Information architecture for the World Wide Web

The post-Ajaxian Web 2.0 world of wikis, folksonomies, and mashups makes well-planned information architecture even more essential. How do you present large volumes of information to people who need to find what they're looking for quickly? This classic primer shows information architects, designers, and web site developers how to build large-scale and maintainable web sites that are appealing and easy to navigate.

The new edition is thoroughly updated to address emerging technologies -- with recent examples, new scenarios, and information on best practices -- while maintaining its focus on fundamentals. With topics that range from aesthetics to mechanics, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web explains how to create interfaces that users can understand right away. Inside, you'll find:

An overview of information architecture for both newcomers and experienced practitioners



The fundamental components of an architecture, illustrating the interconnected nature of these systems. Updated, with updates for tagging, folksonomies, social classification, and guided navigation



Tools, techniques, and methods that take you from research to strategy and design to implementation. This edition discusses blueprints, wireframes and the role of diagrams in the design phase



A series of short essays that provide practical tips and philosophical advice for those who work on information architecture



The business context of practicing and promoting information architecture, including recent lessons on how to handle enterprise architecture



Case studies on the evolution of two large and very different information architectures, illustrating best practices along the way

How do you document the rich interfaces of web applications? How do you design for multiple platforms and mobile devices? With emphasis on goals and approaches over tactics or technologies, this enormously popular book gives you knowledge about information architecture with a framework that allows you to learn new approaches -- and unlearn outmoded ones.

• Foreword p. xi
• Preface p. xiii
• Part I Introducing Information Architecture
• 1 Defining Information Architecture p. 3
• A Definition p. 4
• Tablets, Scrolls, Books, and Libraries p. 6
• Explaining IA to Others p. 8
• What Isn't Information Architecture? p. 9
• Why Information Architecture Matters p. 11
• Bringing Our Work to Life p. 12
• 2 Practicing Information Architecture p. 16
• Do We Need Information Architects? p. 17
• Who's Qualified to Practice Information Architecture? p. 18
• Information Architecture Specialists p. 23
• Practicing Information Architecture in the Real World p. 24
• What Lies Ahead p. 28
• 3 User Needs and Behaviors p. 30
• The "Too-Simple" Information Model p. 31
• Information Needs p. 33
• Information-Seeking Behaviors p. 35
• Learning About Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behaviors p. 38
• Part II Basic Principles of Information Architecture
• 4 The Anatomy of an Information Architecture p. 41
• Visualizing Information Architecture p. 41
• Information Architecture Components p. 49
• 5 Organization Systems p. 53
• Challenges of Organizing Information p. 54
• Organizing Web Sites and Intranets p. 58
• Organization Schemes p. 59
• Organization Structures p. 69
• Social Classification p. 77
• Creating Cohesive Organization Systems p. 80
• 6 Labeling Systems p. 82
• Why You Should Care About Labeling p. 83
• Varieties of Labels p. 86
• Designing Labels p. 98
• 7 Navigation Systems p. 115
• Types of Navigation Systems p. 116
• Gray Matters p. 117
• Browser Navigation Features p. 117
• Building Context p. 118
• Improving Flexibility p. 120
• Embedded Navigation Systems p. 122
• Supplemental Navigation Systems p. 131
• Advanced Navigation Approaches p. 139
• 8 Search Systems p. 145
• Does Your Site Need Search? p. 145
• Search System Anatomy p. 149
• Search Is Not an IT Thing p. 150
• Choosing What to Search p. 151
• Search Algorithms p. 158
• Query Builders p. 161
• Presenting Results p. 163
• Designing the Search Interface p. 178
• Where to Learn More p. 191
• 9 Thesauri, Controlled Vocabularies, and Metadata p. 193
• Metadata p. 194
• Controlled Vocabularies p. 194
• Technical Lingo p. 204
• A Thesaurus in Action p. 206
• Types of Thesauri p. 209
• Thesaurus Standards p. 213
• Semantic Relationships p. 215
• Preferred Terms p. 217
• Polyhierarchy p. 219
• Faceted Classification p. 221
• Part III Process and Methodology
• 10 Research p. 231
• Process Overview p. 232
• A Research Framework p. 233
• Context p. 234
• Content p. 239
• Users p. 246
• Participant Definition and Recruiting p. 251
• User Research Sessions p. 254
• In Defense of Research p. 261
• 11 Strategy p. 264
• What Is an Information Architecture Strategy? p. 265
• Strategies Under Attack p. 266
• From Research to Strategy p. 268
• Developing the Strategy p. 269
• Work Products and Deliverables p. 273
• The Strategy Report p. 279
• The Project Plan p. 288
• Presentations p. 288
• 12 Design and Documentation p. 291
• Guidelines for Diagramming an Information Architecture p. 292
• Communicating Visually p. 294
• Blueprints p. 296
• Wireframes p. 307
• Content Mapping and Inventory p. 313
• Content Models p. 317
• Controlled Vocabularies p. 324
• Design Collaboration p. 326
• Putting It All Together: Information Architecture Style Guides p. 329
• Part IV Information Architecture in Practice
• 13 Education p. 335
• Transition in Education p. 336
• A World of Choice p. 336
• But Do I Need a Degree? p. 337
• The State of the Field p. 338
• 14 Ethics p. 340
• Ethical Considerations p. 341
• Shaping the Future p. 344
• 15 Building an Information Architecture Team p. 345
• Destructive Acts of Creation p. 346
• Fast and Slow Layers p. 347
• Project Versus Program p. 348
• Buy or Rent p. 349
• Do We Really Need to Hire Professionals? p. 350
• The Dream Team p. 352
• 16 Tools and Software p. 354
• A Time of Change p. 354
• Categories in Chaos p. 355
• Questions to Ask p. 361
• Part V Information Architecture in the Organization
• 17 Making the Case for Information Architecture p. 365
• You Must Sell p. 365
• The Two Kinds of People in the World p. 366
• Running the Numbers p. 367
• Talking to the Reactionaries p. 371
• Other Case-Making Techniques p. 373
• The Information Architecture Value Checklist p. 376
• A Final Note p. 377
• 18 Business Strategy p. 378
• The Origins of Strategy p. 379
• Defining Business Strategy p. 380
• Strategic Fit p. 382
• Exposing Gaps in Business Strategy p. 384
• One Best Way p. 385
• Many Good Ways p. 385
• Understanding Our Elephant p. 387
• Competitive Advantage p. 389
• The End of the Beginning p. 390
• 19 Information Architecture for the Enterprise p. 392
• Information Architecture, Meet the Enterprise p. 392
• What's the Goal of EIA? p. 394
• Designing an Enterprise Information Architecture p. 397
• EIA Strategy and Operations p. 411
• Doing the Work and Paying the Bills p. 416
• Timing Is Everything: A Phased Rollout p. 421
• A Framework for Moving Forward p. 426
• Part VI Case Studies
• 20 MSWeb: An Enterprise Intranet p. 429
• Challenges for the User p. 430
• Challenges for the Information Architect p. 431
• We Like Taxonomies, Whatever They Are p. 432
• Benefits to Users p. 454
• What's Next p. 458
• MSWeb's Achievement p. 459
• 21 evolt.org: An Online Community p. 460
• evolt.org in a Nutshell p. 461
• Architecting an Online Community p. 461
• The Participation Economy p. 462
• How Information Architecture Fits In p. 471
• The "Un-Information Architecture" p. 474
• Appendix Essential Resources p. 475
• Index p. 487