Information architecture

Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability; and an emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design, architecture and information science to the digital landscape. Typically, it involves a model or concept of information that is used and applied to activities which require explicit details of complex information systems. These activities include library systems and database development. Information architecture has somewhat different meanings in different branches of information systems or information technology: The structural design of shared information environments. The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities, and software to support findability and usability. An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. The combination of organization, labeling, search and navigation systems within websites and intranets. Extracting required parameters/data of Engineering Designs in the process of creating a knowledge-base linking different systems and standards. A blueprint and navigational aid to the content of information-rich systems. A subset of data architecture where usable data (a.k.a. information) is constructed in and designed or arranged in a fashion most useful or empirically holistic to the users of this data. The practice of organizing the information / content / functionality of a web site so that it presents the best user experience it can, with information and services being easily usable and findable (as applied to web design and development). The conceptual framework surrounding information, providing context, awareness of location and sustainable structure. The difficulty in establishing a common definition for "information architecture" arises partly from the term's existence in multiple fields.