In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all experiencing personal information overload, there is a growing need to understand the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren't hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people's education. Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of any thing. Whether you are - a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive - learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.

1. Make Sense
Information Architecture for Everybody
by:
Abby the IA

2. What the
#$%@ is the
information
age?
- my dad

3. Our world is a mess.
A large part of this mess is made of
information.

4. A tsunami of information
is still headed our way...
*HT Richard Saul Wurman

5. No matter
what our job,
our world is
full of messes
we must make
sense of

6. The majority of messes we
face are made of information
(and people)

7. In 2014 the average
American will spend
40+ hours a month
wading through...
...places made
of information

8. and make approximately 70
conscious decisions every day
*HT Sheena S Iyengar

9. We are all experiencing information overload
...and with that comes information anxiety
*HT Richard Saul Wurman

10. We have to
have a
website
But our
users still
like printed
things
that website
needs to talk
to the
inventory
system
And be easy
to update
without a
technologist
Oh!
Everything
actually
needs to be
in 5
languages
And the
content
should be
controlled by
our brand
But don’t forget to
let the users make
content too
Our
creative director
says the future
is flat design
Don’t
forget our
partnership
with
_____
We don’t
like the
word “cart”
Our CEO
hates flat
design

11. Every thing
is complex.

12. We have to get
comfortable with
making sense of
complexity
Rabbit Hole
of Complexity

14. Everyone has an opinion
and it can be frustrating to
really talk things out

15. Frustration occurs when
people have different models
in their minds

16. Creating
objects
allows us to
discuss &
compare
differing
models

17. When we have something in
common to point to we can
reach consensus more easily

18. With consensus
comes momentum

19. But often it is more than
two people, and more than
two models to reconcile...

20. A mess like this can
easily feel impossible
to make sense of

21. Many people get
overwhelmed at this point

22. They think of ways to hide
the mess...

23. Or they think of ways to
pretty up the mess...
New User
tutorial to
explain the mess
Incentive
structure
for dealing
with the
mess
Fancy
Front end
fluffing

24. ...the mess is still a mess.

25. ...but they have bought time.

26. Until the mess grows
(as all messes do when given time)

27. Information Architecture (IA)
tools and concepts help people make sense
of messes made of information (and people)

28. IA tools and concepts are NOT hard to learn.
NOR are they expensive to teach.

29. Yet IA tools and concepts
are not taught (or used) as often
as they ought be.

30. As a result many adults don’t understand the
very basics of architecting information

31. Yet they architect information daily, for either
their job or their life or both.
Results vary ;)

32. Everyone
Architects Information

33. Information
Architecture
in 5 basic lessons

34. What isn’t information?
Lesson 1

35. Thinking about
information
as material is hard

36. Every thing has
information

37. Information can be
made from the lack
of physical material

38. There is no true
information
There is only spin

39. Data is mined
Information is architected

40. All information
has place(s)
within a
nested set of
architectures

41. The level of
focus changes
the details you
can see

42. These levels of
place are deeply
“intertwingled”
*HT Ted Nelson

43. Change at one level
can have implications
at another level

44. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
Next Steps:

45. Language Matters
Lesson 2
Ontology
Taxonomy
Choreography
*HT
Dan
Klyn

46. Lexicography vs Ontology
• Lexicography is the practice of compiling
dictionaries. Lexicographers collect
different meanings for words
• Ontology represents the knowledge of
terms and concepts within a domain

48. Meaning is subjective
Meaning is demographic
Meaning is socio political
Meaning gets lost in translation
Meaning is complex

49. h"p://6thfloor.blogs.ny2mes.com/2011/05/20/words-­‐we-­‐dont-­‐say/

50. Controlled Vocabularies
• A controlled vocabulary is a list of approved terms and
definitions for a particular context and/or setting
• This exercise can help teams to decide on things like:
– Variant Spellings (i.e. American vs. British)
– Scientific vs. Popular Term Use (i.e. Cockroaches vs. Periplaneta Americana)
– Acceptable Synonyms (i.e. Automobile vs. Car)
– Acceptable Acronyms (i.e. GE vs. General Electric)
– Business vs. User Terms (i.e. What we say in meetings vs. what we say to
customers)
– Identification of homographs (i.e. the word “pool” can relate to “swimming pool” or
“shooting”)
50

51. Start with language
not interfaces

52. Remember
language is not
just words

53. I am sorry you have having issues using our
mobile site. I am sure I will be able to help
you...Can you see the hamburger menu?
Careful: We LOVE to use words anyways
even if we have to make them up

54. We call this an
“uncontrolled” vocabulary

55. Uncontrolled vocabularies
increase linguistic
insecurity

56. People suffering from
linguistic insecurity aren’t as
easy to talk things out with

57. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
Next Steps:

58. Structure is Rhetoric
Lesson 3

59. There are
only 5
ways to
organize
anything
1. Location: Rome is a city in Italy
2. Alphabetical: Rome starts with “R”
3. Time: Rome started in 753 BC
4. Category: Rome is a Romantic city
5. Hierarchy: Rome is within Italy, which
is within Europe, which is within the
Eastern and Northern Hemisphere
*HT
Richard
Saul
Wurman
-­‐
Informa9on
Anxiety
2

60. A facet is a particular aspect, or
feature about some “thing”
The more facets something has the more
ways it can be organized against other things.

