How do you logically relate pieces of information to one another? Logically and structurally. How do you fit those pieces together so that you end up with a blueprint from which to build an information structure (a web site, for instance)? And not just build it logically but also according to its overall purpose. And not just logically and with the purpose clearly defined but soundly and flexibly as well. Can the structure be modified without causing it to fall down? Or without making you wish you had built it differently?

See also content strategy.

Some call it information architecture. Others call it simply "findability" because it cuts to the chase: how easily can information be found? Of course, finding things is not the only reason people visit a web site. Nevertheless, they still have to find out where they need to go in order to do what it is they came there for. They still need to answer the question: how do I purchase this book or register my car or move money from one account to another? Show them.

See also content strategy, content auditing.

What do users want to do? What are their objectives? Making something usable begins there, begins by defining user goals. Begins and ends there, too. Because, in the end, the only thing that matters is helping users complete the tasks they wish to perform. Helping them by making it obvious how to do it. Or just by removing obstacles: by enforcing consistency in look and language, in logic and behavior; by observing well-established conventions. Clarity, predictability, familiarity: these are the things users care about.

See also technical writing.

A usability audit helps gauge a product's ease of use. It provides answers to questions like the following. When using the product, is it easy to see how it works? Does the progression of tasks make sense? Are the instructions clear? Is the layout of information logical? Does it adhere to user interface standards? Are terminology and nomenclature consistently applied? And, most important of all but often overlooked, does the product help users recover easily and quickly if they make a mistake?

Where does it all lead? All the content strategy, the copywriting, the information architecture, the visual design? It leads to the user. What you've built and the user's experience of it are one and the same thing. It's the synthesis of all your efforts. It's the user's overall response. A response that in the end is probably more emotional and unconscious than it is cognitive and reducible to exact description. But for that reason all the more important. Getting the experience right, shaping it correctly, is what will bring the user back again.