Knowing Where to Find 
What You're Looking For
Information Architecture (IA) is the blueprint for how your audience interacts with information. It's a map of contexts for content. Some architectures are very familiar – books, for example, rarely stray from having a table of contents in front, an index in back, and chapters in between. The skill is in deciding how to control the context of associations. Choosing the scope of the book, the sequence of chapters, and the flow of paragraphs, also comprises information architecture.

Web sites require planning to make sure that each audience finds the information they need. Web sites serve customers, investors, members of the press, industry analysts, employees, job candidates, and even your competitors. You need to prioritize these audiences, balancing your company's goals and the needs of your business units.

How do you know when it's working?
When it's as intuitive as reading a book or as easy as scanning a newspaper.

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