[Sigia-l] IA research?

[Anne Miller]

Hi Marcel,

You get no argument from me on this. My only point of minor difference would
be that HCI 'analysis' methods are about goal structures and ways of
conceptualising contextualised problem spaces (mental models if you will). I
am coming to see IA as an intermediate step between these kinds of analyses
and interface design. My question to IA is what kinds of techniques do you
employ in effecting this transition - how do we bridge the gap between
problem space conceptualisation in people and information architecture on
screen?

Like some of the quick and dirty HCI methods (heuristic evaluation for one)
card sorting doesn't cut it in my view. I think we need more than simplistic
and simplifying tools. Facets may be one way of modelling/representing the
complexity of the world in a parsimonious way - what are the other options?


A



Dr Anne Miller
Program Coordinator, Human Factors Online
www.uq.edu.au/human-factors-online
Key Centre for Human Factors & Applied Cognitive Psychology
Ph: 61 7 3365 4543
Email (preferred): amiller at humanfactors.uq.edu.au


-----Original Message-----
From: Marcel van Mackelenbergh [mailto:marcelvanmackelenbergh at home.nl] 
Sent: Tuesday, 23 November 2004 6:51 PM
To: 'Anne Miller'; 'SIGIA-L'
Subject: RE: [Sigia-l] IA research?

Anne,

> My point was that as a consequence of using HCI
> methods in analysis, design and evaluation HCI inevitably winds up hitting
> IA problems. We then attempt to figure out solutions in somewhat hit and
> miss ways - sometimes we are successful often less so. In this way we are
> taking over IA's turf by default and often badly reinventing the IA wheel.

I think the reason why HCI and IA haven't really met is because of the way
we look at it. You may look at IA as "the discipline of the classification
of information". I think HCI has little to say about that. But once we see
IA as "the communication on where to find useful information", HCI has a
whole lot to say. Once we see IA as a communication discipline, all the work
on user centred design becomes relevant. I see IA as creating signposts:
people who know tell other people where to look for useful information.

Defining target audiences, performing needs analysis, doing contextual
inquiry, usability testing of a classification are all much more powerful
techniques to create a classification than asking a target audience to do
card sorting. Card sorting is only one of the many ways to observe your
target audience. 

I think that's why Karen Shriver says that IA is the next area for technical
communication.

Marcel