Main conference presentation

Enterprise IA methodologies: starting two steps earlier

James Robertson

Sunday March 25 2007, 4:00 - 4:45PM

Information architects working with enterprises are confronted by unique challenges, relating to organisational culture, business processes, and internal politics. There are also some key differences in how the discipline of IA is applied, relating to frequent uncertainties around the exact nature of the business problems being solved.

In a typical project, the problem is known, and the challenge is to work out the best way to design the solution. User-centered design methodologies then provide a rich toolbox for delivering an effective solution.

Within the enterprise space, it is often the case that even the problem to be solved is not well understood. For example, information architects may be approached with ill-defined ‘problems’ such as to improve the effectiveness of the intranet, to help call center staff to access required information, or to increase the uptake of the document management system.

In all these cases, the first task for the information architect is to better understand the problem. In practice, this means that enterprise IAs often start two steps earlier, focusing first on understanding the scope and nature of the problem, and then defining a strategy and approach.