INFM 700 Information Architecture (Spring 2008)

Final Project

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In contrast to the first two design projects, the final project is totally open ended. You will work in groups of four to develop an information architecture on a topic of your choosing. In terms of scope and content, the final project should be slightly larger than the second design project.

The final project must have the following elements:

• The project must have a user or a target group of users, real or imagined. It is preferable that the users are real and that you are not the users (to give you an opportunity to practice the various techniques discussed in the formative evaluation class session).
• The project must have a substantial amount of content and a non-trivial organization. The amount of content should be slightly more than the second design project, but not much more. An example of trivial organization is the phone book; the point is to exercise information architecture principles!
• The project must make use of at least one advanced technology. By advanced technology I mean something beyond HTML/CSS. For example, a database backend (mySQL/PHP combination), JavaScript/AJAX, XML/XSLT would all qualify. Of course, the technology must support your information architecture in a meaningful way.

Grading

The final project is due May 12, 2008. Each group will be given 15 minutes to present their work in class, with up to 5 minutes for questions and discussion. Your presentation should explicitly cover the three required elements of the project.

The grade for this project will be broken down into six components, each worth 5 points (for a total for 30 points):

• Overall organization system
• Overall navigation system
• Layout, design, and structure of individual Web pages
• Use and integration of advanced technology
• Degree to which the information architecture addresses user needs
• In-class presentation

I expect all design projects to be delivered on time. If you are not ready for your presentation, you will receive a zero for that component. For every 24-hour period that the remaining deliverables are late, I will deduct 20% from the grade.

This page, first created: 14 Jan 2008; last updated: