Information Architecture
Information architecture is the design of structures, labels, navigation, and search that make an information environment understandable. It helps people know where they are, what is available, and how to find what they need.
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Intro
Information Architecture
Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of a shared information environment. It combines organization, labeling, navigation, and search so people can find information and understand the whole system. The environment may be a website, an application, an intranet, a help center, or a service that crosses several channels.
IA is not the same as a sitemap or a menu. A sitemap records one view of pages and their relationships. A menu exposes selected routes through that structure. The architecture also includes the categories behind those pages, the words used to name them, the metadata used by search and filtering, and the rules that keep the system coherent as content changes.
The information environment
Three forces shape an architecture:
- Users bring goals, vocabulary, expectations, abilities, and information-seeking behavior.
- Content has subjects, formats, owners, relationships, volume, and a lifecycle.
- Context supplies business goals, policies, technology, staffing, and delivery channels.
A structure that reflects only one force usually fails elsewhere. An organization chart may satisfy internal ownership but hide services behind department names. User language may improve labels but still leave duplicate or obsolete content. A theoretically clean taxonomy may exceed the publishing system's capabilities. IA balances all three forces and makes the tradeoffs visible.
Four connected systems
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Sources
- https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/information-architecture-4th/9781491913529/ch02.html
Supports
- Information architecture definitions and its scope beyond sitemaps and menus
- Organization, labeling, navigation, and search as connected systems
- Users, content, and context as forces shaping an information environment
- https://www.oreilly.com/content/the-anatomy-of-an-information-architecture/
Supports
- Top-down and bottom-up information architecture
- Deep entry pages and orientation questions
- Categories, labels, navigation, and search as interacting components
- https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/information-architecture-for/0596000359/ch04s02.html
Supports
- Definitions of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems
- Distinction between grouping content and labeling groups
- https://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/62325/mod_resource/content/1/Information_Architecture_For_The_Web_And_Beyond_Fourth_Edition.pdf
Supports
- First through fourth edition dates from 1998 to 2015
- Cross-channel, mobile, meaning-making, context, and system-design scope of the fourth edition
- https://ixdf.org/literature/topics/information-architecture
Supports
- Findability and understanding as IA purposes
- User, content, and context model
- Organization, labeling, navigation, and search components
- Typical sitemap, wireframe, hierarchy, navigation, and metadata outputs
- https://www.figma.com/resource-library/what-is-information-architecture/
Supports
- Distinction between information architecture and a sitemap
- Hierarchical, sequential, and matrix organization examples
- Card sorting, sitemaps, flows, labels, navigation, and search in IA work
- https://abbycovert.com/make-sense/
Supports
- Information architecture as arranging parts to make a whole understandable
- Language and structure affecting intended meaning
- An iterative sensemaking process from intent and reality through adjustment
- https://guides.18f.org/methods/validate/card-sorting/
Supports
- Card sorting definition and purpose
- Open and closed card sorting procedures
- https://help.usertesting.com/hc/en-us/articles/11880307135773-Best-practices-for-card-sorting-and-tree-testing
Supports
- Card sorting for categorization and labeling
- Tree testing for findability in a text hierarchy
- Open, closed, and hybrid card sort distinctions
- Evaluative and comparative tree test approaches
- https://support.optimalworkshop.com/en/articles/2626850-choose-between-an-open-closed-or-hybrid-card-sort
Supports
- Open, closed, and hybrid card sort purposes
- Card-sort analysis outputs and the boundary between sorting and tree testing
- https://www.optimalworkshop.com/product/tree-testing
Supports
- Tree testing before implementation
- Task success, time, and navigation path measures
- https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/navigation/
Supports
- Different navigation strategies and difficulties with hierarchical menus
- Consistent labels, descriptive headings, multiple ways, search, and sitemaps
- Screen-reader use of headings, links, and navigation structures
- https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/menus/
Supports
- Navigation menus reflecting underlying site structure
- Menu labels, markup, keyboard operability, location, sitemap, breadcrumb, and search techniques
- https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/general/G141
Supports
- Properly nested headings supporting navigation and document-structure understanding
- https://www.w3.org/TR/skos-primer/
Supports
- Stable concept identifiers, labels, notes, and semantic relationships
- Preferred and alternative label roles
- https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome
Supports
- Discovery of the Awesome Product Design and Awesome Web Design lists
- https://github.com/ttt30ga/awesome-product-design
Supports
- Discovery of 18F Methods, Optimal Workshop, UserTesting, and related UX research resources
- https://github.com/nicolesaidy/awesome-web-design
Supports
- Discovery of Figma and related digital-design resources
- https://www.figma.com/templates/card-sorting-tool/
Supports
- Collaborative digital cards for open and closed sorting
- Card sorting as evidence for categories and information architecture
- https://www.figma.com/best-practices/collaborating-in-figjam/
Supports
- Collaborative sitemap and user-flow diagramming
- Connecting sitemap nodes to design frames and exporting diagrams
- https://www.optimalworkshop.com/product/card-sorting
Supports
- Optimal card sorting study types and analysis outputs
- Information architecture grouping and labeling use cases
- https://maze.co/features/tree-testing/
Supports
- Maze tree testing for labels, paths, destinations, and findability
- https://maze.co/features/card-sorting/
Supports
- Maze open and closed card sorting and visual result matrices
- https://www.uxtweak.com/videos/card-sorting-step-by-step/
Supports
- UXtweak open, closed, and hybrid card sorting setup, recruitment, analysis, and export
- https://help.lyssna.com/en/articles/6613317-card-sorting-tasks
Supports
- Lyssna open, closed, and hybrid card sorting tasks
- https://help.usertesting.com/hc/en-us/articles/16604491191069-Navigation-Findability-templates
Supports
- UserTesting card sorting, tree testing, and navigation study templates
- https://miro.com/templates/card-sorting/
Supports
- Miro card sorting templates for grouping, labeling, and IA workshops
- https://www.wurman.com/publishedarticles
Supports
- Richard Saul Wurman coining Information Architect at the 1976 AIA conference
- https://www.design.upenn.edu/architectural-archives/collections/wurman-richard-s
Supports
- Wurman's 1976 AIA conference role and 1996 Information Architects book
- https://www.wurman.com/publishedarticles?category=www.momentmag.com
Supports
- Wurman's information-architecture focus on making information understandable
- https://semanticstudios.com/pdfs/historia.pdf
Supports
- Argus Associates work beginning in 1994
- 1998 Polar Bear book and 2000 IA Summit milestones
- https://www.asist.org/2015/04/29/icymi-ia-summit-2015-recap/
Supports
- First Information Architecture Summit in 2000
- Connection between the Polar Bear book and the summit
- https://www.iainstitute.org/sites/default/files/annual-reports/iai_annual_report_2003.pdf
Supports
- AIfIA launch in November 2002 and its initial mission
- https://about.worldiaday.org/history
Supports
- World IA Day establishment in 2012
- IA Institute dissolution and World IA Day independence in 2019
- https://www.information-architecture.world/worldiaday/events/world-ia-day-2012
Supports
- First World IA Day date, 14-city scope, and Designing Structures for Understanding theme