Meta Information Architecture: Let’s See How Far Down the Rabbit Hole We Can Go

Renoir Pope
Hello and welcome to my talk on meta information architecture. I am excited to share a journey where we explore the amazing aspects of our profession. First, I would like to say that I hope that you and those you love are safe in these trying times.

Renoir Pope
First, let’s define the terms meta and information architecture. both terms have several meanings depending on the context in which they are used. I would like to establish definitions for this presentation, so that we are all working from the same premise. The prefix meta is well used in our profession as the beginning to the word metadata. Additionally, many may have heard the phrase that is meta when we use this cliche phrase, we are using the very nature of the thing in the discussion to further the discussion. Merriam Webster defines this use as cleverly self reference I would like to add my own definition, meta deals with the aboutness of a subject to better help describe or provide context.

Renoir Pope
Let’s take a look at some examples of meta. We will start with our well known term metadata. Here we have some data on its own, it’s hard to determine what the data will be used for and what it may mean. If we add data about this data, then we have some context for the original data. The most familiar representation of the data in this manner is in the form of a table. And the header row is the metadata, or in other words, the data about the data. Let’s look at another example of meta with a concept map. The map depicts the relationships of people involved. In a music band, and the tasks that they perform, we can derive a metamodel. By using the concept map framework. The metamodel can serve several purposes, it can act as a template, so someone can add content to the concept map in the proper context. And the metamodel can help its user understand its purpose. Now, I would like to show an example of a practical use of meta to define a domain. Scott McLeod’s understanding comics brilliantly uses the medium of comic drawing and sequential visualization to explain the creation process of comics. Not only does the content address the topic, the very medium of the topic does as well. Met can be applied more than once we can find the meta of the meta. If we take a look at this table, we see that we have the metadata name, address, children and birthday describing the data, we can look for the meta of this metadata. Now we have a description of the metadata. The meta metadata gives us another layer of semantics, we can use this meta metadata to associate the table with other sources. For example, if we wanted to find all the location data in a database, the address data in this table would be a part of that collection. However, we’re not done. We can still go further, another turn and we have another layer of metadata. This time around, we are getting to the basic structure of the original data. This would be helpful for data architects and system engineers. Let’s go one more time. Now we are at a point that is very vague and at the fourth layer, the context of this metadata is far removed from the original data. This layer would probably be used only for academic purposes. As we have had added layers of metadata, the meta becomes more abstract. Well each level on its own maybe obscure. When presented together, they can provide a powerful representation of the original data. Quickly, we can see that this can translate to other forms of meta. We can add layers to the concept map as well.

Renoir Pope
Now let’s address the definition of information architecture. Information Architecture means so many different things to people. It can be the component and associated disciplines, such as user experience or content strategy to sum. For the purpose of this presentation, I would like to define innovation architecture as the activity or practice by information architects. Additionally, we will use information architecture to describe the artifacts that are created by the practice of the profession. Okay, now that we’ve defined meta, and information architecture, let’s bring the two together and see if we can add layers of meaning to information architecture. The goal is to use information architecture practices to discover component and complimentary disciplines that might not be readily apparent. While I have used the technique of information architecture as much as possible, I often looked for the aboutness of a topic to get the next layer. This is true as things became more abstract. Additionally, this presentation shows the results and not the process of obtaining meta information architecture. For the first layer or meta information architecture, let’s perform A content inventory of the practice. What are the artifacts or documents that are used to create information architecture? This list here is an example. There are many more, but let’s focus on these for now. Performing a content inventory on the artifacts that we produce can be a productive exercise, because we can start to examine the content of information architecture. We are advocates of designing highly usable products for users. are we providing the same scrutiny for the design artifacts that we make? Remember, the people who make the decisions or develop products based on our artifacts are users of our information architecture, and interesting exercise to try. Conduct a user testing session on the developers using your wireframes or other artifacts? Are they able to complete their tasks with minimal input? What is their feedback Another meta exercise, create personas, storyboards, and concept maps of your own practice. For example, create personas for you, your co workers, clients, and the people who will implement your designs. Not only will it help you to make better artifacts, you can also share them so that all people involved in the project can understand the responsibilities and capabilities of others. And on to the next layer, meta meta information architecture. For this layer, we will use content analysis to dive into the components of the artifacts we just discussed. By examining the content of the artifacts we just defined, we can derive understanding and context from this analysis I have ascertained three main purposes The first is organization. information architects create organization systems for complex and dense information ecosystems. These systems can be Sitemaps, taxonomies, and ontologies, or be initiated through card sorts.

