Ambient Findability: Talking with Peter Morville

Can we reasonably judge authority? How can we make good decisions in the information age? How do we know enough to ask the right questions? Peter Morville takes a moment to talk with us about these and other potential answers, his most recent book, the death of data, and our fascination with the future.

Danzico, Liz. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Interviews>Information Design

The American Society for Information Science and Technology

ASIST provides the people, programs and publications that keep your career moving forward. Whether you need to improve your productivity through better information retrieval, satisfy the information needs of your clients and constiuents, or need to understand or affect information policies, ASIST can help you address all of these diverse needs.

ASIST. Organizations>Information Design

Analyzing Documents to Understand Tags  

SGML is a language for describing the structure of a document. The language involves using a system of tags for elements of a document. Document analysis is the process of discovering the elements of a document and understanding how the parts work together to form the document.

Coggin, William O. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Information Design>SGML

Anything Worth Writing Is Worth Writing in XML  

Tyson supports the claim of his title with a detailed discussion of three important benefits of XML.

Tyson, Paul H. Intercom (2002). Articles>Writing>Information Design>XML

Applying XSLT to XML Using ASP.NET

This article explains the basics of XSL to transform XML documents using simple examples. We will gradually focus on using ASP.NET to implement XSLT for any XML document and even to database queries. It introduces different ways of implementing XSL from browser's perspective and server's perspective. We will also discuss some tips to generate automated XML from database queries and then transform them to HTML using XSL transformations.

Chaterjee, Jagadish. ASP Free (2004). Articles>Information Design>XSL>ASP

Architecting a Tradeshow Booth: A New Job for the Technical Communicator  

Can a technical communicator step in and create a striking booth to attract attendees and successfully market a company? You bet – it is easier than it looks. Designing a tradeshow booth is a fun exploration of a communicator’s talents in design, organization, and writing. And if you dare to add some creativity to your talents, success comes automatically.

Faure, MacKenzie, Amey Celoria and Cecilia Kullberg. STC Proceedings (1998). Design>Information Design>Marketing

Architects of Knowledge: An Emerging Hybrid Profession for Educational Communications  

Knowledge architecture is a nascent, hybrid field with significant potential as an innovative, cross-disciplinary design profession for 'value-added' technical communications and instructional technology. However, the emergence of a comprehensive, coherent, grounded theory and a corresponding problem-oriented, practice-based curriculum is progressing slowly. By contrast, other professional specialties for information architects, multi-media designers and software interface designers are better established. Scholars and practioners interested in fostering the development of knowledge architecture as a legitimate and evolving profession are at the forefront in defining the essential performance skills and academic training needed in the core subfields of information design, interactivity design, media design, and instructional design.

Lasnik, Vincent E. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Information Design>Knowledge Management

Architecture of Designing Documents  

Both parks and document design share the same goal: to satisfy patrons and entice them to return. The common characteristics - available for many activities, easy navigation and circulation, appropriate equipment, effective use of space, and patron safety - are applied to document design. So take a walk - in a park - to find out about document design.

Lisberg, Beth Conney. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Document Design>Information Design

Are you ready for XOP (XML-Oriented Programming)?

The domain model is a familiar concept to most OOP (Object Oriented Programming) developers and architects, and has been used successfully in a variety of systems and projects. But how does this principle apply to SOA-based solutions?

Xu, Peter. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>Programming>XML

Are You Using the Right Search Engine?

What this all means is that when web users can't find what they want in Google, they should not automatically assume that they're at fault. At present, Google is heavily weighted.

Bennaco (2004). Articles>Information Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Argus Center for Information Architecture

The Argus Center for Information Architecture works to define and advance the evolving discipline of information architecture. The Argus Center serves as a focal point for learning about the theory and practice of information architecture. Towards this goal, we: manage a selective collection of links to the most remarkable content, events, and people in our field; produce original articles, white papers, conferences, and seminars that draw from the experience and expertise of the Argus team; conduct research, independently and through partnerships, focused on improving our collective understanding of information architecture.

Argus Center (2001). Organizations>Information Design

Arquitectura de Información: Una Disciplina "De Lujo" en Chile

Un resumen de la historia y estado actual del campo de la Arquitectura de Información en Chile.

