Research On Consistency Between Mental Model And Information Architecture And The Practice In Mobile Internet Software Design

Following web2.0 age, mobile Internet is the future of the internet. Mobile internet-based applications have shown explosive growth and increasing competition in recent years. Compared to software on an ordinary PC, mobile Internet applications have the following features:small-screened, personal and confidential which requires the application of mobile Internet software has a better user experience and higher availability to win more customers in spirited competition.Viewed on the relationship between mental models of users and information architecture of software, this paper studied the information hierarchy, information transfer mode and information transmission efficiency in mental models and also in information architecture. In order to see if there exist a kind of consistency between users build mental models and information architecture.Meanwhile, the mental model was extracted and then transferred to a form of operational process which we can compared with the information architecture and calculate the match degree between the two. By usability testing, it was find the higher match degree indicated good usability. The experiment indicated that the usability of software had a positive correlation with the match degree of information architecture and mental model. All above means extracting the correct mental model of user may be advantageously used in guiding a good design of software.Based on study, we applied the results to the design of a mobile internet-based application which is used for people transacting second-hand goods on the mobile internet. With the guide of mental model extracted from typical role, we designed the demo of the application which has been proved good in user-experience by a customer satisfaction survey.