Information architecture (IA) is the art and science of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming, technical writing, enterprise architecture, and critical system software design. Information architecture has somewhat different meanings in these different branches of IS or IT architecture. Most definitions have common qualities: a structural design of shared environments, methods of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, and online communities, and ways of bringing the principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. ^[1] Look up model in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Concept (disambiguation). ... The ASCII codes for the word Wikipedia represented in binary, the numeral system most commonly used for encoding computer information. ... Julio Pérez Ferrero Library - Cúcuta, Colombia A modern-style library in Chambéry A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, and services: it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. ... Web development is a broad term for any activities related to developing a web site for the World Wide Web or an intranet. ... The current version of this article or section is written in an informal style and with a personally invested tone. ... This article is about computing. ... Computer programming (often simply programming) is the craft of implementing one or more interrelated abstract algorithms using a particular programming language to produce a concrete computer program. ... Technical writing, a subset of technical communication, is used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. ... This article is about Enterprise Architecture. ... Software design is the process that starts from a problem for which there is currently no acceptable (software) solution, and ends when such a solution has been created. ... A website (alternatively, web site or Web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet. ... An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity to securely share part of an organizations information or operations with its employees. ... A virtual community is a group whose members are connected by means of information technologies, typically the Internet. ...

Information architecture is defined by the Information Architecture Institute, founded 2002, as: The Information Architecture Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. ...

1. The structural design of shared information environments.
2. The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support findability and usability.
3. An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

The term information architecture describes a specialized skill set which relates to the interpretation of information and expression of distinctions between signs and systems of signs. It has some degree of origin in the library sciences. Many library schools teach information architecture. Findability refers to the quality of being locatable or navigable. ... Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. ... Library and information science (LIS) is the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. ... A library school is a type of institution, specializing in the training of librarians. ...

In the context of information system design, information architecture refers to the analysis and design of the data stored by information systems, concentrating on entities, their attributes and their interrelationships. It refers to the modeling of data for an individual database and to the corporate data models an enterprise uses to coordinate the definition of data in several (perhaps scores or hundreds) of distinct databases. Recently, the "canonical data model" is applied to integration technologies as a definition for specific data passed between the systems of an enterprise. At a higher level of abstraction, it may also refer to the definition of data stores.

History

Information Architecture was originally a term with a meaning more akin to what is called today Information Design. The term "Information Architecture" was coined by Richard Saul Wurman, himself an architect and AIGA luminary. Later, the term was appropriated by Web Design experts and applied onto high-complexity web sites (Information Architecture as an important aspect of Web User experience design). This appropriation has changed the original meaning into what is today considered to be Information Architecture. Information design has been defined as the art and science of preparing information so that it can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness (Jacobson 2000). ... Richard Saul Wurman (1936 - ) is an American architect and graphic designer. ... The aiga is, in traditional Samoan culture, or Faasamoa, the extended family. ... User experience design is a subset of the field of experience design which pertains to the creation of the architecture and interaction models which impact a users perception of a device or system. ...

Critiques

• The term Information Architecture has been criticized, as the term "architecture" may imply that information systems are static like buildings.^{[citation needed]} Information systems are dynamic and should adapt to specific users’ actions. This criticism may be due to an assumption on the part of the critics that architecture always is permanent and non-flexible. Often the structure of an information system remains static as the information content changes.

• User-Centered Information Designers analyze cognitive, behavioral and emotional processes of users and define User-Centered Information Systems and taxonomies. Furthermore, some activities involved in the creation of information systems can be similar to activities involved in the creation of taxonomies. Some have suggested that the term information architecture is analogous with taxonomy.^{[citation needed]} A contrary view is that the activities involved in the creation of a taxonomy are a subset of the activities involved in developing an information architecture (since developing an information architecture typically also involves articulating the objectives of the information, and understanding the intended audience). Some practicing information architects specialize in developing taxonomies, as part of their IA "toolkit," along with deliverables like site maps, flow diagrams and screen-level design prototypes to represent the structure of a Web site or interactive application.

• Because information architecture practices and techniques became popularized with the advent of the World Wide Web, some information architects may lack experience designing systems that are not web-based where browsing is less relevant.^{[citation needed]} Users of enterprise systems and business systems typically have different goals than users of web-based systems. Business systems within the enterprise, for example, afford users with tools to expedite required business tasks. In contrast, commerce sites, social sites, and news sites invite users to explore and browse information in many cases to support their business model. It is important for Information Architects to understand the specific business and user requirements rather than apply the same techniques to shape a system's information.

Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία (taxinomia) from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either the classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ...

See also

• Enterprise architecture
• Enterprise Information Security Architecture
• Human factors
• Information design
• Information system
• Knowledge visualization
• Process architecture
• Taxonomy
• User experience design
• Web indexing
• Website architecture

This article is about Enterprise Architecture. ... Enterprise Information Security Architecture (EISA) is a part of Enterprise Architecture focusing on information security throughout the enterprise. ... Human factors is an umbrella term for several areas of research that include human performance, technology, design, and human-computer interaction. ... Information design has been defined as the art and science of preparing information so that it can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness (Jacobson 2000). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Information systems. ... Knowledge Visualization is a sub discipline of Information Design and Instructional Message Design (pedagogy; didactics, pedagogical psychology). ... Process architecture is the structural design of general process systems and applies to fields such as computers (software, hardware, networks, etc. ... For the science of classifying living things, see alpha taxonomy. ... User experience design is a subset of the field of experience design which pertains to the creation of the architecture and interaction models which impact a users perception of a device or system. ... Web indexing (or Internet indexing) includes back-of-book-style indexes to individual websites or an Intranet, and the creation of keyword metadata to provide a more useful vocabulary for Internet or onsite search engines. ... Website architecture is an approach to the design and planning of websites which, like architecture itself involves technical, aesthetic and functional criteria. ...

External links

• The Information Architecture Institute – The Information Architecture Institute is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. Founded in 2002, the Institute has about 1500 members in over 80 countries.
• Information Architecture at Digital Web Magazine – A major reference site (over 270 articles) with articles dedicated web design, web development, and information architecture.
• Elements of User Experience diagram by Jesse James Garrett.

References

1. ^ Information Architecture: Building Our Practice, Information Today, Vol. 23 Issue 10, November 2006.

Further reading

• Richard Saul Wurman. (1997). Peter Bradford, ed. Information Architects. New York: Graphis. (ISBN 1-888001-38-0)
• Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville. (1998, 2002, 2006). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Sebastapol, CA: O'Reilly Media. (ISBN 978-0596527341)
• Eric Reiss. (2000). Practical Information Architecture. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education. (ISBN 0-201-72590-8)
• Christina Wodtke. (2003). Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. (ISBN 0-7357-1250-6)
• Peter Van Dijck. (2003). Information Architecture for Designers. Mies, Switzerland: RotoVision. (ISBN 2-88046-731-4)
• Sue Batley. (2007). Information Architecture for Information Professionals. Oxford, UK: Chandos. (ISBN 978-1-84334-232-8)
• Jesse James Garrett. (2002). Elements of User Experience. Pearson/New Riders Press. (ISBN 978-0735712027)
• Earl Morrogh. (2003). Information Architecture: An Emerging 21st Century Profession. Pearson/Prentice Hall. (ISBN 0130967467)