HTML & CSS Direct Study

Information Architecture: Deliverables

When dealing with large web sites there are many people involved like programmers, site styles, and information architects. As a result of so many different people working together there are deliverables that help communicate how the site will work with information and data and how it will reach the users.

Types of deliverables that will help develop an information architecture for your site:

1. Content Inventory: This is a overall look at all of the information that is currently or information that is not part of the site yet. This includes a detailed overview of each page the information of that page and any multimedia or pictures that is involved with that page. This helps everyone understand the purpose of the page. There are several ways to achieve the content inventory.
   
2. User Profiles: By creating realistic examples of users the designers, programmers, and architects can better understand how to develop the site. It is crucial to focus on the user's needs and how the site will meet those needs. Remember the site is not for the designers to use but for users to visit and gather the information that is important to them.
   
3. Use Cases: These are narratives that walk the developers through scenarios that are likely to happen. By going through these bugs can be fixed and the overall experience can be streamlined in order to reach information easily and quickly. When making layout changes or information architecture changes it helps to ask how users will be affected by this, will they have problems or complications or will this make the experience easier.
   
4. Sitemaps : Maps are similar to the models that were discussed in an earlier post. They show the overall layout of information of the web site. This helps to develop navigation and the overall layout of the site.
5. Paper Prototypes: These are commonly given to executives and overlookers of the overall Web Site to view what the pages will look like. Prototypes can be quickly developed and changed. This visual deliverable helps show progress and new elements to end users to help better develop upcoming features.
6. Style Guides: These are commonly used to outline the overall style of the site. Consistency is important throughout the entire site to make a finished and professional overall feel to the site. If the site it incomplete or has design errors the users will more likely to dislike the site or not continue to visit the site.