Information Architecture (often abbreviated I.A. ) is the practice of structuring Knowledge or Data. These are often structured according to their context in user interactions or larger databases. The term is most commonly applied to Web development, but also applies to disciplines outside of a strict Web context, such as programming and technical writing.

In information system design, data modeling is the analysis and design of the information in the system, concentrating on entities and their interdependencies. Data modeling depends on much abstraction; the relationships between the pieces of data is of more interest than the particulars of individual records, though cataloging possible values is a common technique. The Usability of human-facing systems, and standards compliance of internal ones, are paramount.

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 and information science. Many library schools now teach information architecture.

= 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 as systematizing and rationally organizing large amounts of data so that library patrons can find the type of information they are looking for.

The term Information Architect was coined by Richard Saul Wurman in 1976. Wurman was national chairman of that year s American Institue of Architecture s convention - the theme was the Architecture of Information .

The modern practice of information architecture, with a specific focus on the Web and Web design, was first popularized by Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, co-authors of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (1998, ISBN 1565922824, aka the Polar Bear Book ).

= Current Practice =

Information architecture often has an emphasis on Usability testing and testing for website compliance to community standards. The body that governs web compliance is the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). The W3C attempts to create standards for general use by web programmers and is headed by Tim Berners-Lee. Tim Berners-Lee is widely credited as one of the inventors of the World Wide Web.

== 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. [http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-dita7/]

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

Information Architects in this context help define such things as the division of topics and set the specialization of content types, and set guidelines and examples for the type of information that goes into specific content object types.

This type of information is typically 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.

= See also =

=External links=

*[http://www.society-cia.org/ The Society for the Certification of Information Architects (SCIA)] - The Society for the Certification of Information Architects certifies (enterpris) information architects, Enterprise Architects and IT-architects. The society is founded in 2001 and certifies people all over the world. *[http://iainstitute.org/ The Information Architecture Institute] - A very good resource on material to get a clue on this topic is the [http://iainstitute.org/library/ Library of The Information Architecture Institute]. The Information Architecture Institute is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. Founded in 2002, the Institute has about 900 members in over 40 countries. *[http://www.boxesandarrows.com/ Boxes and Arrows] - An industry publication with over 180 articles on the topic of information architecture. *[http://www.interaction-design.org/ Interaction-Design.org] - an open-content, peer-reviewed Encyclopedia covering terms from the disciplines of HCI, Usability, Information architecture, and related fields. *[http://www.iawiki.net/ IA Wiki] - A collaborative knowledge base for the topic of Information Architecture. *[http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/architecture.html Information Architecture at Web Design Reference] - A huge mega-reference (over 3,000 links) of information and articles dedicated web design and development. The site advocates web standards, Information Architecture, usability, accessibility, and many related topics. It features a listserv and RSS feed for site updates. *[http://www.digital-web.com/topics/information_architecture/ Information Architecture at Digital Web Magazine] - A major reference site (over 270 articles) with articles dedicated web design, web development, and information architecture. *[http://www.w3c.org/ W3C Organization] - An online resource for web standards. This includes many code validation tools and guides for future web development trends.