The role of IA
Ever wonder what an Information Architect (aka IA) actually does?
David Karemaker had a great poster presentation at IA Summit 2008 in which he used personas to illustrate some of the roles IA undertake.
The Facilitator: Create a shared understanding of the problem at hand, and work towards a solution from there.
The Expert: Analyse the situation and come up with an efficient solution that supports the goals of the organisation and the users
The Designer: You can analyse the past, but you have to design for the future
The Advocate: You should intentionally design relevant and fair systems
This is, of course, not to say that other professions don’t undertake these sorts of roles, or that these are the only roles IAs perform, but it’s a great way of communicating to new clients or those outside the professions about “this is who we are“.
M
