Home >> Reference >> Knowledge Management >> Information Architecture


  Associations and Conferences
Site Content Management Software
  Thesaurus Construction
Web Usability
   


Info Architecture (typically abbreviated "I.A.") is the abstractive practice of structuring knowledge or data. These designs come strictly designed based on data from their context around user interactions or larger databases. A term is virtually all unremarkably applied to Web development, however has as well been applied to architecting projects that contain the big total of distributed information. And so the term is typically applied to disciplines outside of a nonindulgent Web context, like programming and technical writing.

Within tools body project, principles modeling is the analysis & project of the informatiin in the patterns, concentrating on respire & their interdependence. Informatiin modeling depends on good deal abstraction; a relationships between a pieces of information is of additional interest than the particulars of single records, though cataloging conceivable values occurs as most common system. A usability of human-facing systems, & standards compliance of internal ones, come preponderating.

A term reference architecture describes the specialised skill placed which relates to the management of reference & employment of informational information. It has a important degree of association by using the library sciences. Several library schools today teach references architecture.

Origins
a effectual organization of reference for real life retrieval at a late date dates back to the works of the 1st bibliothec, like the Catalog created by Callimachus at the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. A Dewey Decimal System is similarly an additional such attempt when systematizing & rationally organizing big numbers of data and so that library patrons might buy a nature and severity of information it is wanting to find.

the modern practice of principles architecture, by using a specific center the Web & Web project, was foremost popularized by Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, co-authors of Tools Architecture for the Globe Wide Web (ISBN 1565922824, aka "the Polar Bear Book").

Current Practice
Info architecture typically has an emphasis in usability studies and testing for website compliance to community standards. A person that governs web compliance is the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). A W3C tries to produce standards for general have by web coder & is headed by Tim Berners-Lee. Tim Berners-Lee is widely credited when one of a artificer of the World Wide Web.

Information Architecture and Technical Writing
Sustaining information to writing for the Web & producing organizing information for documentation, it has been said that:

"When a Web site or help system lacks definition and structure, readers can get lost in the content. Information architecture is the practice of organizing and interrelating content so the reader remains oriented and gets answers. By defining formal design patterns for information architecture, content providers can apply tested architectures to improve the user's experience."[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-dita7/]

Organizing textual context in that way is often done utilizing the integrated approach like DocBook or DITA.

References Designer in that context serve define such items when a section of topics & placed a specialization of contented types, & placed guidelines & examples for the nature and severity of principles that goes into specific content object types.

This nature & severity of data is usually designed for a high level of re-have, using the intent that one content object may be deployed to different media types, including print, low facilitate, marketing materials and in Webpage.

Useit.com
Jakob Nielsen's column on Web usability, usability engineering, and his minimalist approach to Web quality, recommended links/books. Also his biography and upcoming talks.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
From the World Wide Web Consortium. These guidelines are the closest you can get to official usability standards.

Info-architects Mailing List
Central repository for information architecture on the Web. Provides an active forum for issues relating to the theory and praxis of IA. Also offers a range of information consulting services and software products for Web-based content publishing and knowledge management.

Prutsman & Company
Professional consulting services firm specializing in Internet strategy and information architecture.

Jjg.net: Information Architecture Resources
Extensive links to Information Architecture resources by Jesse James Garrett.

Addwise
Specializes in information architecture and usability evaluations. Our in-depth knowledge of human-computer interaction, information design, and usability engineering enables us to offer our clients usable websites or Intranets.

Evolt.org
Various articles on IA and usability. Allows readers to review and comment on articles. Requires free sign-in.

Becoming an Information Architect
Article written by Sacha Cohen, originally published on Monster.com.

ASIS Summit 2000: Presentations
Includes an Information Architecture Glossary, and slides for 12 Information Architecture presentations. April 7-9, 2000, Boston, MA.

Iaslash
News forum for information architects.


Business: Business Services: Communications: Writing and Editing: Editing and Proofreading: Indexing
Computers: Internet: Web Design and Development
Computers: Internet: Web Design and Development: Authoring




© 2005 GeneralAnswers.org