LIS 636: Assignment 1 – User Analysis, Information Architecture Map, and Initial Web Interface DesignChristina PettyOctober 1, 2017

I. Site overviewMy website’s purpose will be to provide information about traveling

to Ireland from Charlotte, NC. As my family of four would love to travel

abroad for the week during Spring Break of 2018, this website will

outline all the key areas to consider when planning a trip of this kind.

I’d hope that the structure I map out for Ireland can be applied to more

family trips to other destinations abroad. Currently this site is narrowly

focused towards travelers originating in Charlotte, NC, but could be

applied to others based outside of Charlotte, NC in the future.

This travel-based Website will have several information goals. The

five types of information provided to users on my Website will be:

1. Information About Ireland.2. How to Get There & Get Around: Transportation options which

include Airlines, Trains, Buses. This will answer how to fly there and back as well as getting around while in Ireland.

3. Where to Stay: Lodging options.4. What to Explore: Links to other travel websites such as Rick

Steves, Trip Advisor, LonelyPlanet, Karen Brown, and others.5. FAQ

II. User AnalysisMy major users would be my family which includes my immediate

family of four and perhaps my extended family as well. If the trip goes

well, I would recommend my Website to friends. For example, a friend

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of mine recently traveled to Portugal and was thrilled with the trip he

planned and went on. Wouldn’t it be easier if he could forward a

Website link to my email for me to explore and search rather than an

email with a list of museums, restaurants, and hotels in a disorganized

jumble? This would be especially useful as he gleaned much of his

information from Websites such as TripAdvisor.

For each User, I have created a rank ordered feature checklist table

(a priority list of information needs in a table which will become a

usability checklist later on). Since Extended Family & some Friends live

outside of Charlotte, NC “Transportation” may be a lower priority

unless they must fly through Charlotte, NC. Who knows? Maybe getting

through Customs in Charlotte, NC is easier than other airport hubs?

Extended Family will likely want to see what I chose for lodging, but

Friends may want to do some of their own research using the Links to

other travel Websites before taking my suggestions.

PriorityImmediate

Family Extended Family Friends

1 About Ireland About Ireland About Ireland

2 Transportation Lodging

Links to other travel Websites

3 Lodging Transportation Lodging

4Links to other travel Websites

Links to other travel Websites Transportation

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5 FAQ & Contact FAQ & Contact FAQ & Contact

III. Information ArchitectureTRAVEL TO IRELAND SPRING 2018 ARCHITECTURE

IV. Site Mock Up or StoryboardCreating a Web Specification Wireframe

As it is a good idea to create an initial mockup of a Website

before trying to build it in HTML, I have selected a Travel Website that

has many elements I will include in mine. This is called either a Web

Specification Wireframe or a Storyboard once it becomes attributed to

a series of pages. Here is http://www.travelforteens.com/

What I like about this Website are the following features:1. Menu options stand out2. Video/Scrolling moving Images3. Graphic layout with picture headings (Ideal for Lodging or

Transportation Page)4. Contact Info on the Home Page, Main Menu Bar

Home

About Ireland Transportation

Air Transport Bus Transport Train Transport

Lodging Other Travel Websites FAQ & Contact

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LOGO CONTACT INFO

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TRAVEL TO IRELAND SPRING 2018

This will be my primary content area

Family Travel Contact me: capetty@uncg.eduSEARCH

Home

AboutIreland

Transportation

Lodging

OtherTravel

Websites

FAQ

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TRAVEL TO IRELAND SPRING 2018

Culling the information you need to plan your family Spring Break week long trip originating in Charlotte, NC going to Ireland without the help of a Travel Agent.

Now I have a snapshot of what I want to create in HTML.

The top nine questions are answered on my Home page:1. Where am I?2. I know what I am looking for, how do I search for it?3. How do I get around this Website?

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4. What’s important/unique about this organization?5. What’s available at this Website?6. What’s happening there?7. Do they want my opinion about this Website?8. How can I contact a human?9. What’s their address?

My home page includes what unique information I am trying to

provide; however, some may argue it is narrowly focused. The Menu

bar includes the types of information I want to provide related to the

foreign country’s geography along with transportation and lodging

options. For those who use my Website and want to get more “outside”

information or check my sources, they can use the links for other

Travel Websites I have vetted. Finally, the FAQ menu option will

include information possibly applicable to all travelers, not just those

originating in Charlotte, NC and wanting to go to Ireland in the Spring

of 2018. In addition to prominently displaying my contact information

on the top right corner of every page, the FAQ will have a comment

form on its page for feedback/comments/questions regarding my

Website.

In Nielsen & Loranger’s Prioritizing Web Usability, I have focused

on the fact that “less is more” as an approach to what my final design

will look like. Additionally, as writing for Web pages is different from

writing for papers, I will remember, “Web text should be short,

scannable, and approachable” (2006, p.81). And although our desire is

to provide as much information as possible on the topic of traveling to

Ireland, I must remember, “the longer the menu list, the more difficult

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it is to control” (2006, p.202). And finally, my favorite observation

provided by Nielsen & Loranger when discussing the “cognitive

psychologist George Miller’s 1956 research on human memory… [is

that] Miller’s study was intended to research the limitations of short-

term memory; Web site navigation is generally concerned with

recognition and interpretation, not memorization” (2006, p.329).

Therefore, my goal is to allow my users to get the specific information

they desire as efficiently as is humanly possible with the wonderful aid

of my well organized Website.

References

Nielsen, J. & Loranger, H. (2006) Prioritizing Web Usability. Berkeley: New Riders.

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