What is it?
Information Architecture is an emerging field that has become a necessity in the information age in which we live. There is so much content on the web. How are we going to find what we are looking for? According to the Information Architecture Institute, an information architect designs the structure of shared information systems. He also designs the labeling and organization of online web sites to make it easier for people to use the site and find the information that they are looking for.
When do they work?
According to the folks at IBM an IA needs to be brought in on the project as early as possible. They are an architect first and foremost and so they develop the framework that the site is built around. You would not start building a house without an architectural plan so there is no reason to build a complex website with out a detailed plan of how to organize the content.
How do they work?
The start by gathering information. Then they do a bottom up approach. After they have an initial taxonomy completed they start a top down approach to clean up every thing with a higher level overview.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/us-inarch.html
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