[Sigia-l] Bridging the gap

[Michael Kay]

While there are alternatives to the IA for this role, I believe it falls 
most naturally there. In developing the architecture for a product/site, 
the IA by nature gets involved with both the design and engineering teams. 
The IA should have at least a high level idea of what the folks in these 
disciplines are doing. In some projects I have worked on part of the IA's 
role has been to generate the specific requirements for the engineers and 
visual designers. The deliverables are traditional schematics and site 
maps, and also lists or databases of requirements. In any project, the IA 
to be effective should not be working in a vacuum, but collaborating with 
visual designers, engineers, content staff, and project managers as they 
develop the requirements.

When there are conflicts between the visual design and engineering, the IA 
has a broad picture of the project and can resolve those. And of course the 
IA is always there to advocate the user.
--Mike

At 10:56 PM 9/2/2003, Jason wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>I have been told that one of my roles as an information architect includes
>bridging the gap (or chasm) between the design and technical teams. I
>recognize that everyone's gap is different, but I would love to get some
>your interpretations of that role. More specifically:
>
>1. Have you any project or process specific evidence that the IA is indeed
>the missing link?
>
>2. What types of deliverables have the potential for communicating to both
>audiences?