Literature Review and Proposed Research

E3 Literature Review and Proposed Research

In terms of Information Architecture (IA) studies, a lot of research studies exist in the areas of:

• How IA characterizes and organizes Human Computer Interaction (HCI) design in the virtual world of interactive multimedia such as gaming and other online web applications (see Robertson, 2001; Goto, 2005);
• History and Development of IA in terms of the roles of IA, motility and Task Flow Analysis, such as customer research analysis, particularly in the online digital world of web internet and intranet (see Hackos & Redish, 1998; Garret, 2002, 2003; Robertson 2003, 2005; Krug, 2007; Lueng, 2008); and
• Principles or Guidelines of Mobile Web Design (see Guide to mobile SEO, 2005; optimizing a mobile website: AccuraCast Limited 2009, which states the basic provisions to build a W3C compliant mobile website).

However, the above researches are not sufficient to analyze the development of IA in the mobile environment and/or study its adaptation into the mobile environment from the web. This is not to discount that IA and usability in the mobile environment is less significant. Crumlish (2007) stated that IAs have to ensure that the mobile websites conform to usability without compromising content quality. TotalInternet.com.au and AccuraCast SEO (2009) reported that mobile content providers, Telstra, VentureOne; and/or generators, ABC (Australia), Digital Fairfax; must adhere to W3C or .mobi guidelines. Robertson (2005) and Goggin (2006) explored the potential of ‘form or structure’ of human motility and culture shaping the design capacity. Lueng (2008) suggested that user research and development of user personas assisted IAs in gauging the needs of the users, because consumption of the technology in mobile environment links the identity of the users with the consumed product (mobile device brand). But these studies focused on the IA in terms of User Experience (UX) and User Centered Design (UCD) in the online digital world of web. In contrast, the research proposal will examine the adjustments or modifications done on IA to suite it to the mobile environment with respect to dimensions of contexts and needs of the mobile users vis-à-vis those of the web users.

Earlier studies explained ambiguities surrounding IA’s role in terms of different educational background of IAs, the profession itself is relatively new compared to other IT professions and the context like the size, and space and device using IA is always varying (Garret 2002; Robertson, et al., 2003, pp 396-397; Lueng, 2008, pp 93-99). Studies in the field of IA in terms of individual mark of digital design regarded, designers need to justify their designs towards the users of digital technology to facilitate task completion, thus, guarantying a rewarding digital experience, as consequential (Barker, 2005; Leung, 2008, pp. 25-27). Studies further claimed that the best digital design is the one, which uses sophisticated technology to express the quality of the system or let users show their identity but the IA in it remains transparent (Spencer, 2004; Mulder & Yaar, 2006; Kennedy, 2007; Leung, 2008, p 29). The above stated investigations concentrate on history and principles of IA. The research will explore these studies and try to dislodge the doubts surrounding IA’s roles in terms of UCD, which comprise research, design and validation, and establish a more holistic definition of IA encompassing usability and evolutionary and iterative quality of IA in the context of Web 2+ environment, WiFi, 3G and Rich Internet Applications (RIA).

Within digital landscape studies indicated that IA for World Wide Web derived the principles of design and architecture from the physical world. Studies compare IA to architectural planning used in construction of a house. Thus, in the online world IA exist as the blueprint developers and graphic designers use to develop and build the system or site from. The wireframe provides a template or a paper prototype of the final version of the website just as an Architectural drawing shows the placement of rooms in the building in the physical site (Barker, 2005, p 2; Lounge Lizard Worldwide, Inc., 2009). The research will extend to show and examine the traditional bearing of physical architectural planning on IA in the digital world, web or mobile.

Natchetoi, Kaufman & Shapiro (2008) observed that IAs must consider the small memory size of the mobile phones for social exchanges. Additionally mobile phones are unable to support large bandwidth connectivity. Moreover the asynchronous exchange of data with back end system in offline mode allowed smooth functioning of applications and compression of data transferred and stored on the mobile device required heavy XML code. And it was just not practical to squeeze the original website so that it renders on a mobile phone. However, this is changing very fast and with the coming of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and HSPA+, a mobile telephone communications protocol, in 3G or 3G+ mobile phones many content carriers in Australia are decreasing their data plan, charges for browsing the internet, to offer rich media content to users and increase the market share, as phones become 3G and 4G enabled. At present software and hardware such as Java Micro Edition (J2ME), Bluetooth, Global Positioning System (GPS), Digital Cameras of more than 5 mega pixels size are well integrated into smart phones, Blackberries, I-phones and Palm Pre, smart phone launched by Sprint Nextel Corp, and such phones are economical, hence, they are well liked and well known to most of the mobile users. In turn such low cost and improved infrastructure aid in making the mobile phones well suited for developing mobile applications; business, communication or entertainment (Smith, 2006; Natchetoi, Kaufman & Shapiro, 2008, pp 27-28). The research proposal will acknowledge the exponential growth in the field of mobile internet in terms of information exchange and communication. It will also examine a generic solution to be adapted for IA in mobile environment and requirements of IA to meet the growing need for Audio Visual (AV) data or RIA and compression of data into Resource Description Framework (RDF) files to achieve higher levels of Interactivity. And how in the future IA will aid wireless network to eliminate the “page model” web (Kennedy, 2008). Also the research will explore the shortcomings of IA in the mobile environment and how that can be converted into success.

Thus, the proposed research will build on the disciplines of IA studies, Usability studies and UCD and interactivity in term of information exchange and communication in online media such as the web and mobile internet on the basis of the following:-

• The study of IA in relation to the online digital environment of web and mobile internet;
• The study of relationship between IA and Usability; and
• The adaptation and analysis of IA in mobile internet.