Information Architects
Few Training Programs; Many Areas to Learn
As for training, courses in information architecture may be difficult to find, though educational programmess in the field, such as a master's degree in interaction design and information architecture are beginning to emerge. Experts recommend drawing on a number of areas.
"Fields like usability engineering and market research give us excellent methods for learning what's going on inside users' heads," says Louis Rosenfeld, coauthor of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web and one of the field's pioneers. "Journalism, library science, database design and technical communication arm us with ways to understand and manage content. And we can learn about what makes a business context tick by borrowing from organisational behavior and management."
Hard and Soft Skills
But is information architecture for you? Garrett says IAs often have an "analytical bent," yet also have a deep interest in people and the way they think. Typically, IAs collaborate with a variety of people, he notes, from marketing and design pros to business executives and customers. In some ways, they serve as the linchpin between various groups. The blogs of both Garrett and Rosenfeld provide plenty of resources for IAs, as does the online publication Boxes and Arrows.
"Remember that this is still a new field," says Rosenfeld. "To break in, you won't be expected to have 20 years' experience or even any sort of certification -- in fact, there is no such thing."
To stand out, you often need to sell yourself. "The ability to sell is important," Rosenfeld explains. "You will continually be asked to justify yourself and the field of IA to colleagues who still think it's too new and abstract to have concrete value." Other challenges, says Rosenfeld, include serving organisations where information is spread among "dozens or hundreds of business units, making it difficult for users to find what they need" as well as working for global companies with multicultural and multilingual audiences.
"The field will have to evolve rapidly to rise to these occasions," he says. "On the other hand, their impact could mean that the demand for information architects will soon outstrip the supply."
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