1.1. A Definition If you're new to the field, you may still be wondering: what exactly is information architecture? This section is for you. in • for • ma • tion ar • chi • tec • ture n. 1. The structural design of shared information environments. 2. The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets. 3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability. 4. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. Were you expecting a single definition? Something short and sweet? A few words that succinctly capture the essence and expanse of the field of information architecture? Keep dreaming! The reason we can't serve up a single, all-powerful, all-purpose definition is a clue to understanding why it's so hard to design good web sites. We're talking about the challenges inherent in language and representation. No document fully and accurately represents the intended meaning of its author. No label or definition totally captures the meaning of a document. And no two readers experience or understand a particular document or definition or label in quite the same way. The relationship between words and meaning is tricky at best.[*] [*] For a humorous perspective on the trickiness of the English language, see Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way (William Morrow).
We'll now descend from our philosophical soapbox and get down to basics. Let's expand on our definitions to explore some basic concepts of information architecture.
Information -
We use the term information to distinguish information architecture from data and knowledge management. Data is facts and figures. Relational databases are highly structured and produce specific answers to specific questions. Knowledge is the stuff in people's heads. Knowledge managers develop tools, processes, and incentives to encourage people to share that stuff. Information exists in the messy middle. With information systems, there's often no single "right" answer to a given question. We're concerned with information of all shapes and sizes: web sites, documents, software applications, images, and more. We're also concerned with metadata: terms used to describe and represent content objects such as documents, people, processes, and organizations.
Structuring, organizing, and labeling -
It's what information architects do best. Structuring involves determining the appropriate levels of granularity[ ] for the information "atoms" in your site, and deciding how to relate them to one another. Organizing involves grouping those components into meaningful and distinctive categories. Labeling means figuring out what to call those categories and the series of navigation links that lead to them. ] Granularity refers to the relative size or coarseness of information chunks. Varying levels of granularity might include: journal issue, article, paragraph, and sentence.
Finding and managing -
Findability is a critical success factor for overall usability. If users can't find what they need through some combination of browsing, searching, and asking, then the site fails. But user-centered design isn't enough. The organizations and people who manage information are important, too. An information architecture must balance the needs of users with the goals of the business. Efficient content management and clear policies and procedures are essential.
Art and science -
Disciplines such as usability engineering and ethnography are helping to bring the rigor of the scientific method to the analysis of users' needs and information-seeking behaviors. We're increasingly able to study patterns of usage and subsequently make improvements to our web sites. But the practice of information architecture will never be reduced to numbers; there's too much ambiguity and complexity. Information architects must rely on experience, intuition, and creativity. We must be willing to take risks and trust our intuition. This is the "art" of information architecture. |
