Dr. Barbara

Dr. Barbara

Making Data Matter

Information Architecture (IA) Recommendations

Date: 2025-11-21 Site: barbhs.com (dagny099.github.io) Current State: 5-item main navigation, multiple content types, some content hidden from primary navigation

Executive Summary

Your site has excellent content organization but faces discoverability challenges. High-quality content (Data Stories, Blog posts, Research) is hidden from primary navigation, while your content taxonomy has evolved beyond your navigation structure. These recommendations focus on improving content discoverability, clarifying mental models, and aligning navigation with your current content strategy.

Critical Issues & Recommendations

🔴 CRITICAL ISSUE #1: Data Stories is Orphaned

Problem: Data Stories has 3 high-quality technical narratives but is not in main navigation. Users must know the URL /data-stories/ directly or stumble upon it.

Impact:

  • Hidden showcase content that demonstrates your technical storytelling
  • Missed opportunity to differentiate from dry portfolio pieces
  • Content exists but provides no value if undiscoverable

Recommendation: Add Data Stories to Main Navigation

Option A (Recommended): Add as 6th Nav Item

# _data/navigation.yml
- title: "Data Stories"
  short: "Stories"
  url: /data-stories/
  color: "#5a189a"
  background-color: "#f4f0fb"
  subtitle: "Technical narratives with interactive visualizations."
  description: "Case studies told through data, from problem to insight."

Option B: Merge with Projects Combine Projects and Data Stories under a single “Work” or “Case Studies” section with subcategories.

Rationale:

  • Data Stories represents your unique voice (technical + narrative)
  • It’s distinct from Projects (which focus on systems/products) and Thinking (which is more abstract)
  • Showcases your ability to communicate technical work to non-technical audiences
  • 3 items is enough to warrant dedicated navigation

🟡 ISSUE #2: Blog Content is Hidden

Problem: You have 16 blog posts organized into coherent series (Website Building, Sensor Fleet), but:

  • Blog is NOT in main navigation (removed in recent redesign)
  • Users can’t discover this tutorial content
  • Posts demonstrate learning in public and teaching ability

Impact:

  • SEO value lost (blog posts drive organic traffic)
  • Teaching/tutorial content goes unseen
  • Missed community building opportunity

Recommendation: Restore Blog to Navigation (Footer or Utility Nav)

Option A: Add to Footer Navigation Create a “Learn” or “Archive” section in footer with:

  • Blog
  • Tags
  • Categories
  • Archives by date

Option B: Add Dropdown to Main Nav Add a “More” dropdown with:

  • Blog
  • Research
  • Experience
  • Gallery

Option C: Merge with Thinking Rename “Thinking” to “Writing” and include both essays and tutorials.

Rationale:

  • Blog content has value (tutorials are evergreen)
  • Series structure (4-part + 7-part) shows depth
  • Differentiates you from portfolio-only sites
  • Community-focused content builds trust

🟡 ISSUE #3: Inconsistent Content Taxonomy

Problem: Content types overlap conceptually:

  • Projects = Systems/products you’ve built
  • Data Stories = Technical narratives about specific problems
  • Portfolio = Legacy version of Projects
  • Thinking = Essays and conceptual pieces
  • Blog = Tutorials and technical how-tos

Users don’t have clear mental models for “Where do I find X?”

Recommendation: Clarify Content Types with Descriptive Subtitles

Update Navigation Descriptions:

Section Current Subtitle Recommended Subtitle
Projects “Case studies with a 30-sec summary → 2-min overview → deep dive.” “Systems and products I’ve built”
Data Stories (not in nav) “Technical narratives with interactive visualizations”
Thinking “Foundational posts are pinned; everything else is living research.” “Essays on cognition, data systems, and AI governance”
Blog (not in nav) “Tutorials, series, and learning in public”
Resources “Plug-and-play PDFs and checklists for faster collaboration.” ✓ Good as-is

Content Type Matrix:

If User Wants… They Should Visit…
See what you’ve shipped Projects
Understand your technical storytelling Data Stories
Explore your thinking/philosophy Thinking
Learn how to do something Blog
Grab a template/checklist Resources

Rationale:

