“What, Why, and How” of Information Architecture
While the field of information architecture (IA) has been around and growing for years in software, engineering, and library science, very few people understand exactly what is IA? Why do we need information architects?
The good news is that many technical communicators already have many of the basic skills required of information architects. They are already information architects of sorts if they are practicing audience analysis, clear organization, and purposeful development in their publications. In this article, I would like to share information about IA from my experiences and what I read on the Internet.
What Is Information Architecture?
The phrase “information architecture” appears to have been coined, or at least brought to wide attention, by Richard Saul Wurman. He was trained as an architect, but had also eventually become a skilled graphic designer, author, and editor.
Information architecture is the science — some would insist art — of defining the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information successfully.
In the most basic terms, IA takes information and organizes it in a way that makes it accessible, inviting, searchable, purposeful, and manageable for users. IA may be often perceived as Web site design; however, it also applies to any writing project — digital or paper-based — that requires clear systems of organization such as indexes, tables of contents, or information hierarchies of any kind.
Why is Information Architecture important?
IA involves the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information more easily. Imagine that you’ve just invested a lot of money in your site. It is aesthetically beautiful, technically perfect, and full of wonderful content. But, users can’t find the information they need, and you can’t determine where to put new content and when to remove old content. I am sure many of us face this problem when we search for information on the Internet. Here, IA comes to the rescue.
First, it is important to recognize that every information system, be it a book, manual or an intranet site, has IA. “Well developed” and “user-centric” are the keys here. User experience is positive when good interface design, solid programming, and thoughtful information design work together to create functionality that is “transparent” to the user. That is, users are able to focus on the task at hand without having to think too hard.
As technical communicators we need to understand IA. Even if we don’t build Web sites, if we think like information architects, we can greatly enhance the information products we develop. Probably we already have a strong foundation on which we can build. Whether we build online help systems, develop Web-based training, or maintain a corporate intranet, it is worthwhile to get in touch with your inner information architect. This skill will make your products easier for users to use.
What skills are required?
Design and communication skills are essential for an information architect. For a Web project, the information architect is the major communications link between the project manager and the development team. The information architect is involved in the strategic planning as well as creating the finished product. Information architects generally wear more than one hat, so versatility is important. You may be required to be a project manager, a designer or both. If you’re just getting started in the industry, the best thing is to work on a project and then work your way into IA. Most learning will happen while you work on the project.
How can you learn or develop those skills?
There are lots of resources available on the Internet that will give you an insight about IA. For the most part, getting into IA is a matter of experience. Learning on the job and being able to handle multiple aspects of a project go a long way toward making you able to work as an Information Architect. For example, the best way to start learning the needed skills is to map out a Web site and see the different ways there are to express how the site ties together.
Let me share my experiences with you and tell a story:
Several years ago, when I built my first web page on geocities, it was one page. It included some information about me, some interesting links, some pictures, and a link to mail me. There was no IA there yet, but definitely some information design, which is very closely interrelated with IA. I knew that people visiting my site would need to know what they were looking at, so I wrote a big title. Next I knew I wanted to have some stuff about me, so I added information about my hobbies and interests. Finally, I figured if people had read all of this they might want to talk to me, and I added my contact information. Strangely enough, I was doing some user-centered design without knowing the term IA. I was asking myself how people visiting my site would want to use it.
My next Web site was more of an effort. I had a ton of articles that I had collected online. I wanted them all online so that I could have access to and read them from anywhere I started with research — I looked through the entire collection of articles to see how they could be best organized. I had a plethora of organizational schemes to choose from: topic, regional, author, publication, date, etc. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which way to go. I simply grouped them together in similar categories. Pretty soon I knew I needed to add some more categories and so on. Of course, this isn’t everything an information architect does for a Web site. It’s just what an information architect might do for a content site. But you can see the key principles. Understand the user. Understand the business requirements. Bring the two together.
How does Information Architecture work?
As a technical communicator, you are already accustomed to thinking about the user. This ability is as key to designing intuitive organizational hierarchies, labeling systems, and navigational aids as it is to writing software manuals, white papers, or quick reference guides. Maintaining that user-centered perspective grows out of our recognition of the classic tenets of audience, purpose, and scope. These tenets form the foundation for any IA project, much as they do for any technical communication project.
For example, if you are working on a Web site project, you need to consider the following points:
- Identify and develop the strategy for the Web site
- Define the mission and purpose of the site
- Define the scope and content of functions
- Gather or create appropriate and effective content that supports the mission and purpose of the site and its users
- Focus on the users’ or consumers’ needs rather than the needs or interests of the Web site authors
- Design the skeleton
- Organize data into a hierarchy that is intuitively navigable and searchable
- Manage the information and organization to allow for growth and revision
- Consider the User Experience
IA is a vital component of defining the user experience. Considered architecture and sound planning improve the overall usability of a site. There are several things to consider with regard to usability, but it all begins with well-structured information. In case of a Web site it involves ease of navigation and the ability to find information quickly and easily among other areas and elements of the site. IA solves these problems at the root instead of at a superficial level. However, the interface that’s presented to the user should itself be intuitive and take advantage of the improved site structure if the site is to be usable. The best kind of integration between the user interface and the site architecture occurs when the user is completely unaware of anything other than a wonderful experience on the Web site — the user experience should be seamless.
Conclusion
Today clients want to reshape what they already have, making it more intuitive, more usable, and more profitable. They want to improve their products, and more and more, they’re looking to information architects to help them. Technical communicators stand to gain a great deal from understanding the work of the information architect. Even if you don’t build Web sites, by thinking like an information architect, you’ll greatly enhance the products you do develop. IA is all about looking at the big picture, then breaking it down into manageable bits of information for your users.
Looking further into the future and watching the trends, IA might not only be about architecting individual Web sites, it also may be about architecting massive networks. IA is soon going to be about architecting customizable and personalized views of the entire Internet, along with entirely new business and social models to go with it.
The world will need a lot more information architects over the next few years.
About the author
Ramesh Aiyyangar is Senior Technical Writer with Veritas Software India Private Limited.