3)

• What’s not information or ambient ?- What’s the life of desktop computing?- Notebook computing?

• How has your own information experience changed in the past few years?- Does findability change it? - What else might?

• Fun, Business, Education?

Findability & WayfindingFindability & Wayfinding

• What is wayfinding?- How maps, addresses, signs &

building/design conventions let us “know” where we are & how to get someplace else. (p17)

• Digital Wayfinding?- How sitemaps, URIs, icons &

site/task conventions…

• Context is key- Location, location, location

Wayfinding technologyWayfinding technology

• Navigation tools• Lighthouse• Compass• Chip log• Sextant• Chronometer

• Maps & Charts• Paths - streets, paths• Edges - walls, fences, doors• Districts - sections• Nodes - points of reference, transitions• Landmarks - contextual for each of us

Wayfinding in the Noosphere?Wayfinding in the Noosphere?

• Is virtual wayfinding the same as in the real world?- What’s the real world again?• Where are you when you talk on the phone?• When you’re on the Web?

• Metaphors at play- Is it all about finding? As a goal?- Less about finding as discovering?

• Where’s the space for the Web?- But it’s not all about the Web is it?• When the going gets mobile, your space does

matter.

Information Retrieval & FindabilityInformation Retrieval & Findability

• How closely is IR related to (A)F?- Mooers - the trouble with IR

• The Information conundrum• We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Web- Visual navigation lets us apply real world

metaphors to the Web• That’s a great first step, but…

- What changes does ambient information lead us to in the future?

- How does relevance change?

Information InteractionInformation Interaction

• Computational power makes interacting with information possible and easier- How “easy”?- Often too much of a good thing?

• Moving beyond the linear model- Berrypicking- Iterative models (state & context)- Complex inforation seeking models

• The Age of Broadband?

Wayfinding 2.0Wayfinding 2.0

• We’re only beginning to understand the way to design information for ubiquitous interaction- What models of information use and mobility make

the most sense to build upon?

• Techniques (context related)- Triangulation- Proximity- Scene analysis

• What about our context?- Habits, preferences, constraints

Findable ObjectsFindable Objects

• How can we work in concert with physical objects in an information landscape?- Give objects metadata that relates to their properties &

context

• Is this a technology-driven manifest destiny?- GPS, RFID, URI, UPC, Sensor nets, nano-everything- How would each of the technologies change:

• Information access• Information retrieval• Findability and re-findability?

• If we have information overload now, what about with all this online, all the time?

Designing for FindabilityDesigning for Findability

• Findability precedes Usability• In the Alphabet and on the Web• You can’t use what you can’t find

• List of hacks on page 111-3

Sociosemantic WebSociosemantic Web

• How does the interaction change with increased access?- Increased content?- Increased speed? (fluidity)

• Is it people-based understanding vs. machine-based?- Metadata for us or machines?• Why not both?

• This needs some serious architecting- Taxonomies- Ontologies- Folksonomies

Thinking about FindabilityThinking about Findability

• What’s inspiring about these ideas?• How would you use them?- As a designer or IA?- As a person?

• Do you think this is a new metaphor for the information seeking process?- What’s new about it?- What’s it building on top of?

• How would these principles & ideas influence your IA work?