This week, I read chapters 14-16 from the Morville and Rosenfeld text and the reading was excellent in terms of the topics being explained in a concise and brief manner without a lot of extraneous details. Chapter 14 is an important topic as it deals with Ethics and the issues and responsibilities that information architects must face. The authors present a framework that illustrates six ethical dimensions that IA architects must deal with. The first is Intellectual Access which not only involves connecting users with the information they are looking for, but with directing them to related products or knowledge that they were not aware of. This can be a problem because the user could be directed to information that may not be what they want or even be inappropriate. The second dimension is Labeling, which according to Morville and Rosenfeld (2007), “is when architects struggle to balance literary warrant (use of authors’ terminology) with user warrant (anticipated terms to be employed by users)” (p. 342). It is important that when creating labels, architects take into account the possible influence labels can have on user perceptions. The third dimension is Categories and Classification. These can be problematic because categories and their definitions can change or have multiple meanings. Architects must make sure that when they design classification schemes, they are careful to not insert unfavorable bias or influence users’ perception. The forth is Granularity and how architects must maintain stability between ambiguity and certainty. The fifth is Physical Access in the digital environment. According to the textbook (2007), “Universal Usability will be met when affordable, useful and usable technology accommodates the vast majority of the global population: this entails addressing challenges of technology variety, user diversity and gaps in user knowledge in ways only beginning to be acknowledged by educational, corporate and government agencies” (p. 343). The sixth is Persistence and how IA is about mission-critical infrastructure. Sometimes, it will take multiple attempts, but what is important is that it is done correctly in the end. The main lesson of this chapter is that architects must be aware of the design choice they make and how this will impact users.
Chapter 15 deals with the topic of building an information architecture team. The word team can sometimes make architects panic because bringing in others can introduce some conflicts between ideas and styles. However, as web sites and Intranets become more complex, managers are seeing the value of having in-house teams that work strictly on IA. The authors discuss the importance of assessing staffing needs from a standpoint of project and program. According to the authors (2007), “First, companies must staff a short, but intensive information architecture project to design an enduring foundation. You need big picture information architects who can design an overall strategic framework that integrates organization and navigation systems with the software, processes, and staffing responsibilities needed to bring it to life and keep it working. You also need detail-oriented information architects who can do the critical work of developing the controlled vocabularies for each facet. Second you need to build an information architecture program that is focused on administration and continuous improvement. This will require mostly detail-oriented information architects who will be responsible for manual indexing and controlled vocabulary management” (p. 348).
The authors also write about in-house staff versus having an outside consultant as well as the necessity (or non-necessity) of hiring an IA professional. All of these issues depend largely on different factors, such as the type and size of the company, what their design goals are and the nature of the project. Another factor is money which has become more of a concern in the current economy. The authors close the chapter by pointing out that right now, projects are fortunate to even have one architect implicated in the work. They speculate that in the not-too-distant future, there will be more specialized teams and roles for architects.
With chapter 16, the reader is introduced to the tools and software that are utilized in the field. The ones the authors call attention to are: Automated Categorization which is software that uses pattern-matching algorithms or human-defined rules to repeatedly allocate controlled vocabulary metadata to information; Search Engines which is software that supplies full-text indexing and browsing and research resources; Thesaurus Management Tools which gives architects assistance in the progression and organization of thesauri and controlled vocabularies; Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform which are aids that offer fully incorporated enterprise portal resolutions; Content Management Systems which is software that handles workflow that ranges from authoring the subject matter, to editing, and publishing; Analytics which is software that examines the usage and numerical functionality of web sites and provides important data about the activities and characteristic of searchers; Diagramming Software which is visual communication software that architects utilize to produce plans, charts, blueprints and wireframes; Prototyping Tools which is web developing software that facilitates the designing of interactive wireframes and clickable models and lastly, there is User Research software that assists architects in conducting user research by user such methods as remote testing methods and online card sorting. These tools are all absolutely fascinating and of course this is only the beginning, as the field is still growing. As such there will be new tools and software being created and made available.
These chapters were some of the most enjoyable that I have read and I particularly like learning about the ethics that are involved in IA. There are a lot of sites out there that do try to influence users and speaking as a user, I would prefer to take the information and facts that I find and form my own opinions.
References
Morville, Peter & Rosenfeld, Louis. (2007). “Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.” Sebastopol, CA. O’Reilly Media, Inc.