61. 20 ways to organize a box of vegetables
1.!By cost at the grocery in the USA (Location)
2.!By cost at the grocery in the UK (Location)
3.!By countries it is eaten in (Location)
4.!By first letter scientific names (Alphabetical)
5.!By first letter popular names (Alphabetical)
6.!By first letter cultural names (Alphabetical)
7.!By seasonality of harvest (Time)
8.!By length of season (Time)
9.!By cooking time (Time)
10.!By popularity today (Time)
11.!By popularity 100 years ago (Time)
12.!By color (Category)
13.!By taste (Category)
14.!By texture (Category)
15.!By size (Category)
16.!By growing style (Hierarchy)
17.!By climate (Hierarchy)
18.!By type (Hierarchy)
19.!By soil type (Hierarchy)
20.!By best storing technique (Hierarchy)
10 facets of a vegetable
1.! Color
2.! Texture
3.! Taste
4.! Season Planted
5.! Season Harvested
6.! Soil Grown In
7.! Class
8.! Subclass
9.! Countries Consumed in
10.!Cost by Country

62. There is “technically”
no right or wrong way
to structure information

63. There is “academically”
no right or wrong way
to structure information

64. There is “theoretically”
no right or wrong way
to structure information

65. All you can do is measure
your results against your
rhetorical intent

66. Information Architecture
always exists

67. How you architect your
information says something
about who you are

68. “It takes knowledge to know a
tomato is a fruit. It takes wisdom
to not put one in a fruit salad”
- Miles Kington

69. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
Next Steps:

70. Define Good
Realistically
Lesson 4

71. Good depends
on intent

72. • Time: “I only have ___ left.”
• Resources: “I only have ________”
• Skill-set: “I know how to ________but I don’t know how to ______, yet.”
• Environment: “I am working within a market, serving an audience made of
various user types, within an ecosystem, via a platform, using technology.”
• Personality: “I want my work to say _____________________ about me”
• Politics: “Others want my work to say _________________ about ________”
• Ethics: “I want my work to do right by the world”
• Integrity: “I want to be proud of the results of my work”
Reality involves many factors

73. • Users: People you intend to interact with whatever is being made
• Stakeholders: People who care about the outcome of what is being made
• Makers: People making whatever is being made
WARNING: You may fall into all three categories yourself on a given project. Be
extra careful when this is a case. Remember that in many cases, meeting our own
needs can prevent us from meeting the needs of others.
Reality involves many players

74. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
7. Deal with subjective reality
Next Steps:

75. Make Diagrams
& Prototypes
Lesson 5

76. Diagrams help us

77. Diagrams help us
compare our models

78. Diagram types should be
collected but also continually
invented for your context

79. Prototypes help us
h"p://usabilitygeek.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2012/08/Introduc2on-­‐Website-­‐Usability-­‐Tes2ng-­‐Car.jpg
test our ideas

81. Remember
to zoom in
and out as
you work

82. Remember that
when you are a
hammer...
...everything looks
like a wireframe

83. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
7. Deal with subjective reality
8. Diagram the damn thing
Next Steps:

84. Information Architecture
is not just for Information Architects

85. If you make things,
you are probably already
practicing information
architecture

86. Practicing IA requires
bravery, but does not
require permission

87. But in case you need permission to go with
those next steps and few words of advice, I
can give you your membership card:
Information
Architecture
helps me make
sense of my
messes.
Your Name
And suggest you think about
joining the IAInstitute.org

88. ... Before you go ...

89. If you forget everything else,
please remember...
• We live amongst a mounting mess of information
• People make this mess of information
• Information architecture helps us make sense
• Language matters
• Structure is rhetoric
• We must define good realistically
• We must make diagrams and prototypes to
understand each other's models of the world

90. ...my hope is that the
world will make a whole
lot more sense.
If we all think a little harder about
the information we architect...
(a girl can dream )

91. How to
Make Sense
of Any Mess
@Abby_the_IA
http://abbytheia.com/makesense/
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(Ships Fall 2014)