Mapping

Information Architecture
 IA Analysis
Visual inconsistency
Navigation system
across sorts of store
Arduino Home Store malfunction Search (exact Keyword)
products.
Arduino Home
The home page displays a total of 29 links 21 of which are
(ambiguous (ambiguous redundant, 10 of which are blog pages.This organizes an
categories) categories) Software Education Resources Community Help information space for browsing categories and blog posts
arranged in an unclear scheme. This space provides little
structure to orient user goals.The primary navigation label
Online Tools for “education” shortens to “edu” as the user scrolls down
Products Forum FAQ the page.
Home Page Content Opens in a new Navigation
tab without a system Store
(ambiguous (ambiguous (ambiguous (ambiguous
clear reason. malfunction
categories) categories) categories) categories) Breadcrumbs are not displayed on the landing page. The
What is Arduino Introduction X navigation system does not include a home link, and does
Downloads Getting Started Blog Contact Us not function consistently. The current page is indicated for
the subcategory “kits” but not for “shipping policy”. The
(ambiguous Navigation system does not remain in a consistent location
Products Downloads Store Support across all categories.
categories) (ambiguous (ambiguous
categories) categories)
Online Tools
Navigation system Project Hub Opens in a new Visiting online tools loads the page in a new tab without a
Tutorials
Blog Post encourages category tab without a
MKR Family clear reason, preventing continuous site navigation.
(most recent) browsing rather than clear reason.
orienting user goals. Education
(ambiguous (ambiguous
Buy An Arduino Blog Post categories) categories) The navigation system of anchor links is not functioning
Store properly. Selecting “Arduino Education” after visiting
(second)
Navigation system is Arduino User “resources” does not scroll back up to that section. The color
Learn Arduino inconsistent, does Reference Navigation system
Groups location is inconsistent change indicating current location does not load instantly
not expand for sub providing confirmation of having selected the link.
Blog Post categories and and disappears when
Product Page
Donate (third) visiting links. Products
disappears on
libraries page. (ambiguous The navigation system of anchor links is not functioning
Arduino Create categories) properly. The color change indicating current location is not
(online tools) Product Page
Blog Post Legend displaying the category being viewed.
(fourth) Playground
Inconsistent location
of navigation Reference
Organization System
system.Current page
Education Blog Post The navigation system is inconsistent across categories,
(fifth) New Products is not displayed in (ambiguous disappearing when visiting “libraries”. The navigation system
Top Level Navigation navigation system. categories) also inconsistently indicates current location. Change color
to indicating current location is not working.
Blog Post Blog Post Redundant Navigation At Heart
(sixth) (seventh)
Blog
Link opens In New Tab The navigation system drops down below the fold during
Blog Post Blog Post use. The horizontal orientation would maintain consistency
(eighth) (ninth) with “project hub”.
Expanding Organization System
Project Hub
Blog Post Visiting online tools loads the page in a new tab without a
(tenth) clear reason, preventing continuous site navigation.
Footer Navigation
Arduino User Groups
Contact Us About US Careers The navigation system appears in an inconsistent location,
and crolls up out of view when links are visited.

Summary
The information space of the Arduino
site orients the user well enough for
casual browsing but does little for
users with defined goals or lesser
product familiarity. The information
space is organized as a hybrid topical
/ task-oriented scheme. However,
only three of the twenty categories of
primary navigation are task-oriented.
Two of those three are redundant
navigation renamed with
task-oriented labels and placed at the
upper left of the space to be found
first and easily by the user. The
Arduino site has a conceptual model
comprised of topical categories, with
three task-oriented calls to action.
While this is a familiar model it fails
to orient customers with a task
structure for the purchasing of
Arduino products.
Arduino’s information architecture
and information content seems
designed to communicate with
electrical engineering and robotics
hobbyists but not, parents, teachers
or those new to Arduino. The call to
action “Buy An Arduino” takes
parents, teachers and potential
customers directly to a page
displaying electrical components with
no context of use. An information
architecture that is audience specific
and task oriented would be better
suited to parents, teachers or those
new to Arduino.
With testing the best IA for Arduino
may prove to be a solution that
allows an interested eight year old to
visit the site, conceive of a project,
determine the needed hardware, and
level of programming skill, purchase
and build. Example projects are used
in the “what is Arduino” section where
Arduino products are showcased as
central to the maker movement by a
speaker from the TED stage. The
same strategy for making the
abstract Arduino product concrete by
Navigation System Inconsistency & Malfunctions
use-case could be organized as
audience specific scheme categories
such as: parents, student, teachers
One item
or, beginner, maker, entrepreneur. displays
The page content for these audience current
location other
specific scheme categories could links do not
present a clear engaging step by step
Primary
illustration of how to take the first navigation
steps toward becoming a part of the link opens
page in new
maker movement. The “project Hub tab.
page offers projects with their
Arduino components. These are
sortable by difficulty, yet the section
falls short of an audience specific
scheme.
In addition to these organization
system changes the site’s current
Disappearing
navigation systems are inconsistent
navigation on
and in some cases malfunctioning. resources
page.
These spatial and visual changes
from page to page combine with a
liberal use of contextual links in ways
making the site a confusing matrix
structure. Re-designing for audience
specific scheme and consistent
Disappearing
functional navigation with fewer navigation on
libraries page.
contextual links may improve user
experience for Arduino customers.