Define information architecture

SJSU SLIS LIBR287 Updated 01/21/2005

IA Information Architecture
Syllabus / Schedule / 1st Assignment / _{Study
Modules} / Projects / Blackboard

Define Understand Analyze Shape Create Value

Define Information Architecture

Our first study module builds on the independent reading and environmental orientation work of our 1st Assignment, and takes our online voices from the "chit-chat" of our blackboard introductions, toward our emerging voices as professional IAs. This module should be undertaken simultaneous with work in the IA workbook, and in light of the participant's IA project.
By now we should have a preliminary idea about what IA is, or perhaps what it isn't. We should now also be completely oriented to our course of study; understand the objectives of our interaction; and be confident in our approach to the class and its requirements.
Since IA is an emerging professional practice it is likely to sustain rapid change and development. Professions are always in process of re-defining themselves, so at any given time we must be able to articulate who we are, what we do, why we do it ... and why our work is important. IA is at the stage of professional development where practitioners are calling for unique theoretical foundations. Without this theoretical foundation, the practice of IA is likely to morph into a craft or technique, rather than sustain itself as a profession.
By the end of this module, and our discussion, we should each expect to be able to define and explain in a few simple words, or in great depth and exuberance, what IA is, and why we are individually pursuing it. We should be able share a personal vision about the evolution of the profession, and its standards, practices, ethics. IA's meet regularly for informal professional gatherings: in coffeehouses, libraries, and bars all around the world.
For our discussion of this module we are going to meet in that same spirit, in our blackboard.
But just so we all understand: we are not simply seeking simple opinion here, we are seeking inFORMed and scholarly social articulation and interaction.
So, roll up your sleeves, flex your clicker, take a breath, kick off your shoes, grab something to nibble and sip...and let's have some fun!
In this module we will refine our 1st assignment work getting "up to speed" with IA by cultivating a common vocabulary, and developing our own, unique "IA" voices. We are going to do this while also beginning the collaborative work of architecting our shared s/place in the Blackboard, and while we begin individually constructing the documentation for our projects.
Let's use the following questions to guide our thinking as we visit the links below.
What is information architecture?

Are you beginning to recognize various procedural, contextual, and conceptual (Pd, Cx, Co) approaches to IA? Are you drawn to one approach over another...might this indicate what type of IA you are...i.e. a "usability expert", interface designer, taxonomist, ontologist, experience engineer, graphic designer, publisher, project manager, digital librarian, etc.

Where do you see your "fit" within the IA population, are you in "little IA or big IA"? and what skills would that "type" of IA best cultivate?

Do the different "types" of IA nurture their own specific theories?

Do you clearly see IA work as a necessary foundation for elegant construction of environments that support the data-information-knowledge (d-i-k) transfer process?

Are you understanding IA's unique ability to influence and shape relations among users, media, and message? What might those relations be?

Are you beginning to grasp the procedural, contextual, and conceptual levels of IA, and see them intertwined, recognizing the unique contribution of each, and the huge overarching challenge the profession has undertaken?

Are you able to see the logic of "are equal" among the dimensions and facts of IA work?

Can you recognize and articulate your own synthetic model of IA? Have you formulated a set of metaphors you use when you talk about IA to non-IAs?

Define Links

IA Wiki (collaborative discussion for IA's)
http://www.iawiki.net/IAwiki

Understanding Information Architecture - subject guide
http://argus-acia.com/ia_guide/subject/index.html
Fields that contribute to IA
http://www.infodn.com/res_field.shtml
Thoughts on the definition and community of "information architecture"
http://peterme.com/archives/00000091.html

Meet the New Information Architects
http://www.tdan.com/pubpers0110.htm

boxesandarrows - ezine for IAs
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/

Articles and Papers on Information Architecture
http://eleganthack.com/articles/index.html#WA
The Art of Information Architecture
http://www.iboost.com/build/backend/arch/644.htm
IA: What's in a name? Society for Technical Writing's Information Design SIG
http://www.stcsig.org/id/whatis.html
Building Community Infrastructure for Information Architecture
http://www.info-arch.org/

Define Assignment:

Join the "Define" discussion in our Blackboard's "Study Modules" Forum" : who are we? This does not mean to post a test-like answer (i.e. "...Info Arch is....") but, to weave your thinking and reading into the existing discussion, reflect on your readings, share your personal experiences, synthesize, and perhaps, provoke, visualize, raise questions .... and remember to use effective and efficient subject line(s)/changes.

HINT: This is is a discussion assignment among professional colleagues in orr professional capacity...think of it like a round table, or a "social" at a conference. and move beyond "chit-chat." Our objective is to help find and define our "voice" among IAs. There is no "wrong" or "right" answer. Be bold...and dare to speak your mind...and listen to your voice....give it wings...set it free!

IA Information Architecture
Syllabus / Schedule / 1st assignment / Study Modules / Projects / Blackboard