[Sigia-l] Frustrated Mid-Level IA job seeker

[Timothy Karsjens]

Before there was a title of Information Architect...

...there were Business Analysts and Designers.

Business Analysts typically, way back when, put together wireframe prototypes in their use cases, determined where functionality went in an application, documented system processes, and outlined the data requirements.  Designers made it look pretty, often sacrificing usability for "coolness" or creativity.  When it was still around, ProjectCool.com had perfect examples of "pretty versus usable".

I have seen a shift back to business analysts doing more of the human factors engineering in their use cases than during the dot-com boom.  Project managers suddenly realized that the BA's were "doing it before the specialized role came about, why don't we make them do it again and save $100 an hour?"

I have stated on this list before, that I *was* an IA.  Now I am a "process architect".  Now, what the heck does that mean?  It means that I am a BA/IA/SA/WA/PM/DA with a bit of coding thrown in there.

So, like a few others have suggested, I would suggest that you start as a BA, learn that role and start manipulating your role to include IA.

Also, remember this, your resume reads like *you* want it to read.  If you land a role as a BA, you can call it whatever you want on your resume.

Have a nice day!

--timothy karsjens

Definitions:
BA = Business Analyist
IA = Information Architect
SA = Software Architect
WA = Workflow Architect
PM = Project Manager
DA = Data Analyst
all those with interface coding thrown in... now how would you sell that?