Saturday, April 1, 2023

We are IAs and We Matter We live in the information age. Never before has the need for design, construction, and organization of information been greater. Never before has humankind needed people who think deeply about planning and designing information to make sense to other people. That's where you come in. Whether you have the title "information architect” or not, you are responsible for creating systems of organization, classification, labeling,…

Are Information Architects a thing of the past? Or the only folks out there who are going to make sense of this mess? And if not them, who is best positioned to shepherd the structure of our shared information spaces into a better state? How do we ‘future proof' our discipline? In this debate, we'll pit industry experts against each other to determine answers to these questions and more, once…

A student-hosted community conversation about our hopes, fears, and ideals around diversity, equity, and inclusivity on the teams and in the workplaces where UX design and research get done in our world today. On Saturday afternoon, please join 5 graduate students from the University of Michigan School of Information in a structured conversation about prospects for career development, personal growth, and social justice in the global community of IA practice…

Knowledge models are always a work in progress. Ontologies modeling knowledge domains and the controlled vocabularies describing specific instances within those domains change and evolve over time. Language is fluid, and new terms and concepts are surfacing to reflect change just as old terminology is retired from use. Disruptions in an organization, such as a merger and acquisition or a global pandemic, have repercussions in an organization's information landscape. When…

You found a profession that you love. Maybe love is too strong for you, maybe you just enjoy it. You've learned, you've grown, you've arrived. And then, CHANGE. You get a new boss, and they don't like the way things are done. Or you find out from a peer that the best practices have changed in light of new regulations. Perhaps a global pandemic suddenly changes the way the world…

One primary tension in taxonomy construction is between best practices (as defined by various taxonomy standards) and practical (business) requirements. That is: the tension is between categorization according to *what things are* versus *where people will look for them*. How can we balance or reconcile these priorities? Can we model our way out of them? And what are the options? This issue is paramount in Topic taxonomies; Topic or Subject…

Companies, governments and humanitarian entities are capturing, storing and sharing an ever increasing volume of identity data, much of it pertaining to "third party" individuals who may never interact directly with the databases where their data is stored. While many countries have enacted legislation to establish baseline safety protocols for protecting personal data, and online privacy and security standards like GDPR are becoming more ubiquitous, the reality is that protecting…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is dramatically changing—reshaping—the human and design landscape of computers, the internet, and society. It is increasingly used in engines behind many decision-making tools and information resources, as well as in machines (vehicles, drones, robots, etc.). AI uses information models, structured data/content, real-world contextual sensor data, and formalized instructions to shape the machine's "understanding” of information spaces and tasks. These elements are familiar to anyone working in the…

Digital media, and software in particular, is a very verbose, very precise incantation of how we want an information system to behave. The highest level of detail, however, is also the most perishable, with material trading off precision for durability. The Specificity Gradient is a framework for thinking about all of the precursor material: the research, prototypes, documents, that go into product development, as well as a general process for…

Working in a fast-paced environment, but instead of enjoying innovation driven transformation you're feeling trapped in daily chaos? Make change fun! Learn how to:- Create a safe space to express your frustrations about organizational change- Find a way to start positive & constructive discussions- Use new, practical strategies in order to tackle change efficiently in real life Join us in connecting concepts such as system dynamics, pace layers and game…

Content strategists sometimes talk about structured content as a panacea. Good structure sets content free, we say: it helps content teams adapt to change as new channels proliferate, and it guarantees resilience by 'future-proofing' content. But that's not how it always works in practice. Sometimes, even getting stakeholders interested in structured content is a challenge – they can't get on top of content in a single channel, so the future…

Explore the lessons learned from using practices and principles of Information Architecture and service design methods to develop a game that teaches service innovation. Investigate the game as a thinking and teaching tool that produces new methods of connection between people, organizational units and subject matters. Join the journey to deconstruct the principles and methods of service innovation in order to reconstruct them in a serious game. Find out how…

Wendy will speak about how we continue to evolve IA as the entire design in tech industry matures and recenter around inclusive, people-first methods...