gh-lyndonkl-claude/skills/information-architecture/resources/template.md

Information Architecture Templates

Quick-start templates for content audits, card sorting, sitemaps, tree testing, and taxonomy design.

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Template 1: Content Audit

When to use: Before redesigning navigation, need inventory of existing content

Content Audit Spreadsheet Template

URL/ID	Title	Content Type	Category	Metadata	Last Updated	Owner	Status	Action	Notes
/about	About Us	Page	Company	meta-desc, img	2024-01-15	Marketing	Keep	Update copy	Outdated team bios
/api/auth	Authentication API	Docs	Developer	tags: auth, jwt	2024-06-01	Eng	Keep	None	Current
/blog/old-post	Old Post	Article	Blog	tags: news	2020-03-10	Marketing	Remove	Archive	4 years old, irrelevant
/products/widget-a	Widget A	Product	Products	price, sku	2024-05-20	Sales	Keep	Recategorize	Should be in "Tools" not "Products"
/help/faq-duplicate	FAQ	Help	Support	tags: help	2023-12-01	Support	Merge	With /help/faq	Duplicate content

Audit Analysis Template

Total Content Items: [Count]

By Type:

• Pages: [Count] ([%])
• Docs: [Count] ([%])
• Articles: [Count] ([%])
• Products: [Count] ([%])
• Other: [Count] ([%])

By Status:

• Keep as-is: [Count] ([%])
• Update needed: [Count] ([%])
• Recategorize: [Count] ([%])
• Merge: [Count] ([%])
• Remove/Archive: [Count] ([%])

Quality Issues:

• Outdated (>2 years): [Count] items
• Missing metadata: [Count] items
• Duplicates: [Count] items
• Broken links: [Count] items
• Inconsistent labeling: [Count] items

Current Performance (from analytics):

• Most visited pages: [List top 5]
• Least visited pages: [List bottom 5]
• High bounce rate pages (>60%): [List]
• Search queries with no results: [List top 10]
• Common navigation paths: [List top 3]

Key Findings:

1. [Finding 1: e.g., "40% of content is outdated"]
2. [Finding 2: e.g., "Users search for 'pricing' but it's buried 4 levels deep"]
3. [Finding 3: e.g., "15% of content is duplicated across sections"]

Recommendations:

1. [Recommendation 1]
2. [Recommendation 2]
3. [Recommendation 3]

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Template 2: Card Sorting Study

When to use: Understanding user mental models for content organization

Card Sorting Plan Template

Study Type: [Open / Closed / Hybrid]

Research Question: "How do [target users] naturally group and label [content type]?"

Participants:

• Target: [Number, e.g., "20 users"]
• Recruitment criteria: [e.g., "Active customers who use product 2+ times/week"]
• Incentive: [e.g., "$25 gift card"]

Cards ([Number] total):

1. [Card 1 name/title]
2. [Card 2 name/title]
3. [Card 3 name/title] ... [List all cards — aim for 30-60 cards, representative sample of content]

Pre-Defined Categories (for Closed/Hybrid only):

1. [Category 1]
2. [Category 2]
3. [Category 3] ...

Tool: [e.g., "OptimalSort", "UserZoom", "Miro"]

Instructions for Participants:

You'll see [X] cards representing different [content/features/topics] on our [website/app].

Your task:
1. Read each card
2. Group cards that belong together
3. Name each group you create
4. You can create as many groups as you need (typically 5-10 groups work well)

There are no right or wrong answers. We want to understand how YOU think about organizing this content.

Time estimate: 15-20 minutes

Card Sort Analysis Template

Participation:

• Completed: [X] / [Y] participants ([Z]% completion rate)
• Average time: [X minutes]

Category Analysis:

Category Label	# Users Who Created It	% Agreement	Cards Most Often Included	Alternative Labels Used
Getting Started	18 / 20	90%	"Sign Up", "First Login", "Quick Start"	"Onboarding", "Setup"
Reports	16 / 20	80%	"Analytics", "Dashboard", "Metrics"	"Insights", "Data"
Settings	19 / 20	95%	"Profile", "Preferences", "Account"	"Configuration", "Options"

Dendogram Insights (hierarchical clustering):

• Strong clusters (>70% agreement): [List categories with high consensus]
• Weak clusters (<50% agreement): [List categories with low consensus — these need clarification]
• Outlier cards: [Cards that don't fit anywhere — may need reconsideration]

