Implementation

IA & Nav : Implementation Process [Exercises]

If your office would like to skip the workshops we recommend doing the following exercises.

📚 Manage Planet 4 > Information Architecture > Implementation Process > Exercises

Ontology Exercise

To ensure that everyone on your team agrees and knows the names and definitions of the various elements on the GP website and the structure of them, it would be important to meet with your team and define the terms that might not be clear across your office.

Example for these concepts can be (but are not limited to):High level topic, Deep Dive Topic, Action, Campaign, Tag, Category, Content Type, Post Type, Story, Press Release, Publication, Feature Story, Reports, Blog, Article, Job Posting, Petition, Pledge, Form, etc. Here you can see GP Nordics exercise, for inspiration.

Best practices to define a taxonomy

Know your target audience

The primary goal for the taxonomy you will create is to help your audience find the information they need. Once you clearly understand who your target audience is, it becomes easier to create a taxonomy that addresses their specific needs.

Use relevant language for each audience

Understanding the language used by your users is essential when creating a taxonomy. You can find the language of your supporters by taking the time to find out how they talk about your organization. Once sure about the language, use it when building your taxonomy. You can rely on the findings of your SEO Audit to choose better keywords, or use this free keyword generator.

Unify across your organization

It’s a good idea to share and use the same taxonomy across all your business units to ensure a common language and understanding. Keep in mind that your supporters know or see you as a single entity and not as separate units. So make sure you speak the same language.

Allow for extensibility

Taxonomy is not a one-time event. A need to add new content will pop up as your organization goals grow. This means you have to plan to examine the existing structure and modify it as needed. The taxonomy is a living document and shouldn’t be just a one-shot exercise. It needs to be re-tested and updated on a regular basis.

Focus on reduction

A complex taxonomy hurts findability. That is not something you want to happen to you when focused on making your content more accessible. The best approach is finding a balance between reliable, accurate and accessible.

Ensure functional alignment

Make sure your taxonomy supports search, website navigation, and integration with other potential applications or social media communications.

Define clear content management rules

This is a task that can feel overwhelming… but you got this! The suggestion here is to establish the following before tackling the taxonomy to have a better overview while figuring out your own:

For the next exercise it would be useful to have your site’s current UX-Sitemap and navigation. You can map it yourself or  ask the P4 Design Team to showcase it for you.

To be guided through the following exercises you can always ping the P4 team and have your Taxonomy Workshops calendarized. It is also possible to do them by yourself if you prefer.

Taxonomy Exercise

Meet with your team and:

Alright! So now you are ready to approach your new navigation, and the establishment of your site’s new tags and categories. Feel free to follow our recommendations to the extent in which they are practical and useful to you. Remember there’s also the possibility to do these exercises within the Taxonomy Workshops the P4 Team offers for you.