The Scope is addressing and coming to terms with potential issues in the product or service—even when they are not yet concrete. Think of it as knowing the implications of an idea before executing it. We do this every day in decision making, but for the Scope Plane, it’s important to define requirements and issues. The Scope umbrellas over Functional Specifications and Content Requirement.

Functional Specifications is best defined as how the website should do and gathering ideas on what it needs to be at the end. Functionality will consist of a workflow and the dynamics around it, as in, who has part in the project and if any technology implications can arise. You would be surprised how many websites fail due to technology issues not being addressed in the beginning.

Content Requirement is the process when a creator will decide with others what information needs to be included. It can be a bit of brainstorming and adapting new ideas that work with functionality. Required components advance the process of having an idea be built. Having different people work on a website can bring out unfamiliar perspectives too, so be sure to be open minded to the idea of generating requirements.

The Structure functions as defining and developing a conceptual structure for a website. Out of the give planes, this is when a creator becomes aware of abstract to concrete factors in what determines user experience. The Structure involves Interaction Design and Information Architecture.

Interaction Design can be sub categorized with “interface design,” but is concerned with understanding possible user behaviour and if the system will meet and respond to the behaviour. Programmers are needed here because they attempt to understand the software used to determine a user’s “walk” around a website. All the clicks and scrolling on a website is something a programmer has anticipated. It’s never 100% accurate in because of computer literacy amongst different populations, but it can be somewhat similar across users.

The Information Architecture is assessing how people cognitively process information off a website, as in, a creator must decide how to prioritize information on a website. The organization and navigation of a webpage are important factors. A categorization scheme will be require at a top-down approach, meaning starting with the vague categories and content and breaking them down into smaller, logical subsections.

The Structure Plane is responsible for being sequential, organized and architectural handle of a website. The user experience begins to have refined needs with reworked and positive Interaction Design and Information Architecture.