Labeling Insights:

• Most common labels: [e.g., "Help" (15 users), "Support" (12 users), "Assistance" (3 users)]
• Terminology conflicts: [e.g., "Users say 'Reports' but we call them 'Analytics'"]
• Jargon to avoid: [e.g., "Synergistic Solutions" — 0 users used this term]

Key Findings:

1. [Finding 1: e.g., "Users group by task, not by product feature"]
2. [Finding 2: e.g., "'Settings' is universally understood (95% agreement)"]
3. [Finding 3: e.g., "'Modules' label confuses users — split between 'Features' and 'Tools'"]

Recommended Categories (based on card sort):

1. [Category 1] — [Brief description]
2. [Category 2] — [Brief description]
3. [Category 3] — [Brief description] ...

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Template 3: Sitemap & Navigation Structure

When to use: Documenting information hierarchy after card sort analysis

Sitemap Template

Homepage
├── [Category 1]
│   ├── [Subcategory 1.1]
│   │   ├── [Page 1.1.1]
│   │   └── [Page 1.1.2]
│   ├── [Subcategory 1.2]
│   │   ├── [Page 1.2.1]
│   │   └── [Page 1.2.2]
│   └── [Subcategory 1.3]
│
├── [Category 2]
│   ├── [Subcategory 2.1]
│   ├── [Subcategory 2.2]
│   └── [Subcategory 2.3]
│
├── [Category 3]
│   ├── [Page 3.1]
│   ├── [Page 3.2]
│   └── [Page 3.3]
│
└── [Category 4]
    ├── [Subcategory 4.1]
    │   ├── [Page 4.1.1]
    │   └── [Page 4.1.2]
    └── [Subcategory 4.2]

Example: E-commerce Sitemap

Homepage
├── Shop by Category (Electronics, Clothing, Home & Garden)
├── Shop by Occasion (Daily Essentials, Special Occasions, Gifts)
├── Deals & Promotions (Today's Deals, Clearance, Bundles)
└── Support (Help Center, Track Order, Returns, Contact Us)

Navigation Specification Template

Primary Navigation (Top-level categories):

• [Category 1]: [Description, user goal, target audience]
• [Category 2]: [Description, user goal, target audience]
• [Category 3]: [Description, user goal, target audience]

Secondary Navigation (Utility links):

• [Link 1]: [e.g., "Search", "Cart", "Account"]
• [Link 2]: [e.g., "Help", "Contact"]

Faceted Filters (for browse/search):

• Facet 1: [Name] — Options: [Option A, Option B, Option C]
• Facet 2: [Name] — Options: [Option A, Option B, Option C]
• Facet 3: [Name] — Options: [Option A, Option B, Option C]

Breadcrumbs: [Show path from homepage to current page]

• Example: Home > [Category] > [Subcategory] > [Current Page]

Related Links: [Contextual links on each page]

• "Related Articles"
• "You Might Also Like"
• "Next Steps"

Search:

• Placement: [e.g., "Global header, every page"]
• Features: [e.g., "Autocomplete, filters, recent searches"]
• Best bets: [Featured results for common queries]

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Template 4: Tree Testing Script

When to use: Validating navigation structure before building

Tree Test Plan Template

Research Question: "Can users find [X] in our proposed navigation structure?"

Participants: [20-50 users matching target audience]

Navigation Tree (text-only structure):

Home
  Getting Started
    Sign Up
    First Login
    Quick Start Guide
  Features
    Reports
    Dashboards
    Alerts
  Settings
    Profile
    Preferences
    Billing
  Support
    Help Center
    Contact Us
    FAQ

Tasks (8-12 tasks typical):

1. Task 1: "You want to [user goal]. Where would you find [content]?"

   • Correct destination: [Path, e.g., "Features > Reports"]
   • Why this task: [e.g., "Most common user action"]

2. Task 2: "You need to [user goal]. Where would you look?"

   • Correct destination: [Path]
   • Why this task: [Rationale]

3. Task 3: [Task description]

   • Correct destination: [Path]
   • Why this task: [Rationale]

[Continue for 8-12 tasks covering key content/features]

Tree Test Results Template

Overall Performance:

• Success rate: [X]% (Target: ≥70%)
• Directness: [X]× optimal path (Target: ≤1.5×)
• Average time: [X] seconds

