How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert

Chapter 5: Measure the Distance | Page 120

Set your goals.

Think about what you’re trying to accomplish.

1. Revisit what you intend to do and why. Now break it down into specific goals.
2. Make a dream list of what would be measureable in an ideal world. Even if the measurement is fuzzy or hard to find, it’s useful to think about the best-case scenario.
3. Remember to mine data from people.
4. Measure the baseline of what you can. Once you have your dream list, narrow it down to an achievable set of measurements to gather a baseline reading of.
5. Make a list of indicators to potentially measure.
6. List some situations where you’d want to be notified if things change. Then, figure out how to make those flags for yourself.

Chapter 6: Play with Structure | Page 137

Taxonomies can be hierarchical or heterarchical.

When taxonomies are arranged hierarchically, it means that successive categories, ranks, grades, or interrelated levels are being used. In a hierarchy, a user would have to select a labeled grouping to find things within it. A hierarchy of movies might look like this:

- Comedies

• Romantic comedies
• Classic comedies
• Slap-stick comedies

Hierarchies tend to follow two patterns. First, a broad and shallow hierarchy gives the user more choices up front so they can get to everything in a few steps. As an example, in a grocery store, you choose an aisle, and each aisle has certain arrangement of products, but that’s as deep as you can go.

A narrow and deep hierarchy gives the user fewer choices at once. On a large website, like usa.gov, a few high level options point users to more specific items with each click.

When individual pieces exist on one level without further categorization, the taxonomy is heterarchical. For example, each lettered box in the arrangement in this illustration is heterarchical.

Chapter 6: Play with Structure | Page 144

Play with Structure

Because your structure may change a hundred times before you finish making it, you can save time and frustration by thinking with boxes and arrows before making real changes. Boxes and arrows are easier to move around than the other materials we work with, so start there.

Try structuring the mess with common patterns of boxes and arrows as shown on the next page. Remember that you’ll probably need to combine more than one pattern to find a structure that works.

1. Assess the content and facets that are useful for what you’re trying to convey.
2. Play with broad and shallow versus narrow and deep hierarchies. Consider the right place to use heterarchies, sequences, and hypertext arrangements.
3. Arrange things one way and then come up with another way. Compare and contrast them. Ask other people for input.
4. Think about the appropriate level of ambiguity or exactitude for classifying and labeling things within the structure you’re pursuing.