  • Clear mental models reduce cognitive load
  • Users can self-navigate without guessing
  • Reduces overlap confusion

🟠 ISSUE #4: URL Pattern Inconsistency

Problem: Blog posts have 3 different URL patterns:

  • Website series: /posts/{title}/
  • Sensor Fleet series: /temp-sensor-{n}/
  • Individual posts: /{category}/{title}/

Impact:

  • Confusing for users trying to remember URLs
  • Harder to implement site-wide changes
  • SEO dilution across multiple patterns

Recommendation: Standardize to Single Pattern

Option A (Recommended): Use Category-Based URLs

# _config.yml
permalink: /blog/:title/

All posts become: /blog/{title}/

Option B: Keep Category Structure

permalink: /:categories/:title/

But ensure ALL posts have a category defined.

Migration Plan:

  1. Add Jekyll redirects for old URLs
  2. Update internal links
  3. Submit old URLs to Google Search Console for remapping

Rationale:

  • Consistency improves UX and SEO
  • /blog/{title} is conventional and expected
  • Easier to maintain long-term

🟢 ISSUE #5: Portfolio vs Projects Confusion

Problem: You have both /portfolio/ (legacy, 6 items) and /projects/ (modern, 4 items).

Current Strategy: Migrating Portfolio → Projects (noted in sitemap)

Recommendation: Complete the Migration

Steps:

  1. ✓ Keep Projects in main nav (already done)
  2. Add redirects from /portfolio/{item} → /projects/{item} for migrated content
  3. Create a /portfolio/ redirect to /projects/ after migration complete
  4. Remove Portfolio from sitemap once empty
  5. Keep 2-3 best portfolio pieces as “Archive” subsection on Projects page

Rationale:

  • Eliminates confusion
  • Consolidates showcase content
  • “Projects” is more modern terminology than “Portfolio”
  • Cleaner mental model for visitors

Secondary Recommendations

🔵 #6: Elevate Research Page

Problem: Research page (4 papers, 8 posters) is only accessible via footer/utility navigation, but your PhD background is a key differentiator.

Recommendation: Add Research to main navigation OR create a “Background” dropdown with:

  • Research
  • Experience
  • My Journey

Rationale:

  • Establishes credibility for enterprise clients
  • Differentiates you from bootcamp grads
  • Academic work is impressive and should be featured

🔵 #7: Add Breadcrumb Navigation

Problem: Deep content (individual blog posts, data stories) doesn’t show hierarchy.

Recommendation: Ensure breadcrumbs are enabled site-wide:

# _config.yml (already set)
breadcrumbs: true

Verify they appear on:

  • Blog posts: Home > Blog > {Title}
  • Data stories: Home > Data Stories > {Title}
  • Resources: Home > Resources > {Title}

Rationale:

  • Improves wayfinding
  • Reduces bounce rate
  • Shows content hierarchy visually

🔵 #8: Create Topic Taxonomy

Problem: Content spans multiple themes but isn’t grouped by topic/expertise area.

Recommendation: Add a “Topics” page that cross-references content by theme:

Example Topics:

  • Computer Vision → Research papers + Hive Photo Tracker
  • Knowledge Graphs → Projects + Thinking essays + Citation Networks
  • AI Governance → Thinking essays + RAG post
  • Data Visualization → Exercise Dashboard + Vision & Perception resources
  • DevOps/Infrastructure → Sensor Fleet series + GitHub Actions posts

Implementation: Use Jekyll tags/categories to auto-generate topic pages.

Rationale:

  • Users often search by topic, not content type
  • Shows expertise breadth and depth
  • Improves SEO for topical searches
  • Helps recruiters/clients find relevant work

🔵 #9: Add “Start Here” or “New Visitor” Landing

Problem: No obvious entry point for first-time visitors.

Recommendation: Create a “Start Here” page or section on homepage with:

  • For Recruiters → Experience + Projects + Research
  • For Data Scientists → Thinking + Resources + Blog
  • For Teams → Projects + Data Stories + Contact
  • For Career Changers → My Journey + Blog + Resources

Rationale:

  • Reduces choice paralysis
  • Segments audiences
  • Increases engagement time
  • Personalized pathways improve conversion

🔵 #10: Implement Search Facets

Problem: Search is enabled but doesn’t offer filtering by content type.

