This article originated as a question from one
of our course participants, a "usability specialist" at a financial
services firm.
"What's the difference
between the role of taxonomist and the role of information architect?"
She went on to say,
"Based on my brief experience in this field
(5 years), it seems that many information architects (IA's) are responsible
for the presentation of information on a web site, but often don't have
the time, tools, or skill sets to develop controlled vocabularies or
thesauri.
Also, because IAs are involved in such a wide range
of projects, they sometimes aren't called upon to do taxonomy-related
activities. For example, developing a transaction-based web application
that allows employees to take customer orders requires a different set
of deliverables than developing a [self service] web site that allows
customers to browse, list, and purchase products."
In this article we summarize the ongoing debate about
the role of the IA, add our own perspective on its future, and summarize
the responses.
