TCD35: Creating Information Blocks

Create Information Blocks


Designing training for the first time?

[email protected]

v1.0 – Mar 2016

mailto:[email protected]


DefineGeneral Design

CreateTest

CreateInformation

Blocks

StructureInformation

AddInstruction

DevelopTraining

Implement & Evaluate

Context

2TECADI Training Technologies Ltd – Mar 2016. v1.0

Creating Information Blocks in the context of a systematic approach to design and development of good training.

Information Sources

(Overwhelming,

inconsistent,

contradictory)

Chunk Information

Re-Group, Merge, Split

Add LabelEnhance Visuals

SME

SME

Author

(You)


A Guiding Principle

The 7+-2 Principle:

Short term memory has limited capacity.

• The number of chunks a human can recall immediately after presentation depends on the category of chunks used, and even on features of the chunks within a category.

This principle impacts the proposed approach to information design at a different levels, from the paragraph length to the document’s structure.

3TECADI Training Technologies Ltd – Mar 2016 v1.0


Chunk Information


Add LabelEnhance

Visual

SME

SME Chunk Information

Chunk Information

Dividing available content

into small pieces



Chunk Information

Divide information up into manageable

chunks to make information digestible

and easier to understand.

A chunk includes only the information

that relates to one main point, based

upon that information's purpose or

function for the user.

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Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbitristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpisegestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci. Aeneannec lorem. In porttitor.

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Donec ut est in lectus consequat consequat. Etiam eget dui. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed at lorem in nunc porta tristique. Proin nec augue.

Quisque aliquam tempor magna. Pellentesque habitant morbitristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpisegestas.

Why?

Lengthy paragraphs and sentences can be hard to read and

understand.

Ideas buried in the middle of paragraphs blocks are more

likely to be over read or ignored.

Benefits

Users are able to access information quickly.

Authors add, delete or modify small chunks of information

easier than when doing the same over large paragraphs.

Sometimes, information comes in

large objects, difficult to absorb.

It is easier to absorb information that

is presented in manageable pieces.



Chunk Information


Add LabelEnhance

Visual



Moving chunks around




Put together what belongs together.

Group according to the function that the

chunk has for the user.

Analyze each chunk to:

• Ensure that information is about a

single topic.

More than one topic: split chunk.

• Move chunks with similar topics

together (re-group).

• Merge chunks to eliminate repetition,

redundancy and irrelevant

information.

• Identify and resolve inconsistencies.

Author

What does each

piece of information

tell the user?

Group according to user needs.Analyze each chunk.



Applying Re-Group, Merge, Split

Put together what belongs together.

There are times when users must read the whole document

to find the information that relates to a specific topic.

Information that has been grouped by the relevance it has

to the user, it is easier to locate.

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consectetuer adipiscing elit.

Maecenas porttitor congue massa.

Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar

ultricies, purus lectus malesuada

libero, sit amet commodo magna

eros quis urna. Nunc viverra

imperdiet enim.

Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique

senectus et netus et malesuada

fames ac turpis egestas. Proin

pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et

orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor.

Donec laoreet nonummy augue.

Suspendisse dui purus, scelerisque

at, vulputate vitae, pretium mattis,

nunc.




nunc.

Suspendisse dapibus lorem

pellentesque magna. Integer nulla.

Donec blandit feugiat ligula. Donec

hendrerit, felis et imperdiet euismod,

purus ipsum pretium metus, in lacinia

nulla nisl eget sapien.

Donec ut est in lectus consequat

consequat. Etiam eget dui.

Benefits

Avoids having to read the whole document to find

information related to a topic of interest.

Users confident that all information about specific topics will

be reunited together.

The document becomes more useful because it allows a

non sequential access to information (faciltates migration to

hypertext environments).

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Maecenas porttitor congue massa.

Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar

ultricies, purus lectus malesuada

libero, sit amet commodo magna

eros quis urna. Nunc viverra

imperdiet enim.

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senectus et netus et malesuada

fames ac turpis egestas. Proin

pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et

orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor.




nunc.




nunc.

Mauris eget neque at sem venenatis

eleifend. Ut nonummy. Fusce aliquet

pede non pede.


pellentesque magna. Integer nulla.

Donec blandit feugiat ligula. Donec

hendrerit, felis et imperdiet euismod,

purus ipsum pretium metus, in lacinia

nulla nisl eget sapien.

