Boxes And Arrows : The Design Behind the Design

Article Idea:

How To: Mental Model Diagramming 101

suggested by Scott Weisbrod on 2006/01/31

Mental models are a basic visualization of how customers think about their goals and tasks as explored during customer interviews. Sometimes their called conceptual models or task analysis diagrams; whatever you want to call them, their value is clear. Mental models give us a clear depiction of what the users expectations of site are and we can use that depiction to highlight gaps in content and functionality as well as outline opportunities to innovate. This article would outline a methodology for creating mental models as well as review a simple approach for diagramming them in Visio. Cheers, Scott Scott Weisbrod Senior Information Architect scottw@criticalmass.com Tel: 1-888-262-3006 x2239 C R I T I C A L M A S S www.criticalmass.com