Background
Term selection
- Categories, version 1:
- Categories survey:
ratings survey of Categories, version 1 hierarchy
- Categories survey results: sample group of 14 respondents
- Categories, version 2:
- Categories, version 3: What's left after 11/9: We've
got two versions to continue the discussion:
- Version 3a: this version has About
MSU, Academics, Admission, Administration, MavLife, Directories, Computers,
and Library on the highest level.
- Version 3ax: variation on 3a
- Version 3b: this version has Academics,
Apply & Register, MavLife, Directories, Computer Resources, Learning
Resources on the highest level.
- Hierarchy
survey: open-ended, non-suggestive
Navigation types
- Audience: after selecting audience category, users arrive
at "portal pages" containing most popular link choices.
- Portals
- MSU Portal Vision PowerPoint
- Background
Portals are based on the concept that audiences require different
content and navigation strategies, and their separate home pages
and unique site maps reflect this view. These could be separate
web sites with URLs like those listed below. Each would be links
from the www.mnsu.edu home page. Customizable portals permit individual
users to select content from a variety of categories, and sometimes
offer layout controls.
- new.mnsu.edu for prospective students, employees,
or vendors
- student.mnsu.edu for current students
- faculty.mnsu.edu for faculty
- staff.mnsu.edu for staff
- alumni.mnsu.edu for alumni
- or others
- MSU student survey of
portal contents
- Portal development and concepts
- Topic/task/function: term links indicate heading/subheading
hierarchy.
- Combination: incorporates both audience
and task term links on home page
Site maps
Site maps reflect web developers' decisions about information architecture.
- Audience category
(prospective/current students, faculty/staff, alumni/visitors, news/events)
- Function/topic/task category
(admissions, courses, registration, administration, campus, news, directories)
Navigation scheme examples
