[Sigia-l] Overview Pages (was Tab Navigation Structures)

[Richard_Dalton at vanguard.com]

Dan Saffer wrote:
> Leaving aside Jacob Nielsen's dictum about tabs only being for showing
> different views of the same data, we're exploring using a navigation
> structure that includes tabs for a large project I'm on. However, unlike
> Amazon or Apple, we're toying with the idea of the tab (when clicked)
> opening the first/top item in the secondary navigation. Clicking on,
> say, a tab marked Research wouldn't bring you to a main page called
> Research, but rather to the first area under the Research umbrella
> (News). Rolling over the tab (which you would obviously have to do
> before clicking it) would reveal all the secondary navigation, so it
> wouldn't be as if the user was dropped blindly onto a page that had no
> relation to what she just clicked on.
>
> Has anyone seen this done before, and if so, how successful was it?

We run into this problem a lot and I have a theory about whether to use an 
"Overview Page" (a page that further describes the choices/sub-silos in an 
area) or whether to just default to the first sub-silo.

I think the rationale for the use of an Overview Page is the result of 
three factors:

1. Can the user accurately predict what is in each sub-silo from whatever 
persistent sub-silo navigation you're using or do they need more context? 
(If "yes, they can predict" you might not need an overview page).

2. Is there a likely user default? - do 80% (or some other number you'd 
like to pick) of users access one sub-silo first or exclusively? (if "yes" 
then you might not need an overview page).

3. Is there a likely business default? - would your business goals be 
better served by defaulting to one sub-silo rather than more information 
on all sub-silos? (if "yes, there is a business default" - then you might 
not need an overview page).

... how these 3 factors are blended together and in what weighting is less 
clear to me, however, I tend to place more emphasis on No. 1 than the 
other 2.

Comments anyone?

 - Richard Dalton