Information architecture is the practice of structuring information (knowledge or data) for specific purposes in a specific context. The context might be web development, user interactions, database development, programming, technical writing, or enterprise architecture. Information architecture has somewhat different meanings in these different branches of what might be called IS and/or IT architecture.

In the context of web design (or design for related media) information architecture (often abbreviated “IA”) is considered an element of user experience design and is defined by the Information Architecture Institute as

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

The term information architecture describes a specialized skill set which relates to the management of information and employment of informational tools. It has a significant degree of association with the library sciences. Many library schools now teach information architecture.

In the context of information system design, information architecture refers to the analysis and design of the data stored by information systems, concentrating on entities, their attributes and their interrelationships. It refers not so much to the data model for an individual database as to the corporate data model an enterprise uses to coordinate the definition of data in several (perhaps scores or hundreds) of distinct databases. More recently, information archtiecture may refer to the “canonical data model” used by application integration technologies as the definitive definition for data passed between the systems of an enterprise. At a higher level of abstraction, it may refer also the definition of data stores, where they are, who owns them etc.

Origins

The effective organization of information for easy retrieval at a later date dates back to the works of the first librarians, such as the Catalog created by Callimachus at the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. The Dewey Decimal System is similarly another such attempt at systematizing and rationally organizing large amounts of data so that library patrons can find the type of information they are looking for.

In 1970, Xerox established the Xerox PARC research lab with a mission to create “the architecture of information.” In 1976, Richard Saul Wurman coined the term “information architect” at that year’s American Institute of Architecture’s convention (the theme was “the Architecture of Information”). As the Web emerged in the mid-1990s, the term began to take on a new shade of meaning, describing an evolving set of Web design practices. In 1996, former Apple creative director Clement Mok launched Studio Archetype (now Sapient^[1]), describing the firm as “identity and information architects,” influencing major clients like IBM to embrace information architecture as a core component of successful Web design. In 1997, Wurman published Information Architects. The explosive growth of the Web design industry in the late 1990s fueled a growing demand for professional information architects, leading to the success of Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville’s 1998 book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (aka “the Polar Bear Book”).

Current practice

Information architects use a range of tools and techniques from other fields, including human-computer interaction, anthropology, information management and library and information science.

User-centered design

The practice of IA is heavily influenced by user-centered design (aka UCD) principles, of designing the architecture around the needs and capabilities of the intended user audience. This is in contrast with more traditional/academic approaches of organizing information, where the focus is on some internal consistency or internal logic.

Information architecture and technical writing

With reference to writing for the Web and producing organizing principles 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.^[2]

Organizing textual context in this way is often done using a structured approach such as DocBook or DITA.

Information architects in this context help define such things as the division of topics, set the specialization of content types, and set guidelines and examples for the type of information that goes into specific content object types. The creation of categories and taxonomies is inherent in information architecture.

This type of information is often designed for a high level of re-use, with the intent that a single content object can be deployed to different media types, including print, online help, marketing materials and on Web pages.

Critiques

• The term “information architecture” has been criticized, as the term “architecture” may imply that information systems are static like buildings. Information systems are dynamic and should adapt to specific users’ actions. This criticism may be due to an assumption on the part of the critics that architecture always is permanent and non-flexible. Structures may be designed to accommodate dynamic changes. Even buildings like skyscrapers are designed to float, sway, and allow for flexible compartment changes. Often the structure of an information system remains static as the information content changes.

• User-Centered Information Designers analyze cognitive, behavioral and emotional processes of users and define User-Centered Information Systems and taxonomies. Furthermore, some activities involved in the creation of information systems can be similar to activities involved in the creation of “taxonomies”. Some have suggested that the term “information architecture” is analogous with “taxonomy”. A contrary view is that the activities involved in the creation of a taxonomy are a subset of the activities involved in developing an information architecture (since developing an information architecture typically also involves articulating the objectives of the information, and understanding the intended audience). Some practicing information architects specialize in developing taxonomies, as part of their IA “toolkit,” along with deliverables like site maps, flow diagrams and screen-level design prototypes to represent the structure of a Web site or interactive application.

• A usage question raised in the information architecture debate might include a graphic web designer adopting (and thus adapting) the term information architect.^{[citation needed]} A similar question might be raised for a programmer using the term seeking computer science as a foundation for information systems.

• Because information architecture practices and techniques became popularized with the advent of the World Wide Web, some information architects may lack experience designing systems that are not web-based where browsing is less related. Users of enterprise systems and business systems typically have different goals than non-professional users. Business systems within the enterprise, for example, afford users with tools to expedite required business tasks. In contrast, commerce sites and news sites invite users to explore and browse information in many cases to support their business model. It is important for ‘information architects’ to understand the specific business and user requirements rather than apply the same techniques to shape a system’s information.

(Thanks to all members of WIKI peer review work group, more info on Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia)