The Understanding Group's cofounders spoke on the following at IA Summit 2013 Are you struggling to carve out a place for information architecture in the world of acronym soup? In this talk, longtime IA Dan Klyn and his business partner Bob Royce explore the pros and cons of bucking the trend of “all encompassing UX” to focus our practice on IA. Through stories and case studies we’ll explore: -How the lens of IA helps us solve problems beyond UX and collaborate readily with other non-UX disciplines. -Our experience delivering services both directly to clients and through agencies. -How we explain IA to people outside our industry and work to justify a larger investment in IA. -How we go beyond information retrieval and navigation to include the concepts of meaning and place-making in our work. Since all of the above was accomplished through much trial and error, there will also be plenty of discussion about the failures we’ve encountered along the way.

1. WHAT BEFORE HOW
MAKING A HOME
FOR INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
By Dan Klyn + Bob Royce from

3. WHAT I WAS PLANNING TO DO WHEN I GREW UP

4. SNEAK IN THROUGH THE LIBRARY

5. WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN DIGITAL JOYCE?

6. WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN ALL MUSIC?

7. I’VE RUN OUT OF SUPERLATIVES

8. HUSBAND TO ADRIENNE SINCE 1990 FATHER TO ROBERT SINCE 2000

12. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6057/6890280374_dc42046fe8_h.jpg

15. THE LIBRARIANS V. THE COMPUTER SCIENTISTS

16. Focused on
‣ Organizing
‣ Labeling
‣ Navigation
‣ Structure
‣ Not Graphic Design
‣ Not Software Programming
‣ Not Usability

17. 2006

18. 2011

19. The Understanding Group
is an Information Architecture practice
dedicated to making things be good.

20. WHAT BEFORE HOW: MAKING A HOME FOR IA #WB4H
Why would anybody start an IA consulting practice
when there is no such thing as an
information architect?

21. DUTCH UNCLES AT THE IA SUMMITS: 2009 + 2010

22. “ THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN INFORMATION
ARCHITECT. IA DOES NOT EXIST AS A PROFESSION. AS
AN AREA OF INTEREST AND INQUIRY? SURE. AS YOUR
FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB? ABSOLUTELY. BUT
IT'S NOT A PROFESSION. “
— Jesse James Garrett

23. “ I THINK YOU SHOULD REALLY HUDDLE
TOGETHER AND REFORM YOURSELF INTO A
KIND OF UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS.
IF YOU TALK ABOUT UNDERSTANDING YOU’RE
NOT GOING TO BE BUMPED
“
OFF THE SHELF.
— Richard Saul Wurman

24. SO WE DID

26. 1989
Design Quarterly, No. 145

27. A way of thinking.
A whole way of life in which
the aim is not to make something
look good
but to make it be good.

28. WHAT BEFORE HOW: MAKING A HOME FOR IA #WB4H
What is TUG
and what do we mean
when we say what we say?

29. Ontology
Particular meaning.
Taxonomy
Arrangement of the parts.
Choreography
Rules for interaction among the parts.

30. ARCHITECTURE IS NOT DESIGN

32. Donald Norman

33. We should change the name to
the UX Summit

34. http://beep.peterboersma.com/2004/11/t-model-big-ia-is-now-ux.html

36. CODING
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
USER EXPERIENCE
VISUAL DESIGN

37. CODING
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
USER EXPERIENCE
VISUAL DESIGN

39. Dan Klyn points away
from bounded sets

40. Proposes meaning as the
center of the set.

41. Andrew Hinton talks about pace layers
of information environments

42. And Three Modes of Information
Digital
Sem antic
Ecological

43. Business System s
Information
Architecture
User Ex perience

44. CODING
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
USER EXPERIENCE
VISUAL DESIGN

45. CODING
BUSINESS SYSTEMS Object Models
Process Mapping
Information Model
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE Structural Design
Personas
Journeys
USER EXPERIENCE User Research
VISUAL DESIGN

47. WHAT BEFORE HOW: MAKING A HOME FOR IA #WB4H
Who are the people
buying the stuff TUG sells and
using the stuff TUG makes?

49. User Experience
Marketing Product
Innovation
IT Agencies

50. Strategy Planning Building Doing Iterate

54. Information
Simple Complex
Goals Goals
Interaction

55. Information
Complex
Systems
Simple Complex
Goals Goals
Simple
Systems
Interaction

58. MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO UNITE MEANING + STRUCTURE

59. DANCING WITH AGILE

60. BALANCE IS THE KEY

61. WHAT BEFORE HOW: MAKING A HOME FOR IA #WB4H
WHERE
Where is TUG heading
and what’s next for TUG’s practice
and for information architecture?

63. PUBLICATIONS

64. PUBLICATIONS

65. TEACHING + PRESENTING

69. SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ARE LIKE… A THING

70. “ YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TALK IN TERMS OF
WIREFRAMES AND DESIGN OF A PAGE, OR
HAVE THE METAPHOR OF A BOOK IN YOUR
HEAD. IT’S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.
VERY SOON: I’M TALKING ABOUT A
“
COUPLE OF YEARS.
— Richard Saul Wurman