Information Architeture

So, I have an excuse for not posting as of late. I have been blessed with the birth of my baby boy. Although this has been an exciting event, it has sucked the little time I had left for blogging. My schedule was tight as it was but children definitely put a whole new spin on time constraints.

Nevertheless, I did have plenty of time to reflect on where my life is at. From the very mundane of how fat I am becoming. To more altruistic subjects of how I need to reduce my carbon foot print, save humanity, and sign my donor card. Well, this blog is going to fall somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. I have come to the conclusion that the term “information architect” although undefined, misused, and maligned is probably a better term than solution architect to describe what I do or at least strive to do day-to-day.
I wish I could say I have a solid justification for this statement but I don’t. What I do have, however, is a couple of definitions I would like to share and a triad of characteristics that I believe are essential to the success of everyone desiring to have the title information architect.

First the definitions:

Wikipedia states:

“Information architecture is the art and science of expressing a model
or concept for information. Information Architecture is utilized in
web development, user interactions, database development, programming,
technical writing, enterprise architecture, and other activities that
require expressions of complex systems. Information architecture has
somewhat different meanings in these different branches of what might
be called IS and/or IT architecture . I wish I could say that
something occurred taSo what makes a good information”

The Information Architect Institute defines information Architecture or AI as

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

Both are fair definitions but as is the reality of the digital world, people are just going to take the title and make it heir own. Then they will endlessly debate about the nuances of the definition until the term becomes so convoluted and corrupt that the “practitioners” look for a new term to define what they do.

In the meantime, while the term is still somewhat fresh I am going to add my own spin in what I call the Information Architect Skill Triad. In order to be successful and profitable (yes I am interested in IA for the money as well as the art) an Information architect must exude the following characteristics:

Technical Proficient and deep – I am a strong believer that the best architects are ex-technical folk who paid their dues in the trenches and have built least a couple of systems before they made the move to architecture. Indeed, people with a technical background tend to have more practical architectures that make function and simplicity a very high priortiy.

Understand and love art and design “ A good information architect needs to live and breath design. Someone who is 100% technical will deliver incredible efficient designs often at the expense of usability and enjoyment. Indeed, hardcore technical people still can’t understand why the command line has not taken over the world. a technology leaning IA will build fast efficient, and effective designs. But these designs are not always fun or easy to use..

Strong Business Acumen “ An information architect needs to understand business. The simple fact is dollar and cents ultimately drives design of information architecture. Information architecture is like industrial architecture, beauty does count but not at the expense of the bottom line. As a result the tolerance for “frilly “and beautiful IA is tempered by cost effectiveness. Information Architecture is not pure art. It is about organizing and delivering data/information so it can be consumed in an enjoyable but efficient manner.

So to concluded Information Architecture is a practice of paradoxes. Where seemingly separate practices (Technology, Design, and Business) meld together to create some pretty impressive results. Indeed, the iPod is probably the poster child (yes music is information and yes the whole concept of iTunes and the iPod is information architecture)
of the modern information architecture movement. With one solid Information Architecture design Apple became more relevant (Technology), consumers began to enjoy music once again (Art), and smart apple investors became very wealthy wealthy (Business).