Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
February/March 2005
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter February/March 2005 |
During the November chapter meeting, Linda Urban delivered an informative and compelling presentation during which she defined information architecture and some of its terminology, discussed the information architecture process, and demonstrated several information architecture techniques.
Information architecture consists of determining the structure, navigation, and findability of information. Structure refers to identifying, labeling, and determining the relationship between pieces of information. Navigation refers to how a user finds information and navigates through it. Findability consists of determining whether the information is actually there and searchable.
The role of the technical writer is to create content that works once it is found. The writer needs to develop content that is both in a usable form and is well written. The writing begins after the information architect defines the organization of the information. Technical writers can use information architecture techniques in our own work such as in designing manuals, help systems, and large documentation sets.
Definitions of information architecture-specific terms are divided into two groups: technical terms related to labels and categories, and process terms related to content and information design. Technical terms include metadata, taxonomies, thesauri, controlled vocabularies, faceted classification, and synonym rings. Process terms include content inventory, site map or content map, wireframes, and personas. Linda then discussed each of these terms in detail along with showing concrete examples.
So what does the information architect deliver? An information architect's deliverables include: a content inventory, a site or content map, and page schematics (wireframes). Additional deliverables may include page templates, content element definitions, storyboards, personas and taxonomies. However, these are not unique to information architects and may be delivered by the technical writer.
A high-level overview of the processes by which an information architect works consists of: identifying business purposes and goals, identifying audiences and their needs, analyzing content, planning user navigation, designing topic/page architecture, creating prototypes with the aid of user testing and feedback, and documenting the final architecture and information design. It's important to remember that this does not include developing real content: that task is delegated to the content developer.
Linda next presented a variety of tools and techniques including user research, gap analysis, and using card sorts and categories. User research and usability are more integral parts of the information architecture process. You need to decide on what your “perfect” user will be like. After that, you can develop a user persona in which you develop a picture of a representative user. The patterns you obtain from your interviews and research will help you form your conclusions here. Research includes interviews, contextual inquiry, task analysis, observational study, and documenting what users want, need, and do. Be sure to document user types. For example, you might need to document information for novice, expert, and occasional users. Validating your observations with real users will help you discover any areas that need further study.
Perform a content analysis to see what information is present and/or missing. There are two approaches to this task: bottom-up for a content approach and top-down for a framework approach. Use the content approach as an aid to determine what information already exists. Use the framework approach to determine what information should be included. After you take the content inventory, you will be able to match user needs to the actual content. Focus on what information is present, not on how easily a user can find it, then perform a gap analysis.
Use the gap analysis to review user tasks and needs and to match content to them. Identify what information is missing. Decide if there is extra information that’s not needed. You can also use card sorting to see how users organize content and tasks. When using card sorting, make an effort to think about a task in new ways. Try rearranging cards that contain topics pertaining to a common task. Remember that your findings will be more valid if you use a large sample of users.
So, do you want to find a job as an information architect? If so, jobs will tend to be web-based, requiring web site development experience. In addition, you should be familiar with developing taxonomies. Finally, be prepared to show a sample of your work to the prospective employer.
The slides for this presentation are available at www.urbancreations.com.
Gilbert Gonzalez is an information developer with over 15 years experience writing software documentation for a variety of audiences: from end-user manuals and help systems to API reference developer documentation. Gilbert lives in San Francisco and works at iAnywhere Solutions, Inc. located in Dublin, California.
Copyright © 2005 by the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter (www.stc-sf.org). This article may be reprinted in another STC publication under the provisions of the chapter's copyright policy.