Information architecture

Encyclopedia : I : IN : INF : Information architecture

Information Architecture (often abbreviated "I.A.") is the practice of structuring information (knowledge or data) for purpose. These are often structured according to their context in user interactions or larger databases. The term is most commonly applied to Web development, but also applies to disciplines outside of a strict Web context, such as programming and technical writing.

In the context of web design (or design for related media) Information Architecture is defined by the Information Architecture Institute as

The structural design of shared information environments.
The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability.
An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

An alternate definition of Information Architecture exists within the context of information system design, in which information architecture refers to data modeling and the analysis and design of the information in the system, concentrating on entities and their interdependencies. Data modeling depends on abstraction; the relationships between the pieces of data is of more interest than the particulars of individual records, though cataloging possible values is a common technique. The usability of human-facing systems, and standards compliance of internal ones, are paramount.

The term information architecture describes a specialized skill set which relates to the management of information and employment of informational tools. It has a significant degree of association with the library sciences. Many library schools now teach information architecture.

Contents

1 Origins
2 Criticism
3 Current practice

3.1 User Centered Design
3.2 Information architecture and technical writing

4 See also
5 External links
6 Further reading

Origins

The effective organization of information for easy retrieval at a later date dates back to the works of the first librarians, such as the Catalog created by Callimachus at the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. The Dewey Decimal System is similarly another such attempt at systematizing and rationally organizing large amounts of data so that library patrons can find the type of information they are looking for.

In 1970, Xerox established the Xerox PARC research lab with a mission to create "the architecture of information." In 1976, Richard Saul Wurman coined the term "information architect" at that year's American Institute of Architecture's convention (the theme was "the Architecture of Information"). As the Web emerged in the mid-1990s, the term began to take on a new shade of meaning, describing an evolving set of Web design practices. In 1996, former Apple creative director Clement Mok launched Studio Archetype, describing the firm as "identity and information architects," influencing major clients like IBM to embrace information architecture as a core component of successful Web design. In 1997, Wurman published Information Architects. The explosive growth of the Web design industry in the late 1990s fueled a growing demand for professional information architects, leading to the success of Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville's 1998 book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (aka "the Polar Bear Book").

Criticism

The value of the term “information architecture” is highly questionable since activities involved in the creation of such are congruent with activities involved in the creation of “taxonomies”. Hence it is suggested that the term “information architecture” is a synonym for “taxonomy”.

A contrary view is that the activities involved in the creation of a taxonomy are a subset of the activities involved in developing an Information Architecture (since developing an Information Architecture typically also involves articulating the objectives of the information, and understanding the intended audience). Only a handful of practicing information architects work with taxonomies; more frequently, they create deliverables like site maps, flow diagrams and screen-level design prototypes to represent the structure of a Web site or interactive application. Taxonomy is a related field, but by no means synonymous with information architecture.

Current practice

Information architects use a range of tools and techniques from other fields, including human-computer interaction, anthropology and library and information science.

User Centered Design

The practice of IA is heavily influenced by User Centered Design (aka UCD) principles, of designing the architecture around the needs and capabilities of the intended user audience. This is in contrast with more traditional/academic approaches of organising information, where the focus is on some internal consistency or internal logic.

Information architecture and technical writing

With reference to writing for the Web and producing organizing principles for documentation, it has been said that:

"When a Web site or help system lacks definition and structure, readers can get lost in the content. Information architecture is the practice of organizing and interrelating content so the reader remains oriented and gets answers. By defining formal design patterns for information architecture, content providers can apply tested architectures to improve the user's experience." [link]

Organizing textual context in this way is typically done using a structured approach such as DocBook or DITA.

Information Architects in this context help define such things as the division of topics and set the specialization of content types, and set guidelines and examples for the type of information that goes into specific content object types. The creation of categories and taxonomies is inherent in information architecture.

This type of information is typically designed for a high level of re-use, with the intent that a single content object can be deployed to different media types, including print, online help, marketing materials and on Web pages.

External links

[The Information Architecture Institute] – The Information Architecture Institute is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. Founded in 2002, the Institute has about 900 members in over 40 countries.
[Boxes and Arrows] – An industry publication with over 180 articles on the topic of information architecture.
[Interaction-Design.org] – an open-content, peer-reviewed Encyclopedia covering terms from the disciplines of HCI, Usability, Information architecture, and related fields.
[IAwiki] – A collaborative knowledge base for the topic of Information Architecture.
[Information Architecture at Web Design Reference] – A large reference (over 3,000 links) of information and articles dedicated web design and development. The site advocates web standards, Information Architecture, usability, accessibility, and many related topics. It features a listserv and RSS feed for site updates.
[Information Architecture at Digital Web Magazine] – A major reference site (over 270 articles) with articles dedicated web design, web development, and information architecture.
[W3C Organization] – An online resource for web standards. This includes many code validation tools and guides for future web development trends.
[The Society for the Certification of Information Architects (SCIA)] – The Society for the Certification of Information Architects certifies (enterprise) information architects, Enterprise Architects and IT-architects. The society is founded in 2001 and certifies people all over the world.