When users struggle with specific screens within websites or mobile apps, sometimes it’s easy to see why - the display may be too busy, the wrong action might be highlighted or the copy provided could be unclear. However, when poor usability is due to an ineffective information architecture (IA), the problems can lie “between the screens”, making them more difficult to observe and diagnose.
 
IA issues are tough to spot because they manifest themselves less directly in users’ behavior. We’ve identified 10 user behaviors that signal fundamental issues with a site’s organizational structure, navigation system and content strategy. Be on the lookout for these phenomena during usability testing to help pinpoint IA issues in your design:

1.  Making the wrong first move

Sometimes IA issues are evident from the get go; users who get started on the wrong foot are setting themselves up for a frustrating experience. They may believe the information they need is in one section of the site when it’s actually in another, or they may misinterpret a category name or section label.

When users make the wrong first move across many different types of tasks, it’s a signal that the site isn’t organized in a way that matches how people think about the information provided. Often a simple target finding exercise – asking users where they would click first to find specific pieces of information – can help pinpoint whether the issues are limited to specific sections of the application or are pervasive across the full IA. Conducting a card sort exercise on affected areas can provide insight for correcting the problem.
 

 

2.  Playing whack-a-mole

A wrong first move escalates into “whack-a-mole” when users back out, try something else, back out again, try yet another link, and continue to make wrong choices with no success. Like the carnival game where players hunt an elusive furry critter with a mallet as it bounces around from hole to hole, users keep trying to find their way but are foiled as their frustration mounts. (Users may want to pound on the interface with a mallet!)
 
Along with making the wrong first move, whack-a-mole is a more serious indicator that the site isn’t effectively forecasting what is available in each area. Users make a series of “educated” guesses that turn out to be wrong, and may ultimately succeed only through a process of elimination. Interface cues like rollover menus or single-phrase copy descriptions can give users sufficient context for what they’ll find in each section, which will help them make more informed choices and succeed more quickly.
 

3.  Following the same path for all tasks

When users who are struggling with wrong first moves and whack-a-mole do find what they’re looking for, they can become attached to the area of the site that helped them succeed. So attached, in fact, that they may visit that area regardless of the task they’re trying to accomplish. The success they enjoyed in the previous task is rewarding, so if they don’t see a better alternative, they’ll try it again. And again. And again. It’s like the variable reinforcement of a slot machine – occasional, unpredictable small wins keep people pumping in the quarters hoping for a big payoff.

When you see users returning to the same section over and over again, it suggests that they are struggling to stay oriented within the larger experience. They rely on what worked in the past because they can’t easily make sense of the other options. (The problem is exacerbated by site sections like “Resources” or “More”; users think they can find anything in those sections.) A small set of mutually exclusive categories with descriptive, unambiguous labels can help users feel more comfortable and guide them to the right area for their need.
 

4.  Driving in circles

In the real world when people get lost, many try to become un-lost by adapting their overall sense of direction to a mental map of the area. In confusing places (ever drive in Boston, or in London?), these models can fail and people may find themselves literally driving in circles, right back where they started and no closer to their destination.

This happens in the virtual world too, and it’s a clear sign of an IA problem. When users inadvertently visit the same page multiple times, via multiple routes, it indicates that they haven’t been able to form a mental map of how the site is structured and how the content is organized.
 
Users are vulnerable to driving in circles when sites don’t provide sufficient cues to help them understand where they are, where they’ve been and where they can go. Consistently displayed navigation systems can provide the support users need to stay oriented. Just like on the road, a few clearly marked street signs can make all the difference between continuing to spin your wheels and progressing toward your destination.
 

5.  Getting half-credit

When users declare that they have completed their task but don’t realize they haven’t found the best information on the site to address their question, the culprit is usually an IA problem. Users expect related information to be consolidated. Once they find content on their topic of interest, they are quick to assume that they have found all of the available content, so they stop looking. Why should they keep looking for something they already found? It just doesn’t occur to them that additional information might be available in another section or area of the site.

This is a common issue for websites of large associations and nonprofits, where different departments within the organization publish content on the same topic but from different angles. Users find one area but not the others and as a result, they don’t get the full story.

The risk of settling for half-credit is that users may miss the most important content to address their task at hand. Consolidating content for topics in a central location, and/or promoting additional content through a “cross-sell” strategy can help users perceive and access the full scope of information available.
 

6.  Writing things down

When users reach for a pen and paper during a usability test, it’s often a sign that the process doesn’t flow the way users need it to. Users write things down because they’re afraid they won’t have the right information at the right time. Sometimes it’s a coupon code from the home page – will it be applied automatically at check out? Other times it’s the airfare or hotel rate – how can I compare it to other options on the site? Designers can relieve users of this unnecessary burden by using scenarios to identify the places in a process when information should be surfaced or stored.
 

7.  Abandoning browse in favor of search

Users who can’t find what they’re looking for using a site’s navigation system will eventually abandon it and try something else. In usability testing, it clear that a site’s browse categories aren’t working when users decide to search instead. Searching per se doesn’t indicate a problem; some tasks are more easily done via search, and some people just prefer to search right away. However, when users begin by browsing, fail to find what they need, and then switch to search, an IA issue may be to blame.

Abandoning browse in favor of search indicates a failure to progress. It’s the digital equivalent of visiting the customer service desk in a department store: users want to find what they need by walking around on their own, but ultimately need someone to point the way. Users are more likely to browse successfully when filtering options are easy to see, select and remove, enabling them to form a stable model of the breadth of a site’s inventory and how to explore it.
 

8.  Navigating in place

Have you ever watched users repeatedly click on a link to the page they are already on? Navigating in place can be the result of multiple issues: 1) Users don’t know where they are in the overall structure, 2) they don’t believe the link they are clicking accurately describes the page they are viewing, and 3) they are hopeful for additional or different content about the topic than what is displayed on the page.

Navigating in place is a sign that the site is not meeting users’ information needs; the IA is promising content but not delivering on that promise in a way that users recognize. When running a usability test, this is a great opportunity to augment your understanding of user needs by asking questions like, “When you click on that link, what are you hoping to find?”
 

9.  Bet you can’t do that again!

If users struggle to complete a task in usability testing but ultimately succeed, there’s a handy trick to assess the role that IA issues may have played in their troubles: ask them to do it again. If, after one or two “distraction” tasks on other topics, users cannot easily show you how to do something they’ve already done, it’s clear that your interface is not learnable. Information architecture contributes to learnability by helping users establish a framework for your application – if the framework is unstable, users can’t retain and apply it in future visits. The closer the interface aligns with the way users think about the domain, the easier it will be for them to internalize it and learn to use it effectively.
 

10. Heading for home

Nothing is more demoralizing than starting from scratch. When you see users abandon their chosen path and head all the way home to try again, they’re telling you it’s easier to give up and start over than to re-orient themselves using your site’s navigation. This is also a common problem with complex mobile apps: when users must navigate down multiple levels, they make choices as they go and lose track of the roads not taken. When they don’t find what they need, it can be easier to close the app and reopen it to start over than to retrace their steps and determine where they went wrong. (This strategy doesn’t work for apps that reopen where the user left off, which is sometimes a plus but other times can be frustrating.) Heading home is a sign that users have lost faith in their ability to use your site or application.
 

Watching for the behaviors outlined above can help you identify, diagnose and address usability problems caused by information architecture issues. The benefits of a solid IA go beyond usability: a sound site structure can also help you more effectively manage content, template your design and leverage your site to meet business objectives.