How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert

Chapter 4: Choose a Direction | Page 84

What are you making?

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything connects to a larger whole. Whenever you’re making something, figure out which levels you’re working at:

Object: a specific thing.

Interface: a point where a user affects that thing.

Location: a particular place or position.

Journey: the steps in or between locations.

Structure: a configuration of objects and locations.

System: a set of structures working together.

Ecosystem: a collection of related systems.

Chapter 4: Choose a Direction | Page 90

Understand ontology.

If we were to write a dictionary, we’d be practicing lexicography, or collecting many meanings into a list. When we decide that a word or concept holds a specific meaning in a specific context, we are practicing ontology.

Here are some examples of ontological decisions:

• Social networks redefining “like” and “friends” for their purposes
• The “folders” on a computer’s “desktop” you use to organize “files”
• The ability to order at a fast food chain by saying a number

To refine your ontology, all you need is a pile of sticky notes, a pen, and some patience.

1. Find a flat or upright surface to work on.
2. Write a term or concept that relates to your work on each sticky note.
3. Put the sticky notes onto the surface as they relate to each other. Start to create structures and relationships based on their location.

Chapter 6: Play with Structure | Page 141

Hypertexts bridge taxonomies.

We use hypertext to connect things without necessarily placing them together.

Hypertexts are fundamentally different from hierarchical, heterarchical, and sequential taxonomies, because they don’t change where things are located, just how they’re found.

We use hyperlinks to allow users to jump between taxonomies instead of duplicating or moving content. For example, we might hyperlink the bolded words throughout this book. If a user clicks on one of them, we could take them to a definition in the lexicon. We’re moving the user to the content instead of repeating it.

A signpost directing you to a store around the corner is also hypertextual, because it sends you to a specific location without changing the location of the store.

Similarly, websites use hypertext to link to content without needing to repeat it.

Chapter 6: Play with Structure | Page 142

Most things need a mix of taxonomic approaches.

The world is organized in seemingly endless ways, but in reality, every form can be broken down into some taxonomic patterns.

Hierarchy, heterarchy, sequence, and hypertext are just a few common patterns. Most forms involve more than one of these.

A typical website has a hierarchical navigation system, a sequence for signing up or interacting with content, and hypertext links to related content.

A typical grocery store has a hierarchical aisle system, a heterarchical database for the clerk to retrieve product information by scanning a barcode, and sequences for checking out and other basic customer service tasks. I was even in a grocery store recently where each cart had a list of the aisle locations of the 25 most common products. A great use of hypertext.

A typical book has a sequence-based narrative, a hierarchical table of contents, and a set of facets allowing it to be retrieved with either the Dewey Decimal system at a library, or within a genre-based hierarchical system used in bookstores and websites like Amazon.com.