Current: Lunr.js site-wide search Recommendation: Add filter checkboxes:

  • Projects
  • Data Stories
  • Thinking
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Research

Rationale:

  • Improves search precision
  • Users can narrow results by intent
  • Makes large content libraries navigable

Proposed Information Architecture (Option A)

Primary Navigation (Main Masthead)

  1. Projects - Systems and products I’ve built
  2. Data Stories - Technical narratives with visualizations (NEW)
  3. Thinking - Essays on cognition, data, and AI
  4. Resources - Templates, guides, and starter kits
  5. My Journey - Career timeline and pivots
  6. Contact - Let’s collaborate

Explore

  • Blog (Tutorials & Series)
  • Research (Papers & Posters)
  • Experience (Professional Roles)
  • Gallery (Creative Work)

Archives

  • Topics A-Z
  • Tags
  • Categories
  • All Posts

About

  • About Me
  • Resume (PDF)
  • Site Architecture (NEW - link to SITEMAP.md)

Proposed Information Architecture (Option B - More Consolidated)

Primary Navigation (Main Masthead)

  1. Work (dropdown)
    • Projects (Systems/Products)
    • Data Stories (Narratives)
    • Portfolio Archive
  2. Writing (dropdown)
    • Thinking (Essays)
    • Blog (Tutorials)
    • Research Papers
  3. Resources - Templates & Guides
  4. About (dropdown)
    • My Journey
    • Experience
    • Research
    • Contact

Pros:

  • Cleaner, fewer top-level items
  • Groups related content
  • Modern mega-menu pattern

Cons:

  • Hides content behind clicks
  • May reduce discoverability for browsing users

Implementation Priority

🔥 Phase 1 (High Impact, Low Effort)

  1. ✅ Add Data Stories to main navigation (5 min)
  2. ✅ Add Blog to footer navigation (5 min)
  3. ✅ Update navigation subtitles for clarity (10 min)
  4. ✅ Add sitemap link to footer (2 min)

Estimated Time: 30 minutes Impact: Immediate content discoverability improvement

🟡 Phase 2 (Medium Impact, Medium Effort)

  1. Standardize blog URL patterns with redirects (2-3 hours)
  2. Create Topics taxonomy page (1-2 hours)
  3. Complete Portfolio → Projects migration (1-2 hours)
  4. Add “Start Here” section to homepage (1 hour)

Estimated Time: 5-8 hours Impact: Improved UX and content organization

🔵 Phase 3 (High Impact, High Effort)

  1. Implement search facets/filters (3-4 hours)
  2. Add Research to main navigation or create Background dropdown (1 hour)
  3. Audit all internal links for consistency (2-3 hours)
  4. Create visual topic map (interactive Mermaid diagram by topic) (2 hours)

Estimated Time: 8-10 hours Impact: Professional polish and scalability

Success Metrics

Track these metrics before/after IA changes:

  1. Discoverability
    • % of users who visit Data Stories page
    • % of users who visit Blog from homepage
    • Pages per session (should increase)
  2. Engagement
    • Average session duration
    • Bounce rate (should decrease)
    • Internal link click rate
  3. Navigation Clarity
    • Search query patterns (should shift from navigation queries like “blog” to content queries)
    • Exit pages (should shift away from dead-ends)
  4. Content Performance
    • Time on page for Data Stories
    • Scroll depth on long-form content
    • Social shares of previously hidden content

Conclusion

Your content is high-quality but suffering from discoverability issues. The recommendations above prioritize:

  1. Surfacing hidden content (Data Stories, Blog)
  2. Clarifying content types (Projects vs Thinking vs Data Stories)
  3. Improving wayfinding (breadcrumbs, topics, search filters)
  4. Completing migrations (Portfolio → Projects)

Quick Win: Implement Phase 1 recommendations (30 minutes) to immediately improve content accessibility.

Long-term: Consider Option A architecture for maximum content exposure, or Option B for cleaner minimalist navigation.

Generated: 2025-11-21 For: dagny099.github.io (barbhs.com) Based on: Site analysis, navigation review, content audit