information architecture (IA): the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities, and software to support usability and findability (Wikipedia)
When was the last time you said or heard someone say something about "the IA" on a website? Were you or they referring to the site map or menu structure? Or was it more generally speaking about how the site was organized and structured for usability and to allow people to find and discover information?
If it was the latter, you can stop reading. You're a Jedi Master of the IA order. But if you're in the former, keep reading to see how important the IA is to any digital product you create.
Information architecture is navigation
Yes, indeed, IA includes navigation. And navigation includes the menu structure. Menus are one way people navigate through information. People also click on contextual links and other on-screen elements to go to another screen with related information.
Think of navigate as a verb, and new possibilities open up. Information environments go beyond a single website. People navigate in cross-channel ecosystems. Consistency is essential for a positive experience and to fill information needs.
Information architecture is organization
Any given set of information has multiple ways it can be organized. Which is one "right"? It's a trick question. The answer is "whichever way makes sense to the people who need the information." Deciding how to organize information means being very deliberate. How we choose to organize our information shows our intent. It's a way of showing our understanding of a subject area to those who also need to understand that subject.
Before you can organize information, you need to know what the information is. Which is why starting with a site map is bad form. Instead, start by modeling the information, and then organize it in a meaningful way. Model-first organization allows flexibility, extensibility, and scalability across all your channels.
Information architecture is findability
The best information in the world is useless if it cannot be found. That means labelling information groups and categories appropriately for the people who need it. It means applying taxonomy and metadata in ways that provides explicit meaning to the computers that are running the algorithms that surface information.
Information wants to be useful. So you need to know what useful means in your context. That means doing some research to learn what people want and where they look for it. Google is an obvious place, but have you seen a search results page lately? There are a lot of things to consider besides keywords!
Once people are on your site or using your product, how do they find information? Search is one way—and IA makes sure information is structured and tagged so it can be found there. See also navigation.
Learn more about information architecture
Are you overwhelmed now? Many people who visit the products you create are too! With more information being produced than ever before—and that information showing up in more places than ever before—you need to work harder than ever before to make information findable and understandable.
That is why I've created a course for people who are not information architects but need to architect information. (New IAs or folks who want to be are welcome too!) Information Architecture Fundamentals is running on December 10, 2019 in the Washington, DC area from 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM.
This course is for anyone involved in designing interfaces. You'll learn how classification, structure, organization, taxonomy, and labeling work together for understandable and stable websites, intranets, and products.
If you are interested in this course but cannot make it on December 10, drop me a line and let me know so you can be among the first to find out about future offerings.