THE FOCUS
Information architecture is primarily concerned with three things:

1. Information
2. Organizing
3. Finding/Managing

 

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Information
"Information" is the same as "content". All elements of the website that display information need to be identified. This goes beyond the obvious "copy" or text. It includes images, photographs, charts, movies, audio files, documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, etc.) and others types of content.

 

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Organizing
After the body of information has been defined, it needs to be structured into appropriate levels of hierarchy, into intuitive categories and labeled with terms that are understandable to the target audience.

Example: Think of a website's navigation. This is the most basic representation of how a website's content is organized into a specific structure. A many company websites have a main navigation with the following items:

• Products
• Services
• News & Events
• Company

This organization structure is often the most appropriate to deal with all the kinds of information a company wants to have in their website.

 

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Finding and Managing
The above organization makes it easier for users to find content. It also should make it easier for website administrators to manage the content.

Consideration for the website admin should not be lost in the effort to serve the website audience. The structure developed by the IA should be able to grow and be manageable for the client.

Example: Take the above example of a typical company main navigation. "Products" contains the information about the company's products. As new products are developed, the website admin knows where to place new product information and the audience knows where to go on the website to find new products.

This is just an example navigation. There are MANY reasons why this navigation wouldn't be appropriate for a particular website. Just to name two:

• The client has no services, only products, so the "Services" group wouldn't be necessary.
• Research into the target audience reveals that one of the main users of the site are company investors. So a decision may be made to not hide "Investor Relations" content under company, but make it a main navigation item so those users can quickly find the content that interests them.

Search Engine Optimzation - More and more, website users look to search engines to find the content they want. So to make content as "findable" as possible, steps should be taken to facilitate effective categorization by search engines, like Google. Search Engine Optimzation (SEO) is a practice of how to structure and tag your content so it is placed higher in search engine results. SEO is a discipline all on its own. All the major search engines have tips on how to make your website more optimized, including Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

*For more infomation on all aspects of IA, read Information Architecture for the World Wide Web or visit the website Boxes and Arrows.

IAs usually get asked to do more than their job.
Information Architecture is actually one skill in a larger discipline called “Experience Design” which is an umbrella term that encompasses information architecture, usability engineering, graphic design, and interaction design as components of the holistic user experience. Each separate discipline under Experience Design has their own specific focus and skill sets.

However, budget limitations usually create the need for an information architect to take up additional duties in the experience design.

Interaction Design - Interaction designers are concerned with the tasks and processes that users encounter in software and information systems at the interface level. They often have a background in human-computer interaction, and are focused on helping users successfully achieve goals and complete tasks.

Usability Engineering - Usability engineers understand how to apply the rigors of the scientific method to user research, testing, and analysis. Their background in human-computer interaction and their experience observing users provide them insights into design.

Copy Development
Like information architecture, writing copy is one of the most overlooked efforts in creating a website. Depending on the scope of the design project, it can be the largest effort of the project.

But of all the steps in the design cycle, copy writing is most dependent on the work of the information architect. Both work together to establish the appropriate tone and terminology for the target audience.

Effort: Heed this warning!
Between writing the copy, having it reviewed by several stakeholders (including the legal department), revising the copy based on feedback, and receiving final approval; producing copy for a website will take longer than you expect. Usually plan twice as long as you think it should for the content development portion of your project plan.

Guidelines: There are many different ways to write copy for the web. Here are a few suggested guidelines:

• Create a Unique Selling Position (USP) – 2-3 sentences that explains why you are different from everybody else.
• Focus on benefits – most web users want to find the information about the product or service they need as fast as possible. You will need to show your benefits as clearly and concisely as possible or you will lose that visitor
• Use the inverted pyramid style – Use informative headings and subheadings with a paragraph of 4 to 5 lines that supports them. Most readers scan for the information they are seeking.
• Use bulleted or numbered lists, boldface or colored font to emphasize the points you wish to make.
• Write in an informal or personal style – write in a unique way that differentiates you.
• Keep your sentences simple – you are not writing to impress. You are writing to communicate. Don’t use large words but opt for strong verbs over weak ones. Use the active voice instead of a passive one. Speak “to” but not “at” your visitor. Keep your sentences short and snappy.
• Include searchable keywords – use targeted keywords in your web copy that will allow the search engines to find your site. Include these keywords in your meta tags, links and file names also.
• Eliminate the fluff - don’t waffle on in your writing. Try to remove filler sentences that contain phrases like “for those of you” and “all of you”.

Taken from SEO :: How to Write Efffective Web Copy by Herman Drost

Information Architect: The information architect is responsible for the underlying structure of the website and making the website usable, intuitive and well-organized. The effects of the information architect’s work reaches into all other disciplines (strategy, graphic design, development, content, etc.) and as a result, the information architect must be a generalist and collaborate extensively with their team members.

Editor: The copywriter/editor works closely with the information architect to make sure tone and content flow is being addressed appropriately. Also the labeling of navigation and content should be worked out with the editor.

Strategy Brief
The Strategy Brief details the client’s business objectives and the needs of the target audience. Both will inform the information architect about the website's priorities (what should be easy to get to and what can be buried) and how to best direct users to solve identified tasks
Sample Strategy Brief 4.1mb

Content Strategy
The content strategy will help the information architect understand the tone of the website and how that affects the labeling and grouping of information.

The information architect must know if there is existing content or new content that is to be developed so they can structure the website to appropriately contain the necessary assets.

Technical Specification
The information architect may suggest specific functionality (navigation types, search functionality) that must first be vetted with the developer team.

 

Site Map
A site map is a simple diagram that is used to show content relationships. Traditionally a sitemap is made up of boxes that represent individual pages or pieces of content and their placement in the diagram denotes their grouping and hierarchy.
Site Map Example 61kb

Wireframes
Wireframes are low-fidelity diagrams of webpages that contain simple shapes that represent content elements. These elements often include main navigation, secondary navigation, main content area, images, etc. The purpose of the wireframe is to show the hierarchy between content elements, content flow and grouping, and user interface functionality.
Wireframe Example 678kb

Functional Specifications
Technically the creation of this document a job for an experience designer but it often falls to the information architect with assistance from the development team. The Functional Specifications detail how interactive objects work, the various states that interactive object will display, and the logic of the task flow detailing what happens when correct and incorrect actions are taken.