Introduction to a user interface design/information architecture process for Web sites

Despite dissension in the field, most workers agree that information architects (IAs) design the structure of a Web site. For Web sites, and especially for increasingly-common Web applications, this design process overlaps with the process used in software user-interface design. Some IA practitioners use a hybrid process summarized in this paper This process includes understanding company goals; understanding user goals, synthesizing them in a Web site content and "flow," and testing with users. IA-specific deliverables may include a content inventory, site. diagrams, interaction diagrams, and wireframes (low-resolution prototypes). There are several books describing elements of this hybrid IA process, as listed in the annotated IA bibliography. However, certain political considerations are usually not discussed For example, clients may not understand the abstract IA deliverables, clients and colleagues may not understand the IA's role; and clients may tend to undervalue the IA's work.