[Sigia-l] RE: first principals
zapolsja at WellsFargo.COM
zapolsja at WellsFargo.COM
Thu Mar 13 16:32:49 EST 2003
Christina wrote:
> > 2. Information Architecture cannot be done effectively without and
understanding of business and user needs.
To which Jesse said:
> Sure.
>
I disagree. IA doesn't necessarily need to have anything to do with
business. However, in the case that the architecture being designed is
intended to support commercial purposes, then the designer(s) of that IA are
likely to benefit from understanding the needs of the business. This
principle could be stated more simply:
2. Information architecture cannot be done effectively without understanding
the needs it is meant to address.
Christina also said:
> > 13. IA is an aspect of design.
>
If this is true, than it suggests to me that:
> > 12. There is always more than one way to organize a group of anything,
> but
> > there is always one best way given a unique content set, unique user
> base
> and unique business needs.
is untrue, as there is no such thing as a "best" design. Designs can only
be understood as better or worse, because there will always be limitless
alternatives, making "bestness" impossible to verify. The aim isn't to
create the "best" (even if some clients may ask for that) architecture.
It's to create one that's good enough, relative to all of the specific
constraints (including user needs, business needs, technology needs, etc.)
When we get to good enough, we stop, until new information forces us to
revise our conclusion (ie "good enough" isn't good enough anymore). In
getting there, we usually learn that designed solution #1 is better than
designed solution #2 or #3. But we can never say it's the best.
Lastly, from Christian and then Jesse:
> > 1. Information Architecture is primarily concerned with Information
> > Retrieval.
>
> Honestly, sometimes I think you say this stuff just to get a rise out of
me. You're too smart to actually believe this.
Yeah, ditto.
-jz
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