Information Architecture

Intelligaia team has defined a process for creating effective information architectures.

1. Start with an understand the business/contextual requirements and the proposed content for a new product (be it a desktop or web). Review existing documentation/specifications, discussion with clients either onsite or over net meetings.
2. Conduct brainstorming exercises with team members and clients using online collaboration tools.
3. Evaluate the output of brainstorming exercises. Look for possibilities in grouping and labelling.
4. Develop a draft information architecture (i.e. information groupings and hierarchy).
5. Evaluate the draft information architecture in internal reviews and with client using paper prototyping of wireframes.
6. Iterative development help capturing the right terminology and hierarchy.
7. Documentation is important at each step. This helps during repeated online/onsite meetings with client teams in defining the roadmap.
8. Define a number of common user tasks, such as finding out about how to request to download a music album, or creating a new ink note. We do storyboarding to define how the user will step through the product. 
9. Other members of the project team walk through these storyboards and share there comments.
10. Wireframes and storyboards help in task-based usability tests as it provides valuable feedback without going to the expense of creating higher quality designs.
11. Visualisers and designers create detailed page layouts to support key user tasks.

These steps help us and our teams develop and design a successful system.