[Sigia-l] unemployed?

[Chris Chandler]

Ziya Oz wrote:

> "Ashk, Adamya" wrote:
>
> > The issue of boundaries is one which exists in other
fields as well. Take
> > for example, town planning and architecture.
>
> Hmm. If you wanted an industrial office tower or a house
built, would you go
> looking for an architect or a town planner?

It, uh, depends.

For a house, an architect is "probably" all that is needed.
For an industrial office tower, both architects and planners
will be involved.


> And therein lies the dilemma for IAs: the vast, vast
majority of web
> sites/apps are built without the benefit of IAs.


That of course is a dilemma and an opportunity. The vast
majority of web sites suck. Even the useful ones are likely
to be difficult to learn.


>A web site can be built
> without the services of an IA, but not, say, a web
designer or a programmer.
> They are deemed to be absolutely essential, whereas the IA
functions are
> something one affords only if there is 'excess' money to
spend or a pesky
> problem the two other disciplines cannot help with.


What you say is true, but limited. Often, an IA isn't
brought in until the site is finished and not producing
results.




> Again, this is not unique to IA. Many companies think, for
example,
> industrial design is something of a 'luxury', unrelated to
the bottom line.


Yep, and lots of products suck too.


> > A history of both disciplines will show that they
intersect and practitioners
> > of one have frequently been from the other.
>
> This is why I've been advocating 'dual-capable' IAs, which
is another way of
> saying that I'm more confident of the longevity of IA
contributions to the
> process than the profitability of the IA title.

As a "multi-capable" IA, I certainly agree, but I think you
_might_ be generalizing a little too much from the current
economic climate.

-cc