Donec ut est in lectus consequat

consequat. Etiam eget dui.



Chunk Information


Add LabelEnhance

Visual

Add Label

Add Label

Make explicit what each piece

of information tells the user



Add Label

Give a meaningful label (title) to each

chunk; a descriptive heading that

prepare the user for what is to come and

provide a way of locating specific

information.

Horizontal

rectangles

Vertical rectangles

Triangles

Diamonds

Labels reinforce user understanding of the information.



Key Benefits of Adding Labels

Advance Organizer

Labels function as advance organizers,

presenting information that can be used to

organize and interpret new incoming

information.

People understand better when an

introduction about what is coming is

presented.

Information Scanning

Labels facilitate the scanning of information.

By just looking at labels, users are able to

locate faster the information they need.

Labels should be easy to identify in the

document.

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massa.

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pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus

malesuada libero, sit amet

commodo magna eros quis urna.

Nunc viverra imperdiet enim.

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tristique senectus et netus et

malesuada fames ac turpis

egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy

pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec

lorem. In porttitor. User

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Suspendisse dui purus,

scelerisque at, vulputate vitae,

pretium mattis, nunc.

Venenatis eleifendMauris eget neque at sem

venenatis eleifend. Ut nonummy.

Fusce aliquet pede non pede.


pellentesque magna. Integer

nulla.

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Donec hendrerit, felis et imperdiet

euismod, purus ipsum pretium

metus,

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Maecenas porttitor congue

massa.

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pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus

malesuada libero, sit amet

commodo magna eros quis urna.

Nunc viverra imperdiet enim.

ProcedurePellentesque habitant morbi

tristique senectus et netus et

malesuada fames ac turpis

egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy

pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec

lorem. In porttitor.

User



Chunk Information


Add LabelEnhance

Visual

Enhance Visuals

Enhance Visuals

Transform text into

visual structures



Enhance Visual DesignPeople infer meaning better from visual and texts than just text.

Images attract readers and are usually remembered for longer periods of time.

Use:• illustrations

• figures

• tables

as integrated part of the text.

Blandit feugiat ligula Donec blandit feugiat

ligula. Donec hendrerit, felis et imperdiet

euismod, purus ipsum pretium metus,

Suspendisse dapibus lorem pellentesque magna.

Integer nulla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer

adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa.

Fusce posuere

Habitant morbi tristique Pellentesque habitant

morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada

fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy

pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor.

Adding visuals elements to text-heavy

information chunks



Adding Visuals

Lists

Bullet and numbered lists are a visual format

that simplifies reading by expressing clearly

number of items and their reach.

Tables

Tables are a flexible visual format that

stimulates comparison. Users are able to

focus on just the information that is useful for

them: a row, a column, an individual cells or

the whole table.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit

amet, consectetuer

adipiscing elit, Maecenas

porttitor congue massa.

Lorem ipsum

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit

amet

• Consectetuer adipiscing

elit

• Maecenas porttitor

congue massa.

Lorem ipsum

1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit

amet

2. Consectetuer adipiscing

elit

3. Maecenas porttitor

congue massa.

No visual clues

Use of bullets implies

that items have the

same importance

Use of

numbers/letters

implies that there is

an order relationship



Information Blocks

These chunks are also known as Information Blocks: basic units of subject matter in structured writing.

Each Information Block is composed of:

• One or more sentences (or diagrams) organized around a single topic

• A label

• Clear boundaries

Chunk Information


Add LabelEnhance Visuals

SME

SME

A unit of information

containing only one main idea

A prominently displayed label

that describes the content

Clear boundaries that separate

blocks from each other



Chunk Information


Add Label

Enhance Visuals

Example 1

An example of how information changes

when applying the first four principles:

Initial version: there is no clear page structure Visible structure



Conclusion

• Adopting a research based systematic approach to design information helps

improving the quality of your documents.

• These rules, principles and step-by-step guidelines help authors analyzing,

sorting and sequencing information.

• The produces structured documents will be:

Modular

Easier to update

Consistent

Re-usable

Exportable to different technology platforms.


SME

SMEChunk

InformationRe-Group,

Merge, SplitAdd Label

Enhance Visuals



Designing training for the first time?

[email protected]

v1.0 – Mar 2016

mailto:[email protected]

TCD35: Creating Information Blocks

Education