The Now & Next Framework can be used in planning for the Information Architecture of a software-product (websites and webapps). Basically, it is ideal to prioritize the Now and follow it up with the Next.
Current Relevance (Now)
- Answering for the user’s immediate need
- Which things are relevant for the user to know (information)?
- Which things are relevant for the user to do (actions)?
- Is it supported where the user want to go from here (navigation, sections)?
Relevant Discoveries (Next)
- Supporting and cultivating the user’s multi-faceted nature.
- Which things might be of interest to the user — whether to know (information), to do (actions), to go to (sections)?
Actions and Sections
Actions (Act)
Actions are functionalities the user can utilize in a particular section.
Sections (Go)
Sections are places the user can go to.
Example
In this example, we demonstrate the Information Architecture of a Category page or screen.
| Current Relevance * Templates (items that are saved as templates by the user) * Favorites (items that are “starred” by the user) * Recents (items that are recently interacted upon by the user) |
| Relevant Discoveries * Categories or list of all items (it depends on how many items there are and / or how segmented they are — if they need to be categorized or listed flatly; categories can be headings only which can be navigated via drill-down) |