Product design -(3) product structure

On the basis of pre-demand analysis and market competition analysis, all demand points are organized in a logical and systematic way to form a three-dimensional structure.

? Based on this structure, user behavior can be smoothly guided or various information can be smoothly circulated.

Product structure diagram is a diagram that comprehensively displays product information and functional logic. Simply put, the product structure diagram is a diagram that shows the product prototype in an institutionalized way. The structural content is the same as that of the product prototype, and the page functions and elements are refined from the channel to the page. Product structure diagram is a way for product managers to sort out their ideas before designing prototypes. Through the product structure diagram, we can see the product structure at a glance and think easily. Mind mapping tools are generally used.

Such as: WeChat product structure diagram

Summary: The construction of product structure we do is to show the original disordered demand points in a certain structural way. Product structure diagram is actually a structured product prototype. The purpose of this is to sort out the product structure logic, and know more clearly how many channels the product has, whether there are sub-channels or how many pages there are under the channel, what functional modules these pages have and what elements these functional modules have.

1. People's first impression of product understanding, and whether the structure is clear also represents the difficulty of user understanding.

? 2. Whether the product structure is stable also represents the difficulty of adding or subtracting functional modules.

The structure tab of WeChat has not changed, and the structure is relatively stable.

Thinking: What dimensions should we use to design the product structure? User needs? Functional relevance? Positioning? Strategy?

Elements of User Experience explains several typical information construction models: hierarchical structure, self-acceptance structure, matrix structure and linear structure.

1. hierarchical structure

Description in the book: In the hierarchy, there is a parent-child relationship between a node and other related nodes. The child node represents a narrow concept, and the subordinate relationship represents a wide parent node category. Not every node has a child node, but every node has a parent node, all the way to the parent node of the whole structure. The concept of hierarchical relationship is very easy for users to understand, and software often works in a hierarchical way, so this type of structure is the most common.

Features: clear and easy-to-understand structure, high operation efficiency and strong expansibility.

When using hierarchical structure, we need to pay attention to the depth and width of the hierarchy. Wide and shallow product architecture and narrow and deep product architecture have their own advantages and disadvantages. The key to choose which product architecture to use is to combine the positioning, business characteristics, user characteristics and usage scenarios of your own products.

When designing the product structure, it should not exceed 3 layers in theory.

? 2. Natural structure

Description in the book: Natural structure will not follow any consistent pattern. Nodes are connected one by one, and this structure has no strong classification concept. The natural structure is very suitable for discussing a series of topics whose relationship is not clear or has been evolving. However, the natural structure does not provide users with a clear indication, which part of the structure they feel they are in.

If you want to encourage the feeling of free exploration, such as some entertainment or educational websites, then the natural structure may be a good choice; However, this structure may turn the user experience into a challenge if your users need to rely on the same path to find the same content next time.

Features: encourage people to explore and improve the interest of products, which are common in games and consulting products.

3. Linear structure

Description in the book: The linear structure comes from the offline media you are most familiar with. Coherent language flow is the most basic type of information structure, and the devices to deal with it have been deeply implanted in our brains. Books, articles, audio-visual and videos are all designed as linear experiences.

? In the Internet, linear structures are often used for small-scale structures, such as a single article or a single topic; Large-scale linear structures are used to limit those applications, such as teaching materials, which need to be presented in order to meet the needs of users.

Features: like watching a movie, one scene advances to another; Guide users to follow, with strong purpose.

4. Matrix structure

The book describes that the matrix structure allows users to move between nodes along two or more "dimensions". Because each user's needs can be associated with an axis in the matrix, the matrix structure can usually help those users who come with different needs to find what they want in the same content.

For example, if some users really want to browse products by color, while others just want to browse products by size, then the matrix structure can accommodate these two different users at the same time. However, if you expect users to use this as the main navigation tool, then there may be problems with matrices beyond three dimensions. In four or more dimensions, it is basically impossible for the human brain to visualize these movements well.

Features: it can satisfy different users at the same time; Carrying more information;

Summary: The key to which product architecture to adopt is to combine the positioning, business characteristics, user characteristics and usage scenarios of your own products.

Elements needed for a good product structure: 1. Corresponding product objectives and user needs; 2. It has certain expansibility; 3. Appropriate depth; 4. User understanding.