Column: Finding Our Way

Today, information architecture (IA) is a recognized term in many technology, product, and Web-design organizations. However, in many other organizations, information architecture is still “the pain with no name.” [1] If you ask senior practitioners of information architecture, they’ll tell you that information architecture is central to the creation of human-computer interfaces. But the fact of the matter is that the popular view of information architecture represents just a very small subset of its total value.

In this column, I’ll first summarize the popular conception of the practice of information architecture, then I’ll highlight the broader scope of the practice that still remains to be realized. Read More

If you’re new to the debate about the practice of information architecture, you’ll discover that there are two polarities of thought. As Peter Boersma proposed in his 2004 blog post “Big IA Is Now UX,” there is information architecture that resembles UX architecture and design, then there’s information architecture that looks like, well, information architecture. The Big IA perspective is still evolving, as the creation of digital products and services reveals new gaps and challenges, while the narrow perspective on information architecture remains a highly under-researched, under-developed, and under-communicated subject domain that is as important today as it was when it originally surfaced in the early 1990’s.

People originally called the narrow perspective on information architecture little IA. Today’s more politically correct term is classic IA. I’d really like to call it just information architecture. Why? Simply for the fact that—before there was any need to produce wireframes; improve Web site planning, strategy, or tactics; or discuss platforms and channels—there was a need to address a unique concern within the new context that the Internet had created, for which there was no single source to which one could go for answers. Read More

I recently asked the Twitterverse to suggest some information architecture topics that would be worth discussing in my UXmatters column. In response, I received a single tweet from @ToonDoctor (Toon):

“We need a lot of theory on information architecture (IA) that goes beyond Web sites and apps or screens.”

I couldn’t agree more with Toon’s statement. The field of information architecture does need more theory. In fact, our industry’s need to pursue theory is the reason my Twitter handle is @iatheory and why I am currently writing a book on the subject. But, enough about me. Here are the topics this column will cover in responding to Toon’s comment:

• What We Need
• A Lot of Theory
• On Information Architecture
• Beyond Web Sites and Apps or Screens

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