Preface

The mind is slow to unlearn what it learnt early.

Seneca

Since 1994, when we first began organizing web sites, we have enjoyed a rare opportunity to participate in the birth of a new discipline. In the early days, we were pioneers and evangelists, exhorting web designers to learn about library science, even as we struggled to apply traditional principles in a new medium. To improve our craft, we embraced relevant fields such as humancomputer interaction, integrating user research and usability engineering into the process. And to spread the word, we spoke at conferences, wrote the Web Architect column, and in 1998, published the first "polar bear" book on information architecture.

In the intervening years, it's been exciting to see information architecture mature into an established profession and an international community of practice. We have all learned so much from our work and from one another. And therein lies one of our biggest challenges. As our body of knowledge grows deeper, our discipline becomes more resistant to change. Individually and collectively, we find it harder to unlearn.

And yet, unlearn we must, for technology relentlessly transforms the playing field, changing not just the answers but the questions as well. In a post-Ajaxian Web 2.0 world of wikis, folksonomies, and mashups, how do we structure for co-creation? How do we document the rich interfaces of web applications? How do we design for multiple platforms and mobile devices? What has changed, and what remains the same?

In writing the third edition, it was these questions that kept us awake at night. There are no easy answers. We have done our best to balance old and new. We have addressed emerging technologies while maintaining a focus on fundamentals. And, we have tried to emphasize goals and approaches over specific tactics or technologies. In this way, we hope to provide not only knowledge about information architecture, but a framework that will enable you to learn and unlearn over an extended period of time.

What's New in the Third Edition

We've maintained the overall organization of the book while bringing the concepts, examples, and illustrations in each chapter up to date. We received substantial help from the information architecture community in the form of responses to a series of surveys we conducted in 2006.^[*] The chapters on organization and navigation systems have been expanded to address tagging, folksonomies, social classification, and guided navigation. The chapter on design and documentation includes new sections on the role of diagrams in the design phase and the when, why, and how behind blueprints and wireframes. The Education and the Tools and Software chapters have been revised based on survey feedback. The chapter on enterprise information architecture enjoyed a major rewrite to accommodate lessons learned over the past few years. Finally, we've updated the Appendix to include the most useful information architecture resources available today.

^[*] For complete survey results, see http://iainstitute.org/pg/polar_bear_book_third_edition.php.

Organization of This Book

This book is divided into six sections and twenty-one chapters, progressing from fundamentals to advanced topics. It breaks down as follows.

Part I, Introducing Information Architecture, provides an overview of information architecture for those new to the field and experienced practitioners alike, and comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 1, Defining Information Architecture

This chapter offers definitions and analogies, shows how information architecture relates to other fields, and explains why it matters at all.

Chapter 2, Practicing Information Architecture

This chapter discusses the qualities and skills essential to the professional information architect, and explains where and when the work should happen.

Chapter 3, User Needs and Behaviors

This chapter sets the stage for information architecture design by helping us better understand how people interact with information.

Part II, Basic Principles of Information Architecture, includes chapters on the fundamental components of an architecture, illustrating the interconnected nature of these systems. It comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 4, The Anatomy of an Information Architecture

This chapter helps you visualize the nuts and bolts of an architecture and introduces the systems covered in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 5, Organization Systems

This chapter describes ways to structure and organize sites to meet business goals and user needs.

Chapter 6, Labeling Systems

This chapter presents approaches for creating consistent, effective, and descriptive labels for a site.

Chapter 7, Navigation Systems

This chapter explores the design of browsing systems that help users understand where they are and where they can go within a site.

Chapter 8, Search Systems

This chapter covers the nuts and bolts of searching systems, and describes approaches to indexing and the design of search result interfaces that can improve overall performance.

Chapter 9, Thesauri, Controlled Vocabularies, and Metadata

This chapter shows how vocabulary control can connect these systems and improve the user experience.

Part III, Process and Methodology, covers the tools, techniques, and methods to take you from research to strategy and design to implementation of an information architecture. It comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 10, Research

This chapter explains the discovery process necessary to create a foundation of understanding.

Chapter 11, Strategy

This chapter presents a framework and methodology for defining the direction and scope of your information architecture.

Chapter 12, Design and Documentation

This chapter introduces the deliverables and processes required to bring your information architecture to life.