Task-Level Results:

Task	Success Rate	Directness	Avg Time	Top Incorrect Paths	Notes
Task 1	85%	1.2×	12 sec	None	Good
Task 2	45%	2.5×	35 sec	"Settings > Profile" (30%), "Support > Help" (25%)	PROBLEM: Users confused by label
Task 3	75%	1.4×	18 sec	"Features > Dashboards" (20%)	Minor issue

Problem Areas:

Issue	Evidence	Impact	Recommendation
"Reports" label unclear	Task 2 only 45% success, users looked in "Dashboards" and "Settings"	High	Rename to "Analytics" or merge with "Dashboards"
"Settings" too broad	Tasks 4 & 5 both low success (50%, 55%)	Medium	Split into "Account Settings" and "App Preferences"
Deep nesting in "Support"	Task 7: 65% success, 2.8× directness	Medium	Flatten: move "FAQ" to top level

Recommended Changes:

1. [Change 1: e.g., "Rename 'Reports' to 'Analytics'"]
2. [Change 2: e.g., "Split 'Settings' into 'Account' and 'Preferences'"]
3. [Change 3: e.g., "Move 'FAQ' from Support > Help Center > FAQ to top-level Support > FAQ"]

Next Steps:

• Implement recommended changes
• Re-run tree test on updated structure
• Proceed to wireframes once success rate ≥70% on all tasks

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Template 5: Taxonomy & Metadata Schema

When to use: Designing classification systems, tags, and content attributes

Taxonomy Design Template

Content Type: [e.g., "Product", "Article", "Documentation Page"]

Primary Taxonomy (Hierarchical categories):

[Top-Level Category 1]
├── [Sub-category 1.1]
├── [Sub-category 1.2]
└── [Sub-category 1.3]

[Top-Level Category 2]
├── [Sub-category 2.1]
└── [Sub-category 2.2]

[Top-Level Category 3]

Facets (Orthogonal dimensions for filtering):

• Facet 1: [Name] — Values: [Value A, Value B, Value C]
• Facet 2: [Name] — Values: [Value A, Value B, Value C]
• Facet 3: [Name] — Values: [Value A, Value B, Value C]

Tags (Flexible, user-defined or preset):

• Preset tags: [List of controlled vocabulary tags]
• User-generated tags: [Yes/No]
• Tag moderation: [Yes/No, process]

Metadata Schema:

Field	Type	Required	Values/Format	Purpose
Title	Text	Yes	Plain text, max 60 chars	Display in nav, SEO
Description	Text	No	Plain text, max 160 chars	SEO meta description
Category	Select	Yes	[List of categories]	Primary classification
Tags	Multi-select	No	[Controlled vocabulary]	Cross-category findability
Author	Text	Yes	Name or ID	Attribution, filtering
Last Updated	Date	Yes	YYYY-MM-DD	Freshness indicator
Audience	Select	Yes	[e.g., "Beginner", "Advanced"]	Personalization
Content Type	Select	Yes	[e.g., "Tutorial", "Reference", "FAQ"]	Filtering, display
Status	Select	Yes	[e.g., "Draft", "Published", "Archived"]	Governance

Example: Documentation Taxonomy

Primary Taxonomy:

Getting Started
├── Installation
├── Configuration
└── First App

Guides
├── How-To Guides
├── Tutorials
└── Best Practices

Reference
├── API Documentation
├── CLI Reference
└── Configuration Files

Troubleshooting
├── Common Issues
├── Error Messages
└── FAQ

Facets:

• Product Version: v1.0, v2.0, v3.0
• Difficulty Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
• Time to Complete: <10 min, 10-30 min, >30 min

Metadata (for each doc page):

• Title, Description, Category, Tags, Author, Last Updated, Audience, Content Type, Product Version, Difficulty, Est. Time

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Quick Reference: When to Use Each Template

Template	Use Case	Deliverable
Content Audit	Before redesign, need inventory	Spreadsheet with all content, status, recommendations
Card Sorting	Don't know how users categorize content	Category labels, groupings, terminology insights
Sitemap	After card sort, document structure	Visual hierarchy diagram
Tree Testing	Validate navigation before building	Success rates, problem areas, iteration recommendations
Taxonomy & Metadata	Design classification system	Taxonomy structure, metadata schema, controlled vocabulary