Approach

IA Summit 2005: Montreal

Design Patterns for Enterprise UI Architectures | IA Summit b2005: Montreal

Karl Mochel | Oracle Corporation | [email protected]


Approach• Take an overview of three

architectures• Discuss issues in evolution of a

Marketing application• Comment on the evolution of

enterprise information architecture


Introduction• Enterprise applications are

transactional systems• Two flavors: Self-service and

Professional• Can easily have hundreds of pages• Processes are often convoluted and

indeterminate


PTA - Persistent Tab Architecture• Objects: Complex, but

with little external relationships

• Tasks: Tend to be object-centric

• Good for applications whose objects are naturally siloed

Actions

Object Lists

Summary Views


Current State of the Industry


TLA – Tabless Architecture• Objects: Simple, Hub

and Spoke• Tasks:

– Generally simple, without long processes that drill down several levels

– Checklists

• Good for applications with short-term processes and internalized structures

Dashboard

Actions


CTA – Contextual Tab Architecture• Objects: Single primary

object with relationships to many other objects

• Tasks: Complex and part of a larger process

• Good for complex applications that have a monolithic object with long-term processes and externalized structure

In-Context

Out of Context

Dashboard

Summary Pages

Workbenches

Actions

Actions


The Then > values in the database

• Information architecture directly reflects objects in database

• Functionality is derived from direct actions against objects

• Views and actions are tactical


A Detailed Marketing Example


Structural Issues• Structure confuses relationships

of objects– Hierarchy of significant objects not

apparent– Business processes not apparent– Attributes of every type of object are

visible– Each tab aggregates every instance of

each object type


Real Estate Issues

1024 x 768

AdministrationCalendarAnalyticsExecutionSchedulesEventsPrograms

Deliverables Messages

CampaignsClaimsBudgetsDeliverablesAudiencesProductsHome

· Planning· Main· Attachments· Budget· Costs and

Revenues· Metrics· E-mail Content· Deliverable Kit· Inventory

Options· Collaboration

· Tasks· Notes· Teams


Flow Issues• Assumes important actions are tactical updates• Requires steps to find and verify actions’

appropriateness

Search

View

Update


Design Approaches- Remove chafe- Make decision-making accessible- Shift architectural weight off tabs

into virtual structures- Normalize primary objects:

Programs, Campaigns, Activities, Schedules

- Move to contextual architecture


Restructuring Marketing…Visually


Architectural ShiftOldNew


Effect• Programs, Campaigns, Schedules,

and Events are templates • User can make decisions about

elements in comparison and in context

• Processes are reflected using tabs• Navigation paths are perceived to be

shorter• Reduction in architectural weight • Reduction in perceived page count


The Now > data in context

• Information architecture reflects business processes

• Additional functionality has been added to evaluate and act on state of processes

• Strategic views with tactical actions


Information Flow• Decisions are enabled (darkest blue)• Easy access to updates enabled• Secondary emphasis on creating and evaluating

relationships between objects (light blue)

Decide & Act

Search

Update

Relationships


Issues With Current Architectures• Lack of a holistic view into the state

of the process– Current– Trends

• Strategic Planning and Editing still decoupled


Design Approaches• Design visualizations that enable

planning and decision making• Collapse architectural space around

the visualization space• Enable aggregate actions


The Future > usable information

• Visualization provides views based on business decisions, architecture supports.

• Interactive visualization provides basis for evaluating and acting on relationships between processes

• Addition of strategic actions


Knowledge Flow• Strategic

actions are now enabled (darkest blue)

• Updates happen in concert (light blue)

Strategize & Act

Update

Update

Plan

UpdateRelate

Update


Enabling Visualization

Marketing Activities

Controls

Selected: Element_XYZ

Name

Label

Date

Value

00-00-00

Current: Element_ABC

Name

Label

Date

Value

00-00-00

Element_XYZ

Element_ABC


Conclusion

Enterprise UI architecture is still immature

Keep in mind…– The users questions, not their tasks– Whether it is appropriate to split an application into

multiple spaces– Different dimensions around which to structure the IA– Planning, decision making, and comparison activities can

be well served by visualization– Look for an ontology of taxonomies that can provide a

language to depict different applications spaces similarly but with the flexibility needed to present each spaces unique structures

– Information architecture issues have many solutions


Q&AQ&A

www.kalmdesigns.com/iasummit2005_kalm.ppt

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