Part IV, Information Architecture in Practice, is a series of short essays that provide practical tips and philosophical advice for those doing the work of information architecture, and comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 13, Education

This chapter explains how to enter the field and how to keep learning, drawing from traditional and novel educational forums.

Chapter 14, Ethics

This chapter exposes the moral dilemmas in information architecture practice.

Chapter 15, Building an Information Architecture Team

This chapter introduces the specialist roles emerging within the field and addresses the transition from performing short-term projects to building sustainable programs.

Chapter 16, Tools and Software

This chapter covers a diverse set of software applications and technologies that can assist information architects and power information architectures.

Part V, Information Architecture in the Organization, addresses the business context of practicing and promoting information architecture, and comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 17, Making the Case for Information Architecture

This chapter provides guidance for those who must sell the value of information architecture to clients and colleagues.

Chapter 18, Business Strategy

This chapter notes similarities and dependencies between the fields of information architecture and business strategy, explaining how we can work toward competitive advantage.

Chapter 19, Information Architecture for the Enterprise

This chapter lays out a broad entrepreneurial framework for supporting the creation of information architecture services to serve the organization over a long period of time.

Part VI, Case Studies, describes the evolution of two large and very different information architectures, illustrating best practices along the way. It comprises the following two chapters:

Chapter 20, MSWeb: An Enterprise Intranet

This chapter presents the story of how a small team at one of the world's most powerful corporations has been able to create a successful and sustainable intranet information architecture.

Chapter 21, evolt.org: An Online Community

This chapter shows how a well-designed participation economy can produce an emergent information architecture that can be used and maintained by a distributed community of volunteers.

The Appendix, Essential Resources, is a selective list of pointers to the most useful information architecture resources available today.

Audience for This Book

Who do we hope to reach with this new edition? In short, anyone who's interested in information architecture, and maybe a few who aren't. We're information architecture evangelists at heart.

This third edition is necessary because you, the readers and practitioners of information architecture, have changed dramatically over the past few years. Many of you are completely new to the field, while some of you now have years of experience under your belts. For better or for worse, we've tried to meet the needs of both groups. While we intend this edition to serve as a useful introduction, we hope many battle-scarred practitioners will find the new material helpful as they make their way through today's information technology and business environments.

Finally, this is our take on information architecture. Many of our colleagues are also now writing about the subject, and we are grateful that so many smart people are sharing their experiences and insights. We look forward to continuing to learn from them. You should, too. Buy their books, read their articles, and find ways to share what you know. The more perspectives, the better. Only by sharing as individuals can we learn as a community.

Conventions for This Book

Italic

Used for URLs, email addresses, and for emphasis.

Constant width

Used for code examples.

Indicates a tip, suggestion, or general note.

Indicates a warning or caution.

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Peter Morville, Semantic Studios ([e-mail])

Lou Rosenfeld, Louis Rosenfeld LLC ([e-mail])

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Acknowledgments

It's not easy to write about such a complex, dynamic area. Fortunately, we've had a lot of help from many smart, generous people. While we can't begin to thank all of the teachers, colleagues, friends, and family members who helped, permit us to acknowledge those most influential in shaping this third edition.

We're grateful to our technical reviewers, whose words of criticism and encouragement made this a much better book. They include: Austin Govella, Chris Farnum, Dan Brown, Donna Maurer, Fred Leise, Gene Smith, Greg Notess, James Melzer, Javier Velasco, Jeff Lash, Keith Instone, Margaret Hanley, Michael Crandall, Richard Dalton, Samantha Starmer, Sarah Rice, Stacy Surla, Tanya Rabourn, and Todd Warfel.

We truly appreciate the help we received from Beth Koloski, our editorial assistant. From surveys to screenshots, Beth was invaluable in keeping us on track. We also wish to thank the Information Architecture Institute for publishing our survey results.

It's always a privilege to work with the great team at O'Reilly Media. For the third edition, our editor Simon St.Laurent did a wonderful job of prodding and praising us through the process. Endless thanks to Simon, his colleagues, and the entire production crew at O'Reilly.

Finally, we can never fully express our appreciation and admiration for our wives, Mary Jean Babic and Susan Joanne Morville, who patiently supported our labors, and reminded us that there would indeed be light at the end of the tunnel, again.

Louis Rosenfeld and Peter MorvilleAnn Arbor, MI, USA