Architecture vs. Information Architecure: WAS [Sigia-l] The 3 Factors of I/A

[Brett Ingram]

on 3/5/03 11:31 AM, Andrew McNaughton at andrew at scoop.co.nz wrote:


> What I'm saying is that the 'factors' you identify are not things I see as
> being part of the architecture, but rather kinds of goals that lead to the
> selection of the architecture.
> 
> What you've written is analogous to saying that a house's architecture
> consists of things like putting two doors between the kitchen and
> bathroom, providing entrances and light to each room, and keeping the
> budget reasonable.  Those things certainly shape the design, but the
> architecture is rather closer to the plans provided for the builder.
> 
> Curiously I don't find it much easier to express what 'the architecture'
> is in building terms than I do with Information Architecture.
> 

As someone who used to be a building architect, I can say with pretty good
certainty that most Architects could tell you what the architecture is in
building architecture. You might get different answers, but they would each
be conveyed with assurance.

However, I find it more difficult to express what the architecture is in
information architecture myself. Perhaps this goes to the endless debate
about defining the field. Maybe there is an approach here that would help
solve the problem. If we could define what the architecture is, what that
means in information terms, then maybe that is a building block for defining
the field (pardon the pun).

Brett