Manifesto

Class Calendar

Resources

Email

As long as narration endures in this society, books will never die. However, the time is right for communicators to discover strategies for creating a better "structure or map of information which allows others to seek their personal paths to knowledge." (Richard Saul Wurman, Information Architects.) 

Principles of Information Architecture teaches methods for liberating both the author and the information user from the constraints of a linear, book-centric information hierarchy. It suggests multiple entry paths that accommodate many ways of thinking about information, as opposed to the single hierarchy presented by a table of contents. It considers relational and object database technology, rather than simple desktop publishing tools, enabling the creation of database-driven "virtual books." And it offers Boolean, multidimensional, and visual text search, as an alternative to the traditional index. 
 

Principles of Information Architecture focuses on design, organizational, and human interface elements of information delivery and knowledge systems. Class participants will learn the differences between how children and adults acquire knowledge, discover the underlying principles of document and database-driven information structures, and review current electronic methods for communicating technical information. 

Students will discover strategies for improving the usability of the information delivery system, improving the time it takes for users to find answers, reducing the effort to maintain the knowledge base, decreasing information delivery costs, and increasing the value of corporate information assets. 
 

Each session will begin with a lecture on techniques and models used in technical communication, according to the course outline (see Weekly Content, below). Most lectures will be accompanied by PowerPoint slides, and include examples and/or product and technology demonstrations, as appropriate.

A short writing assignment will be given at the end of each day of class. When possible, class time will be provided for completion of these assignments.

Materials:  Students are expected to conduct as much of their class business as possible through email and the Web. 

The class administrative web site at /pia2000 will include an HTML version of this syllabus, a calendar of classes, an evolving list of Frequently Asked Questions about this class, and a compendium of online resources contributed by past and present class participants (URLs for Would-be Knowledge Engineers, /urlindx.htm).

The course syllabus will be handed out in hardcopy form at the first class. A limited number of handouts and copies of instructor presentations will be available in class each week. Links to presentations given in class, or web sites discussed in class, will be posted on the class calendar by Wednesday of the week following the lecture.
 

Class 1: Principles
Class 2: Structuring information
Class 3: User Assistance
Class 4: Knowledge Management Strategy
Class 5: Usability

For details about each class, see the Class Calendar.
 

There will be no weekly reading assignments, as class discussion is sparked mainly from current technological events and recent literature on the web. However, we recommend the following as excellent background reading:

• Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. 1998
• Richard Saul Wurman et al., Information Architects. Graphis, Inc. 1997
• Edward R Tufte, Visual Explanations. Graphics Press 1997
  
  

Grading 

Final Project 

Your knowledge site must face the challenge of managing from 10 to hundreds of files. You do not have to actually create hundreds of documents or images. This is a design project; it entails creating plans, designs, prototypes, and some sort of working demo, with just enough materials behind your interface that you can perform usability tests.

The project must include all of the following components:

• Overall Plan (4-6 pages)
• Requirements Document (problem/solution statement and audience analysis)
• Statement of work 
• Schedule, milestones, and deliverables 
• Issues and Contingency planning (costs of failure, risks, and fallback plan) 
• Maintenance plan (two years or three revisions) 
• Prototype home page (rough markups okay)

Absolutely no extensions will be granted.

Feel free to discuss any project problems or concerns with Freda.
 

Freda Salatino has been a technical communicator for over 15 years, specializing in information architecture and publications management. Her technical experience includes projects in data mining systems, Web/multimedia applications, SQL/relational databases, and network communications. Her management experience includes stints at Xerox, Informix, and Oracle – where she helped found Oracle’s Documentation Architecture Review Board. 

Freda has taught in UC Berkeley Extension's Engineering and Technical Communications program since 1996. She's also edited scientific journal articles and written advertising copy on New York’s Madison Avenue. 

She is currently Sr. Manager of Technical Communication at E.piphany, Inc.

Rich Julius, MFA., is the co-author of this course, and president of a young Silicon Valley startup that provides information architecture and interface design for web sites, portals, intranets, and web-based software products. He has 10 years of experience developing and directing major web design and information architecture projects from inception to completion, for such companies as Perspecta, Inc (an information architecture firm specializing in Web-based systems for visual navigation), Informix Software, and Oracle Corporation.

Formerly on the faculty of the University of Michigan, Rich was instrumental in launching the UC Berkeley Extension Technical Communications program in 1995.

Guest Lecturer Jon Hale has been doing Unix-related things for the past twenty years. For the past seven years, he has been the sole proprietor (and sole consultant) at Gorilla Consulting. During a contract for Informix, Jon worked with Robert Hartman and wrote many Perl-based tools for dealing with Frame MIF files. He taught a Perl class there, as well. Jon's email address is jon@GorillaCon.com.

Guest Lecturer Robert Hartman is a technical publications professional with 18 years of experience. His career includes significant contributions at Sun Microsystems, Veritas, Informix, and E.piphany, where he founded and staffed a group of five writers who document leading-edge business applications. He has taken a special interest in the management and production of large document sets.