Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

Written by two leading Web site consultants, this book explains how to merge aesthetics and mechanics for distinctive, cohesive Web sites that work. It focuses on the framework that holds the two together. By applying the principles outlined in this updated edition, the reader should learn how to build Web sites and intranets that are easier to navigate and appealing to users, as well as scalable and simple to maintain. The book also teaches: how to develop a strong, cohesive vision for a site that makes it both distinctive and usable; how to organize a site's hierarchy in ways that are meaningful to its users and that minimize the need to re-engineer the site; how to create navigation systems so that users can move through the site without getting lost and frustrated; how to label a site's content in the language of the users; how to organize a site in a way that supports both searching for specific items and casual browsing; how to configure search systems so that users' queries actually retrieve meaningful results; and how to manage the process of developing information architecture, from selling the concept to research and conceptual design to planning and production.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Part I. Introducing Information Architecture 1. Defining Information Architecture A Definition Tablets, Scrolls, Books, and Libraries Explaining IA to Others What Isn't Information Architecture? Why Information Architecture Matters Bringing Our Work to Life 2. Practicing Information Architecture Do We Need Information Architects? Who's Qualified to Practice Information Architecture? Information Architecture Specialists Practicing Information Architecture in the Real World Information Ecologies What Lies Ahead 3. User Needs and Behaviors The "Too-Simple" Information Model Information Needs Information Seeking Behaviors Part II. Basic Principles of Information Architecture 4. The Anatomy of an Information Architecture Visualizing Information Architecture Information Architecture Components 5. Organization Systems Challenges of Organizing Information Organizing Web Sites and Intranets Organization Schemes Organization Structures Creating Cohesive Organization Systems 6. Labeling Systems Why You Should Care About Labeling Varieties of Labels Designing Labels 7. Navigation Systems Types of Navigation Systems Gray Matters Browser Navigation Features Building Context Improving Flexibility Embedded Navigation Systems Supplemental Navigation Systems Advanced Navigation Approaches 8. Search Systems Does Your Site Need Search? Basic Search System Anatomy Choosing What to Search Search Algorithms Presenting Results Designing the Search Interface Where to Learn More 9. Thesauri, Controlled Vocabularies, and Metadata Metadata Controlled Vocabularies Technical Lingo A Thesaurus in Action Types of Thesauri Thesaurus Standards Semantic Relationships Preferred Terms Polyhierarchy Faceted Classification Part III. Process and Methodology 10. Research Process Overview A Research Framework Context Content Users Participant Definition and Recruiting User Research Sessions In Defense of Research 11. Strategy What Is an Information Architecture Strategy? Strategies Under Attack From Research to Strategy Developing the Strategy Work Products and Deliverables The Strategy Report The Project Plan Presentations 12. Design and Documentation Guidelines for Diagramming an Information Architecture Blueprints Wireframes Content Mapping and Inventory Content Modeling Controlled Vocabularies Design Sketches Web-Based Prototypes Architecture Style Guides Point-of-Production Architecture Administration Part IV. Information Architecture in Practice 13. Education Chaos in Education A World of Choice But Do I Need a Degree? 14. Ethics Ethical Considerations Shaping the Future 15. Building an Information Architecture Team Destructive Acts of Creation Fast and Slow Layers Project Versus Program Buy or Rent Do We Really Need to Hire Professionals? The Dream Team 16. Tools and Software A Time of Change Categories in Chaos Questions to Ask Part V. Information chitecture in the Organization 17. Making the Case for Information Architecture You Must Sell The Two Kinds of People in the World Running the Numbers Talking to the Reactionaries Other Case-Making Techniques The Information Architecture Value Checklist A Final Note 18. Business Strategy The Origins of Strategy Defining Business Strategy Strategic Fit Exposing Gaps in Business Strategy One Best Way Many Good Ways Understanding Our Elephant Competitive Advantage The End of the Beginning 19. Information Architecture for the Enterprise Economies Don't Always Scale "Think Different" The Ultimate Goal A Framework for Centralization Timing Is Everything: A Phased Rollout Strategy Versus Tactics: Who Does What A Framework for Moving Forward Part VI. Case Studies 20. MSWeb: An Enterprise Intranet Challenges for the User Challenges for the Information Architect We Like Taxonomies, Whatever They Are Benefits to Users What's Next MSWeb's Achievement 21. evolt.org: An Online Community evolt.org in a Nutshell Architecting an Online Community The Participation Economy How Information Architecture Fits In Trouble Spots for Online Communities The "Un-Information Architecture" Appendix: Essential Resources Index

About the Author :
Lou Rosenfeld is an independent information architecture consultant. He has been instrumental in helping establish the field of information architecture, and in articulating the role and value of librarianship within the field. Lou played a leading role in organizing and programming the first three information architecture conferences (both ASIS&T Summits and IA 2000). He also presents and moderates at such venues as CHI, COMDEX, Intranets, and the web design conferences produced by Miller Freeman, C|net and Thunder Lizard. He teaches tutorials as part of the Nielsen Norman Group User Experience Conference. Peter Morville is President and Founder of Semantic Studios, a leading information architecture and knowledge management consulting firm. From 1994 to 2001, Peter was Chief Executive Officer and a co-owner of Argus Associates, a pioneering information architecture design firm with world-class clients including 3Com, AT&T, Compaq, Ernst & Young, Ford, IBM, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and the Weather Channel. He also served as Executive Director of the ACIA. Over the past 8 years, Peter has written and spoken extensively about information architecture, business strategy, and knowledge management. He has been interviewed by Business Week, Knowledge Management magazine, MSNBC, and the Wall Street Journal.

Review :
"Full of essential information, this is a book that should be required reading for anyone working with any web technologies." PC Plus, Jan 2003