[Sigia-l] IA or UXA? Which do you prefer?

Thu Oct 4 10:43:38 EDT 2007

I think what I'm reading in this thread is what do we call ourselves
in two different situations.  The first being what we refer to
ourselves in our respective professional situations.  Second, what we
call ourselves to outsiders who are not a part of our professional
circle.

While I agree that our discipline is rooted in design, I do think that
the UX Architect term is a good term to use for the CXO's as well as
family and friends.  The term architect is known by many people, and
has a certain understanding... designing something, then creating the
"blueprints" for building it.  At least for me, that's exactly what I
do on a day to day basis... creating specs and blueprints to build the
user experience (hence fitting in well with "Architecture").

Our job titles really only matter when we speak to people outside our
field, or are in the process of getting a job.  That's how I see it
anyway.

David

On 10/3/07, David Malouf <dave.ixd at gmail.com> wrote:
> Why not UXD or UED? Design? Isn't that a good word?
>
> When I hear the term architect used, I think of system architect and that we
> are somehow an engineering-rooted discipline, but UX is a more about design
> than engineering. YES! I KNOW! Architect by itself is a design discipline
> that has facets of engineering involved and so does interaction design, BUT!
> a lot of the reason people have cited being pulled towards architecture is
> that they are looking to be taken seriously. A noble cause, but misguided in
> nature. Architecture is a multi-millennial design discipline that by itself
> has nothing to prove about its roots and connection to design. UX on the
> other hand is a fledgling  of a design discipline (actually collection) that
> still needs to ground itself in DESIGN in terms of the community, practice,
> and methods that we should be doing.
>
> When I hear this term, I feel it distances us from our greatest
> collaborators, so I have always been against its use for us as
> professionals.
>
> To Ziya, Yes! we know that IA has a long history, but is most popular use of
> the term is connected less to Linneus and even lesser to Richard Saul Wurman
> than it is to our fond Polar Bear Book authors. IA might have a long
> history, but its practice by 90% of those holding the title or carrying the
> role is almost completely tied to the LIS/Findability community. Any
> remnants of RSW or other historical IAs has gone the way of the Do-Do or
> have started calling themselves other things like Information Designers.
>
> -- dave
>
> On 10/3/07, Jayson Elliot <jayson.elliot at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I think this conversation has convinced me that UXA is the new direction
> > the
> > discipline has gone.
> >
> > One person had the point that User Experience Architect is easier for
> > laypeople to understand, and I think that's a major point. It also does a
> > better job of including all the various elements that go into User
> > Experience, including interaction design, information design, strategy,
> > library sciences, usability, etc.
> >
> > This has helped a lot, because I am planning to speak to our CCO about
> > this
> > issue this week. I think I'll be recommending that our IAs be titled UXAs
> > from now on. If we want to be really sexy about it, we might just use the
> > shorter term "XAs."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 03/10/2007, W Evans <wkevans4 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > I used to be pure IA (for 2 years), but over the past 5 years, have
> > spent
> > > more time with business strategy, conceptual modeling, interaction
> > design
> > > (as well as some classic IA), which is why I have changed over in the
> > last 2
> > > years to UXA - it fits better with the scope of my responsibilities and
> > > deliverables.
> > >
> > > --
> > > ~ will
> > >
> > > IxDA Interaction 08 | Savannah
> > > http://interaction08.ixda.org/
> > > -------------------------------------------------------
> > > will evans
> > > user experience architect
> > > wkevans4 at gmail.com
> > > -------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > On 10/3/07, Tom Donehower <tdonehower at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I personally prefer "Wireframe Monkey."
> > > >
> > > > Seriously,
> > > >
> > > > At this point in my career I think of myself more as a "User
> > Experience
> > > > Architect."  I handle strategy, define success metrics, conduct
> > > > research,
> > > > create IA deliverables, and inform and advise on technology, design
> > and
> > > > content, all with the intention of creating that illusive "perfect"
> > user
> > > > experience.
> > > >
> > > > Perhaps more important, I chose to name my consultancy UXConcepts not
> > > > IAConcepts and have had much more success generating new business
> > > > describing
> > > > myself to clients as someone that architects user experiences as
> > opposed
> > > > to
> > > > information.
> > > >
> > > > -Tom
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On 10/3/07, Jayson Elliot < jayson.elliot at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > We've been debating the difference between Information Architects
> > and
> > > > User
> > > > > Experience Architects.
> > > > >
> > > > > Which title do other IAs/UXAs go by? Do you see a difference between
> > > > the
> > > > > two
> > > > > descriptions?
> > > > >
> > > > ------------
> > > > IA Summit 2008: "Experiencing Information"
> > > > April 10-14, 2008, Miami, Florida
> > > >
> > > > -----
> > > > When replying, please *trim your post* as much as possible.
> > > > *Plain text, please; NO Attachments
> > > >
> > > > Searchable Archive at http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > ------------
> > IA Summit 2008: "Experiencing Information"
> > April 10-14, 2008, Miami, Florida
> >
> > -----
> > When replying, please *trim your post* as much as possible.
> > *Plain text, please; NO Attachments
> >
> > Searchable Archive at http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/
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>
>
>
> --
> David Malouf
> http://synapticburn.com/
> http://ixda.org/
> http://motorola.com/
> ------------
> IA Summit 2008: "Experiencing Information"
> April 10-14, 2008, Miami, Florida
>
> -----
> When replying, please *trim your post* as much as possible.
> *Plain text, please; NO Attachments
>
> Searchable Archive at http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/
> ________________________________________
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w: http://www.davidshaw.info