IA – Information Architecture

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“Don’t make me think“
Steve Krug – usability and web structure advocate

Purpose of Information Architecture

The purpose of Information Architecture is to structure, organise, label, and relate information, using clear hierarchies and taxonomy, so users can find what they need, orient themselves, and complete tasks efficiently and intuitively, with minimal cognitive effort (“Don’t make me think”), while ensuring content and navigation remain contextual, relevant, accessible, and maintainable as the scope extends.

We often think of Information Architecture as a sitemap or the grouping of content into clear, logical categories – and sometimes it is. But IA is broader: it defines how information is structured, labelled, related, and presented so people can find it, understand it, and use it effectively. Good IA reduces cognitive effort, improves findability and navigation, supports accessibility, and aligns with users’ mental models. We use methods such as card sorting and tree testing to validate category structures and findability before implementation.

“If users can’t find it, it doesn’t exist”
Jakob Nielsen – NN/g usability engineering leader and godfather of UX

IA can sometimes be such a large task that you are hired exclusively to carry it out.

There can be ambiguity or heterogenous data (leftovers soup). There are considerations for Thesauri, vocabularies, metadata, synonyms, preferred or ethnographic terms. In such projects (Museums, Chemical databases, Libraries, Hospitals for example) it’s often necessary to focus solely on IA.

When carrying out IA for complex or functionality-rich solutions, I consider human cognitive limits, scanning behaviour, and labelling systems. I evaluate data formats and navigation patterns to determine the most effective way to present and access information. Search is critical in most solutions, so I assess and select the most appropriate search approaches.

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Value of Information Architecture 

1. Lower support and helpdesk demand and cost
2. Lower cognitive load — fewer decisions and less confusion
3. Fewer errors caused by misinterpretation or mis-navigation
4. Reduced task time and effort
5. Higher task completion rates
6. Higher conversion and completion rates
7. Reduced abandonment and drop-off
8. Enables reuse of structured content across channels
9. Exposes gaps, duplication, and conflicts in content/data early
10. Provides a stable foundation for UX, service design, and engineering decisions

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Examples

NB. For security clearance and NDA reasons, some elements of the example files may be redacted, changed or removed.