By Samantha Starmer | Guest Columnist
This column explores the strategic aspects of information architecture and the tools to equip information architects (IAs) for success. Topics will address the business, strategy, user experience, and implementation of strategic information architecture, including organizational, content management, and tactical considerations. Send your comments, questions, and suggestions for future articles to thestrategicia@pobox.com.
We can see now that information is what our world runs on: the blood and the fuel, the vital principle.
—James Gleick, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood
Recently, I was in a cafe idly flipping through a Sunday newspaper that had been left by a previous patron. While looking for the entertainment section, an iPhone speaker system in a Target sale flyer caught my eye. Finally ready to retire my ancient stereo, I decided to jump on the excellent price. I pulled out my phone and tried searching for the item by product name on Target's mobile site. Null results. I tried browsing for the product, but couldn't find it in the sea of speaker, audio systems, and portable audio sections. Nothing I found seemed to match the specific item I was looking for. Giving up on technology, I decided to stop by my nearest Target on the way home. I had to buy toilet paper anyway.
But even when I got to the Target store, finding that speaker system was no easy task. Although I couldn't figure out what category the speaker system would be in on the website, at least it had clearly separated sections. The store had one big corner of electronics and the aisles didn't seem to be labeled in the same way the website was. I wandered up and down, trying to figure out how they were organized so I could find my speaker system. I finally came across one on sale at the end of an aisle. The name of the product was still slightly different, and a couple of the specification details didn't match. Was this the same item? I wasn't sure, so I left the store without making a purchase.
As we become ever more surrounded by technology, the landscape between the physical and digital environments is becoming increasingly intertwined. A 2009 Forrester study reported that 70% of U.S. online consumers research products online and purchase them offline. We use our computers to order pizza delivery, browse our iPad to find the nearest public restroom, and can even open our rental car with an iPhone app. This ubiquity of technology means that consumers are getting more demanding, expecting information at their fingertips anytime, anywhere, and in all formats.
Holistic, interactive experiences have become an expectation. Consumers need to research, interact, and communicate seamlessly between channels, devices, and environments. But few companies know how to support these cohesive experiences. As Jesse James Garret of Adaptive Path points out, “more and more, our clients are asking us to look at the total experience they deliver: integrating products and services, making the digital and the physical work together holistically, and crafting experiences that happen across multiple channels over time.”
So what does this mean for information architecture? Much of the recent buzz on developing holistic experiences has been focused on developing fancy new features and functionality. But I agree with James Gleick. Information is “what our world runs on.” It is the critical foundation of many of our goals, dreams, and experiences. Gorgeous visual design and sophisticated technologies can't provide a seamless experience across channels and devices by magic. Information must be architected, structured, and managed to support holistic interactive experiences.
Information architects need to move from just organizing information for websites, mobile devices, and digital technologies. As technology increasingly allows us to merge our virtual and real lives, we need to begin thinking about the physical space. Andrea Resmini and Luca Rosati note that “Information is going everywhere, bleeding out of we thought was cyberspace and back into the real world.” Information architects have the opportunity to take a key role in transforming disconnected experiences across channels into seamless experiences that integrate our digital and physical environments.
Imagine a world where your phone could automatically check you into your hotel and order your airport shuttle as soon as you step off your flight. A world where you never need to wonder how much wine you buy a month because your purchases are automatically categorized when you swipe your debit card. A world where you never have to fiddle through a long IVR or wait on hold again, because a mobile app passes on your identity and all necessary information and a service agent calls you back with your solution.
The need for holistic experiences supported by extensible information is not limited to the private sector. Imagine going to the doctor without filling out yet another paper form in triplicate with your medical conditions. On the hoped-for road to unified health records, President Obama described a lifetime electronic record that will “help ensure a streamlined transition of health care records… a framework to ensure that all health care providers have all the information they need to deliver high-quality health care while reducing medical errors.” A fleet of information architects will be needed to get us there.
The future of information architecture means getting out of our cubes, away from our computers, spreadsheets, and Visio diagrams. It will require us to be squarely in the center of creating experiences and services that cross devices, physical and virtual. We need to listen to Peter Morville when he says, “I'm an information architect. I map paths and places across physical, digital, and cognitive spaces.” Let's take our taxonomies and user flows into the real world. Let's wireframe our stores, banks, airports, and cities. Let's create holistic, interactive experiences that resonate in all channels and environments.
After 12 years of customer focused work at companies like Amazon and Microsoft, Samantha Starmer now leads experience, design, and information architecture teams at REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.). She is passionate about evangelizing and creating holistic customer experiences across channels, time, and devices. Samantha regularly teaches at the University of Washington's Information School, writes about experience design, and enjoys being active in UX and IA communities. You can find Samantha on Twitter at @samanthastarmer.
