311 West Hall, Tues 5:00-8:00pm

Peter Morville, Adjunct Faculty, morville@umich.edu

University of Michigan School of Information http://si.umich.edu/

Office hours by appointment.

Purpose & Scope

As we advance into the network era, the emerging field of information architecture is becoming increasingly important and sophisticated.

This course provides a practical understanding of fundamental concepts and methods of value to anyone involved in user-centered design.

Our working definitions of information architecture will include:

• The combination of organization, labeling and navigation schemes within an information system.
• The structural design of an information space to facilitate task completion and intuitive access to content.
• The art and science of classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and manage information.
• A discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

The course also explores broader issues surrounding usability, findability, knowledge management and strategy. We will invite guest speakers to offer varied perspectives.

Textbook

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web ('Polar Bear' book)
Second Edition
by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
Available from Amazon.com

Assignments & Evaluation

Activities include a set of readings, in-class presentations and discussions, and a collaborative term project. All projects must be approved by the instructor. Grades will be calculated as follows:

• 10% class participation
• 45% mid-term project presentation
• 45% final project report

Course Outline

This outline is subject to change. In addition to the sessions listed below, at least two classes will be dedicated to student presentations.

1. Introducing Information Architecture

• Defining Information Architecture
• Practicing Information Architecture
• User Needs and Behaviors

2. Information Architecture Systems (Part I)

• Organization
• Labeling
• Navigation

3. Information Architecture Systems (Part II)

• Search
• Controlled Vocabularies and Thesauri
• Faceted Classification

4. Research & Strategy

• Process Overview
• Understanding Users, Content, Context
• Developing a Strategy

5. Design & Documentation

• Content Mapping and Inventory
• Diagramming an Information Architecture
• Blueprints and Wireframes

6. Information Architecture in Practice

• Education & Ethics
• Building an Information Architecture Team
• Tools & Software

7. Information Architecture in the Organization

• Selling the Value Proposition
• Business Strategy
• Enterprise Information Architecture

8. Synthesis

• Case Studies
• Stories
• Examples

9. Advanced Topics (Part I)

• Collaborative Filtering
• Self-Organization
• Social Networks

10. Advanced Topics (Part II)

• Ambient Findability
• Pervasive Computing
• The Future

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