[Sigia-l] Programming IAs was: Little things an IA MUST know/do

[Eric Reiss]

David Heller wrote with regard to IA prerequisites:

1. Know HTML backwards and forwards + CSS + be able to do basic
JavaScript and understand the DOM (and know what DOM is w/o being
told).

2. Have an online bank acct, do all their travel & book purchases
online regularly, and read a newspaper online as well. (and have a
heuristic opinion of it)

-----

As to Point 2. Yes, by all means. Hands-on understanding of the ways
of the Web is critical. And while we're at it, understanding business
goals and wedding these to the goals of visitors is a pretty nifty
skill to have, too. Not to mention the ability to create a genuine
shared reference.

As to Point 1. Stuff and nonsense. Having been doing IA since long
before there even was HTML, I'm truly offended by this thought.
Although I have programmed in several languages in my time (starting
with FORTRAN back in 1968), I never bothered to learn HTML and java
is what's in my cup. I guess I'd better slash my wrists.

Cheers,
Eric Reiss
IA huckster
Author of Practical Information Architecture (Addison-Wesley, 2000)
Principal, e-reiss aps, Copenhagen, Denmark