Ten Questions About Information Architecture

By-

Aditya Chauhan

M.Tech CS (Specl. Information Architecture and Software Engineering)

e-mail – adi12123@yahoo.co.in

Contents

Few Questions

Some Answers

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IA?

Industry buzzwords?

Fancy degrees?

Another New Branch in Computer Science!

IA?

Imagine building a house..

Without any architectural plans,

With only general sketches as to how it’s supposed to look, or only detailed diagrams for wiring, plumbing, etc…

With each subcontractor doing whatever they thought best, without consulting with the owner or other contractors,

Imagine building a house..

With no specialized functions for the rooms (e.g., every room has its own little stove, bed, bathtub…)

Where the house had to be torn down to remodel one room.

Q 1 What is InformationArchitecture

Construction of a structure. Organization of information . E.g.- 1.In a library, IA is a combination of the

catalog system and the physical design of the building that holds the books.

2. On the Web, information architecture is a combination of organizing a site's content into categories and creating an interface to support those categories.

?

IA formal Definition

The art and science of organizing information to help people effectively fulfill their information needs

Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation and searching systems that helps people find and manage information more successfully.

IA is the blueprint of the site Can save money and time in the long-run Works for small or large sites… little time or lots

of time to design Each step of the process forms sections of the IA

Design Document– decisions are documented (guidelines)– road map for site’s construction

Q 2.Why is IA important?

Q 3. Components of IA

Organization systems - the ways content can be grouped

Labeling systems - what you call those content groups

Navigation systems - menus and site maps to help you move around and browse through the content

Searching systems - help you formulate queries that can be matched with relevant documents

Q 4. Attributes of a good architect?

Can communicate well with the customer

Can develop general drawings and diagrams based on the descriptions of customer’s wants and needs.

Can develop more specific drawings and diagrams for communicating with the builders (general contractor and subcontractors)

Q 4. Attributes of a good architect?

Can communicate well with the builders, and help devise solutions as problems present themselves

Can provide a consistent, overall vision throughout the project, and work with the customers and the builders to achieve that vision.

Q 4. Relation b/w IA and Websites?

Good information architecture makes a web site easy to use.

Q 5. How can I be an information architect?

Look at the Web sites of companies that produce work you admire.

If the company doesn't have an IA department, it may be developing one, and so you could get in early if you contact them.

Q 5. How can I be an information architect?

If the company already knows that information architects are important to the design process, chances are they are probably on the hunt for qualified people because there are more positions available than people applying.

What Skills are Required for an InformationArchitect?

Q 6. What Skills are Required for an IA?

Attention to detail Strong sense of organization Strong logic and analytic skills Ability to ask appropriate questions Communicate effectively to a broad range of

people: designers, executives etc…

Q 7. What software / tool do architects use and need?

Unfortunately, the perfect tool hasn't been invented yet.

Adobe is working fast and furious to produce a tool that gives them the best of precision layout and quick drag and drop objects

Until then, other options include Dreamweaver, Photoshop etc…

Q 8. What do architects create for clients?

Site Maps: Maps reflect navigation and main content. They are usually constructed to look like flowcharts and show how users navigate from one section to another.

Content Maps: Detailed maps that show what exists on each page and how content on some pages interacts with content on other pages.

Page Schematics: Black and white line drawings or block diagrams to hand off to a visual designer. Schematics also help illustrate priority.

Q 8. What do architects create for clients?

Text-Based Outlines: Sometimes information architects want to show architecture as indented text outlines and lists.

Interactive, Semi-Functional Prototyping: In some cases, information architects are responsible for outlining or storyboarding functional prototypes, and in others they actually build prototypes with HTML, Flash, Director, or PowerPoint.

Q 9. How does usability relate to IA?

Some firms employ entirely separate departments for usability, while others look to information architects for this skill.

It's a logical connection because IAs are responsible for making it easy it to find information and create most products with a focus on user-centered design

Q 10. Benefits of Developing an Information Architecture ?

Focus on the strategic use of technology to manage information as an asset and support the key decision making processes that rely on quality data.

Information being easier to interpret and understand, resulting in productivity gains and better business decisions, through the adoption of a consistent set of business related terminology in defining data and processes.