[Sigia-l] Questionnaire for Impending IA Summit 2003

[Peter Merholz]

SIGIA-Ellers...

Planning for the 2003 Information Architecture Summit has just begun.
Before any significant decisions are made about content and speakers,
the conference planning committee is seeking input from you all to
help us put together the best show. We'd like to get your thoughts
on what would make a successful, interesting, and appealing conference
for you.

Like the past summits, it will be a two-day conference, with a day of
pre-conference workshops. It's not a ton of time, so we'll have to make
trade-offs.

This is your opportunity to put together the kind of conference *you'd* like
to go to, so please take a few moments to answer these questions, and send
along any other additional thoughts.

There are quite a few questions here... Don't feel obliged to answer
every one.

Please email your responses to: IAsummit03 at asis.org
(NOT to peterme at peterme.com... thanks)

======================
WHO ARE YOU?
In order for us to calibrate the responses we get, it will help to
know more about you.
1. What percentage of your work is devoted to information architecture?

2. How many years have you been working in information architecture?

3. How have you learned about information architecture?
(Please check all that apply)
  a. Formal training (LIS, Human Factors, Interaction Design degree)
  b. Self-taught
  c. On-the-job training


THE CONTENT
1. What kinds of issues are you most interested in with regard to
information architecture and your work?

2. Are there any particular topics you'd find compelling? These don't
have to be "traditional" IA topics.
Examples include:
Social Network Analysis
<URL: http://www.semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/sna.html >,
Information Visualization
<URL: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~ngg/InfoViz/ >,
Taxonomies, metadata, thesauri
<URL: http://www.willpowerinfo.co.uk/ >,
Urban Planning
Industrial Design
etc...

(please suggest other topics)

3. Would you be more interested in sessions that provide practical knowledge
you can take right back to work, or visionary sessions that inspire new
thinking?

4. Are there any particular tools, techniques, or processes you would love
to learn but never seem to have the time?


THE PEOPLE
1. Who are the people you find most inspirational and insightful to your
work as an information architect?

2. Whom do you want to hear speak? We're particularly interested in
presenters who haven't spoken at prior summits.


THE CONFERENCE
1. What is *the* main reason you attend conferences such as the IA Summit?
What makes you willing to part with your, or your organization's, money?

2. What are you tired of seeing/hearing/doing at other conferences that you
hope you never hear/see/do again?

3. How much time for socializing do you think would be appropriate (dinners,
parties, breaks, or other events attached to the conference)?

4. At conferences, do you prefer panels, where 3 or 4 people discuss a
topic, or presentations where 1 person puts forth a thesis?

5. After the conference is over, what is the main thing you'd like to have
gotten from it? (networking, introduction to new topics, expanded skills,
deeper understanding if the industry, etc.)

6. If you've attended past IA Summits...
 a. what did you like about them?
 b. what did you not like about them?

PLEASE BE FRANK AND HONEST. NO FEELINGS WILL BE HURT.

And finally, please feel free to provide any other guidance you have to
offer.

Again, please direct email to: [EMAIL ADDRESS HERE]

Thanks very much in advance,
Your Ever-Loving IA Summit Conference Committee
Andrew Dillon
Christina Wodtke
George Olsen
Karl Fast
Louis Rosenfeld
Nathan Shedroff
Nick Finck
Peter Merholz
Peter Morville
Rashmi Sinha
Seth Gordon
Victor Lombardi