Renoir Pope
The next purpose is communication. Information Architecture does not live in a bubble. The fruits of our labor must be shared with the stakeholders who sponsor and those who build products we work on. For example, personas communicate the abilities, challenges and conditions to provide insight into designers and developers. Finally, and most significantly is design information architects design Information Systems, we must draw on a large quiver of skills and disciplines to produce schemes. We take concepts and requirements to design products that must be functional, aesthetic and efficient.

Renoir Pope
As we arrive to the third level of meta, we will start to see that this layer is more abstract. They are becoming more like themes, rather than physical entities, like the artifacts in the first layer.

Renoir Pope
This layer focuses on the user experience of information architecture, what are the actions driving organization communication and design? What is the workflow? For First, let’s look at design. design as an outcome of creating information architecture is the beginning of the creation process for information ecosystems. We examine information into domains such as geographic or product lines, and create the structure needed to use that information. The information architect must honed ability to render schemes and designs from the conceptual requirements and desires of their clients. These designs must not only meet the needs of the client, but they must serve the users of the designed products. We must remember, information architects are only the genesis of creation. Our design efforts are utilized by the development and project management processes. To that end, the main reason of the communication that we discussed with meta meta information architecture is to explain the fruits of the creative process to an audience. If our artifacts cannot faithfully describe the designed or original requirements to those who develop the product, the product will not be developed correctly. Now as we move to the next layer of meta, we have other disciplines support information architecture. We have just established that information architecture is an endeavor to create. Creation brings objects into existence by determining what components are needed, and determining how to assemble them. Holland me is the definition and examination of the assembly of component parts to an object or subject. We often think that we need to disassemble something to understand it. However, the opposite is just as true. studying something as its whole, how it functions and interacts with other things will bring about insight that could never be obtained by looking at the component pieces. As information architects, we are interested in the construction of the interfaces and experiences of the products that we design Furthermore, we must understand the domains the products are used for. I mentioned before that Hall enemy is the definition and examination of the assembly of component parts of an object or subject. We should not limit our study of assembly to just physical objects, we need to look at how subjects themes, systems, and concepts come together. This is especially true for user experience. The user application, workflow, hardware and environment are all components to a system that an Information Architect designs. Rhetoric he study of persuasive language is at the heart of information architecture. If we have established that we as information architects communicate in order to explain design, rhetoric is the craft of formulating those explanations. We need to defend the merits of our design with rigor, candor and compassion. We must be prepared to counter arguments and out and understand the language that defines both the efforts of information architecture and the domains of products we design.

Renoir Pope
Now we travel into spaces where meta takes us into realms of philosophy and theory. The persuasive language of rhetoric comes from linguistics, and the study of how thing a thing is composed, springs forth from classical pursuits of ontology. philosophic ontology is the study of the proof of nature and existence. The classic Greek philosophers asks what is real and what is the figment of our imaginations? ontology throughout the years has grown to not only ask what is real, but what is the nature of things existence? Is something a physical object such as a person? Or is it an abstract construction, like an emotion or a concept such as an organization?

Renoir Pope
You might ask why would an Information Architect be concerned with these ethereal notions, I say that they are the heart of what we do. our profession deals with designing systems that integrate physical people and hardware interfaces with abstract concepts, such as finance and social relationships. All the while, this is done in a virtual environment that we must create. We must understand the nature of all of these states of existence and how they integrate and work with each other. This the study of language through linguistics gets to the roots of how we can use linguistics examines the structure of speech and writing, and has a systematic approach to comparing one language to another. While information architects aren’t often asked to develop content, they are involved in the creation of the vehicles and engines have content, defining the spaces where content resides, and how content will be stored and retrieved. For example, to create or implement a taxonomy and Information Architect should have solid knowledge of the definition of the terms and how they relate to each other. Will the architect be the subject matter expert to craft the taxonomy? Not necessarily. However, the architect must be the guiding hand and final arbiter for implementing the taxonomy. Therefore the architect should be familiar and comfortable with this construction. We have arrived at the pinnacle of our journey, where we have taken the meta of information architecture to a reasonable level of abstraction, metaphysics, phenomenology, and symbology are the rootmand genesis for many endeavors of humanity.

