[Sigia-l] IA Practice Maturation

[Scott, Josephine (J.S.)]

The Good Peter (Morville)said:

>Actually, as a resident of the Midwest, I can comfortably say that IA hasn't
>taken hold here nearly as well as it has on the East and West coasts.  Most 
>of my consulting business, at Argus and after Argus, has been on the
>coasts...mostly centered around San Francisco and NYC.

Amen.  Which circles back to my point: I'd like to see most mid to large companies involved in web-based and/or content-rich projects (which is everyone) embrace IA as a practice more commonly.  In SE Michigan, it has been a struggle. Our manufacturing-focused IT/IT-related population has been slow to realize that programmers do not organize or design well as a rule. Most IA work -- which is what the Other Peter (Merholz) might call design for understanding -- will be found in the ad agencies.  Judging by our posters, it seems that even on the coasts, most folks consult from small to medium shops that specialize in web design or related fields. Yet there is more work to be done, and the average IT group (or related group) has limited or no recognition of that need or the opportunities. The result is disorganization, poor performance and poor interface development for both internal and external systems, with a few bright exceptions. 

That is not to say that things are not changing...at a pelican's pace.  I wouldn't be here if that were not the case.  But I look forward to seeing even more.  

Josie Scott 
Interaction Architect
Ford Web Creative Services