Donna (Maurer) Spencer is a recognized information architect and author of an upcoming book on card sorting. Jared M. Spool recently had the opportunity to talk with Donna about the specific skills that separate the best information architects from the rest.
As Maurer says: “All information architects need to think structurally, organize things well, and really care about labeling and language. I’ve found that excellent information architects do all of these things well, but they also excel at the human component, playing really well with other people. Information architecture is never an isolated, stand-alone activity. It has to be done with everyone on the design team involved. The excellent information architects work well on a team, communicate effectively with stakeholders and content authors, and do a great job of explaining to everybody how things work.
“I’ve worked with some less effective information architects who have their isolated box for accomplishing their work, and don’t want to explain or justify their decisions. The great information architects explain things well, work nicely with people, and get the job done.” Read full interview at User Interface Engineering.
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