Renoir Pope
Metaphysics was a means for ancient Greek philosophers to explain and understand the world we live in. metaphysics provides the universal rule set for reality. In modern times, the word has been used to connote matters of spirituality, and this is okay. However, metaphysics is concerned with much more. Greek philosophers use metaphysics to describe the phenomena of reality that science of the time could not. In a way, we are at the same place the ancient Greeks were, while science has informed us about the nature of gravity and the limits of space through technology, we have created new virtual and cybernetic realities that have undefined physics. In the last 50 years, we have had to create our own Physics for interaction with computer technology. Imagine if we could bring a person of the 1700s to the 21st century. If we told them to open a door, they most certainly would understand this request. Now imagine sitting them in front of a computer. Nevermind the fact that they might be overwhelmed by the contraption in front of them. If you ask them to open a file, they would have no idea how to fulfill the request. The action of opening a physical objects such as a door is totally unrelated to opening virtual objects such as files or folders in an electronic device. We have created rules for the physics of files, folders, and other digital objects. And as we create new technologies We will need to continue to define rulesets for the virtual physics that they create. phenomenology is the study of experience and consciousness. This is the wellspring of our art, to know how humans experience reality, and how to reliably present information produced by reality. And this is one of the greatest challenges of our time. That is to present an accurate depiction of reality and overcome biases and other barriers that distort reality. This leaves us with the physical way that we depict reality through symbols. These symbols can be visual or audio based. They can represent writing in language or be pictorial, regardless of the form of the symbols that we use. They carry a heavy payload of meaning and context meant to inform and guide user actions. We must And how to use symbols in our service to find and represent reality in a way that is usable. We are at the end of our journey through meta of information architecture. This could have been just an academic exercise, but we can use the time we just spent to explore ways to provide a deeper understanding of information architecture. We can seek out sources for topics we discussed and build a reading list that can add depth to our knowledge of information architecture, I will present some of the material that I reach out to to obtain a better understanding of the layers of meta that we discussed. For each layer, I will present several examples and themes for you to further explore. For the meta information layer, I focused on mechanics of the profession, and the sources of inspiration come from the tried and true books of information architecture and user stories. Once. These may be quite familiar to you, but I ask that you look at them in a new light with a context of their purpose and information architecture, and how you can use their techniques to better define your practice. In the next layer, I begin to focus on the process. In other words, how do we address the communication, organization and design aspects of personas, wireframes and other artifacts. For the third layer, I began to step away from purely information architecture and user experience sources, reaching out to related material that is intended for different purposes, but with similar goals, like creation of physical products can help to bring nuance to our technique. Now we step into more philosophical realms, but they are still very useful. They can help to explain not only how to understand the construction of objects and convincing speech, but why as well. These are two excellent websites that have a wealth of information. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has an excellent article on Murakami. The study of examining the parts of a hole, which is the exact opposite practice of Holland me. It provides a way to deconstruct many different physical and conceptual objects, such as time and systems. The link for both of these are at the end of the presentation. Layers five and six are completely in the realm of theory and academia.

Renoir Pope
Not all of the material in these sources is relevant, but you can find excellent passages that provide great insight into the very core of information architecture. For example, one of my favorite examples is from john paul starts being in nothingness The philosopher refers to john supports the problems of abstraction, where he lays the foundation for what is concrete and abstract. We can take from this passage that all the abstract notions that we must create or represent an information architecture cannot stand on their own. You must create the information and represent the data so that users cancomprehend them.

Renoir Pope
As we conclude our survey of resources, some may think that we have covered a lot of material that is nowhere remotely related to the day to day work as an information architect, and is hard to practically apply. Yes, this is true, but I ask that every once in a while, add something in your reading collection that is foundational to information architecture. Not only will it help your daily practice, but it will provide insight into how information architecture fits into the larger ecosystem of disciplines. When I did this exercise to try and abstract the meaning of information architecture to its roots, I took my own path. I brought my own experience, knowledge and bias to bear. I challenge you to find your own meta path for your practice of information architecture, validate your own convictions and determine for yourself what is core, then go out and seek out the sources that support your own journey to gain knowledge. And it doesn’t stop their information architecture doesn’t have to be the only domain that you can find the meta look to find the meta in other areas of your professional life to help you understand the purpose of activities and goals. Meta is all around us. It has been a punch line for whimsical comparisons, but it can be a powerful tool in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. Thank you so much for sharing your time with me. I hope we have had a moment to take pause from our hectic and disrupted lives. I look forward to following discussions. You will find the links to the websites that I referenced in the following slide.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai