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Why
information architecture matters
It's so simple, really.
With information architecture comes improved performance. And improved
performance matters to users, organizations, and society as a whole.
Why users
need information architecture
We're bombarded by
tons of information every day. We're asked to find it. Pay attention to
it. Remember it. And understand it. Instead:
We're frustrated
Research
shows that 50 percent of all managers feel they are unable to handle the
vast amount of information they receive. 65 percent report diminished
job satisfaction because of the stress that comes with information overload.
We're overwhelmed
We're mired
in information. We're asked to create information-and make it understandable.
How can we structure our ideas so they make sense? How can we be sure
our audience understands what we are saying?
We're losing patience
We want to find information, use it, and get on with our lives. We want
to get our questions answered, access data, fill out forms, and learn
about products and services. We crave structure to help us complete our
tasks.
Why
organizations care about IA
Most organizations
care about making money and improving productivity and quality. Yet, consider
this:
- Researchers estimate
that for most Web sites, 80% of the cost goes toward maintenance. Changes
to poorly architected sites take a long time to implement and often
seem arbitrary and haphazard. Sites without solid, expandable information
architecture constantly require new decisions, approvals, and political
battles.
- Typically, organizations
build Intranet sites to address performance problems. They want to reduce
the time it takes employees to complete administrative tasks. With Intranet
(and Internet) sites that work well, organizations have the potential
to save huge sums of money.
- New thinkers in
the business world contend that organizations that can manage many layers
of knowledge (such as processes, technologies, and messages) will maintain
a competitive edge.
Our
challenge
At Info.Design, we
are user advocates who are challenged to envision users' and readers'
worlds more vividly. We know that structure works. Our skill as information
architects is to give meaning and structure to a mass of unrelated needs,
words, and pictures, and to fit it together into a usable whole.
We are experienced
communicators. Any time we present information-whether in print or online-we
apply the systemic, structural, and orderly principles of "information
architecture" we have learned. And, to succeed, we focus on information
as a tool for improving human performance.
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