[Sigia-l] IA myths: conceptual model of navigation - was: mix ing applesand oranges and tomatoes

[Mike.Steckel at SEMATECH.Org]

Erin said:

"As a user, I have "muscle memory" about where to click on a page (e.g., which
portlet or tile) to accomplish certain actions or find certain info, but this
doesn't translate to a "conceptual model of navigation" at all.  Similarly, the
convention of left-hand taxonomy doesn't help the user navigate per se - it only
helps us (sometimes) discover and recall the availability of content and it's
granularity."

Interesting point I have never considered. I might say that your "muscle memory"
is based on certain expectations you have developed semi-consciously while using
a certain site. I don't think users develop a very full picture of what a site
may contain and where something might be, but instead that they make their
choices of what's behind a certain label based on how they think a site is
organized. This comes from evaluating a certain choice as compared to the other
available choices. The vague model comes from this evaluation of available
options. 

If you drive in an unfamiliar neighborhood, you might start to develop a guess
as to where a certain street may lead by the little bit of information you have
gathered by watching where you are going. You don't have a full conceptual
picture of the layout, but form a model of how the streets are connected and
make choices based on that model.