information architect(ure) [Learn from the mistakes of others]

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i stumbled across this darling little gem of an occupation again. information architect.

neat thing is, they still can't decide how to define their job. which is very amusing (to me anyway) in light of what they think they do :)

i wonder if i'd have an easier time convincing people i can do this, than i'm having trying to convince them i can do something they think they already understand?

Mood::

creative

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There are 19 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

If you want to muck around with things that no-one, especially those working in the field, understand, then may I recommend Knowledge Management? IA is ok, but what it mostly means is that you can structure a navigation system. You actually have to *do* something. With KM you can claim to be studying how people "transfer knowledge" over watercoolers. Indeed, I attended a paper on that very subject.

Of course, to be really trendy, just claim to be a Web 2.0 guru. You know, that thing which isn't at *all* like the old web, and thus is worth investing *heaps* of money into. 'Cause it's so different, and new, and radical.

ah km. haven't got to that one yet, but it's on my list :) it sounds kinda cool too.

ia could have been cool, but as you say - the fools let themselves get trapped in the navigation corner. not much to do with architecture at all. (as a few belatedly admit)

i've not heard from unisa, so i'm presuming 'no go' and getting on with the not a lot i was doing before - with occasional episodes of looking up info sys type stuff on teh in-tar-noob. at least i have a new hobby :)

i might drop by sometime to make sure you haven't died on the job or anything :)

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Actually, last I heard (yesterday) they were still trying to work things out. So I wouldn't be giving up just yet.

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cool. because that would be a most excellent job.

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i got the call today. interview tomorrow at 1.

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That's the trouble with insider information. You can know, but you can't tell.

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*grin*

i'm getting better at reading between the lines® ... i think moira was more uncertain than i was ...

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would catching up for lunch tomorrow be out of the question?

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I'm stuck with teaching at 1 tomorrow - I was trying to see if I could get your interview moved back 30 minutes. May still try again. Prior to that I will, of course, be writing the lecture. As one does. :)

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you write your lectures? :P

so many academics i've known just walk in with some notes or other.

oh, hang on. notes.

now i get it.

carry on :)

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Information Architecture (IA) is a really important part of the process. They do the same kind of job that an Analyst does.

The IA creates a wireframe of the page design, creates the (URI) structure of the site, and helps with the construction of the underlying directories. NB. The last two are not the same. Information Architecture is important because they spend most of their time in other people's heads. You mock it because you have never tried it. I have. I have a deep respect for these people. They are in fact, librarians in disguise, constructing the access to the information to the users in a transperant manner. Like movie musicians, the effect of what they do is invisible, as it should be. Without them, you would never be able to find anything.

IA gets more important the larger the site. Example in case: AGIMO (Australian Government Information Management Office). Try to be even bothered about attempting to find information about the importance and legal aspects of accessibility on that site! And yet, that is where you get directed to go.

A good IA (Information Architect) creates personas, understands the target audience, and tries to crawl into their headspace. So whether or not you are willing to live your days in their headspace, and can understand their wants and needs, dictates whether or not you'd be a good IA.

i'm not mocking it all.

i've done ia work, back when it was part of database design. (the web was just a wet dream until the mid-90s)

i've been digging about getting a grip on all the (relatively) new terms in info tech. i've been out of the mainstream for many years, focussed as i have been on law and conflict.

i've been a systems analyst and software engineer since the early 90s. one increasingly frustrated by how little (decent) analysis or (good) design gets done *before* implementation these days. and i'm an old school hacker!

i post stuff here in my lj as much because i agree with it, as not. i understand their confusion. frankly, it seems that no one has developed a global view of ict as a professional domain. it's organic, like other areas, but it is changing more rapidly than most.

i'm trying to get a grip on what each group thinks/sees as being their baliwick. probably so i can figure out where i might fit. more likely so i can argue with everyone and sound like i know what i'm saying. i have very clear views on these things :)

i'm a designer and analyst, not really an implementer. i'm good at constructing plans, and at dissecting extanct structures, and the heads that make them. part of me wishes i could implement, but i've come to terms with that now (after 10 years).

[the agimo is a perfect example of what frustrates me about ict ...]

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When I teach IA, that's what I try most to get across to the students. Anyone can throw togeather a website using Dreamweaver or Frontpage. But to make possible to find anything - especially with a large site - is a skill that doesn't just magically appear because you know some HTML.

Hence the problem. If you claim to be an IA guru, you need to actually produce something that can be measured. :) KM people seem to have an easier time of faking it.

(In teh ineterests of full disclosure: my thesis is in KM, so I'm very happy to insult the field).

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I suggest you go with BUZZWORD. It doesn't really matter what BUZZWORD is, because no one understands, but they all claim to. If you can do it, make up a buzzword for it. Claim to be a BUZZWORD expert, and see how many people take it seriously. Find out how many companies start using it, and for what. Maybe you can be Adelaide's first BUZZWORD consultant?

But first you need a BUZZWORD, and a meaning behind it, which could be a problem.

that's my current project, as it happens :)

hence my digging about in the guts of current buzzwords.

might just register my business name and see what happens :)

i should be doing part-time tutoring in information systems at unisa from next week. hence the recent focus on it rather than law ...

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AJAX
Rich Internet Application
Ruby on Rails
Symfony
Mint
Web Patterns
Object oriented
Accessibility
application/xhtml + xml
XML
X-Query
DOM
CMS
CRM
Web standards
Semantic Web
Soon: X-Forms
Soon: SVG
Soon: Measure Map

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If I wanted to sell a cat these days, I wouldn't claim she was kind and affectionate. I'd claim she was object-orientated."

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O_O

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oh, the endless, endless game of "wots hot" and so forth.

so much of it is same-ol'-same-ol' in new wrapping ...

but, 'tis fun to watch.

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May