Gutierrez, Malisa and Javier Velasco. AIfIA (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Web Design>Information Design

La Arquitectura de la Información del Siglo XX al XXI

Resumen de la historia reciente de la Arquitectura de Información, comenzando en la decada de 1970.

Bustamante, Jesus. AIfIA (2002). (Spanish) Articles>Information Design

The Art of Indexing and Some Fallacies of its Automation

The phrase 'information storage and retrieval,' coined in the fifties - when computers were first harnessed to the twin tasks of recording verbal communication and finding it again on demand - is somewhat misleading and it is also missing a vital element. The misleading part is that many people seem to believe that these tasks can only be performed by machines. Yet information has been stored on stone tablets, papyrus rolls and in books for thousands of years and it has also been found when needed. The missing part is that, in order for stored information to be retrievable - whether manually or by machine - an intermediate operation is of crucial importance: the stored information must be indexed.

Wellisch, Hans H. CPD (1992). Articles>Indexing>Information Design

The Art of Topless Dancing and Information Design

Creating a web site makes for all sorts of strange working relationships. What does an information designer have to do to get a little cooperation?

Warren, Denice. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Information Design>Web Design

Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture

AIfIA is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. Founded in 2002, AIfIA has over 400 members in 30 countries.

AIfIA. Organizations>Information Design>Human Computer Interaction

ASIS Special Interest Group: Information Architecture

SIG-IA is guided by an ethic of inclusion, in which the full range of participants - from those who are self-taught to those with considerable academic training or practical experience - feel comfortable helping one another develop the professional practice of information architecture.

ASIST. Organizations>Information Design

Ask DCMI: Dublin Core Metadata Initiative

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems.

DCMI. Design>Information Design>XML>Metadata

Assemble a Cross-Platform Firefox Extension

XUL is a surprisingly easy way to build cross-platform browser extensions or even stand-alone applications. Discover how to build powerful, flexible Mozilla browser extensions that go beyond the capabilities of other tools like embedded scripting languages or CGI--because they're built right into the user's browser.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

Assessing Publications Process-Maturity: The Experiences of Two Organizations at Different Levels of Process Maturity  

As Information Development organizations grow and mature, their organizational structure should grow and mature as well. The optimal structure for an organization in its early stages should focus on achieving stability and repeatable quality. As an organization matures, the optimal structure may need to be significantly different to develop a more thorough understanding of customers and contribute substantially to customer satisfaction.

Hackos, JoAnn T., Lisa Blaschke, Brenda MacKay and Deborah J. Rosenquist. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Information Design>Assessment>Case Studies

At the Heart of Information Ecologies: Invisibility and Technical Communication    

The ecological metaphor for technological systems provides a useful supplement to others dealing with the question of human control over technologies. However, it fails to develop adequately its own reliance on communication as the means whereby human values may be embedded in technologies, or to recognize the role of professional communicators in that process.

Ranney, Frances J. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Articles>Information Design>TC

An Audience With Alan Cooper: Defining Interaction Design

What was intended to be an Interview immediately became an audience with the master. It became difficult to slide in the questions as Cooper began to tear up the rulebook for the technology industry and throw it out. He discusses why Interaction Design is about complete systems architecture and he hits on what's wrong with relational databases; what's wrong with file systems; why Interaction Design is a lot more than Interface Design; and why he really doesn't like Usability much either.

Cooper, Alan. UIdesign (2001). Design>Information Design>Interaction Design>Usability

Automated Current Awareness Service Using RSS Web Feed    

Web feed is an automated web content syndication and surfing technique. It is a new eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based mechanism that influences and enhances library functions and services. This paper briefly discusses web feed creation using RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary (RSS) format, content syndication, and client software used to track and read the web feed contents. It also describes how libraries can use this technique to offer different Current Awareness Services (CAS)/Information Services libraries' to its subscribers.

Bhushan, Indu and P. Rajendiran. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Information Design>Standards>RSS

Automating Diagrams with Visio

By doing the demanding intellectual work first and then forcing the tools to succumb to need to produce seemingly speedy deliverables, you can get around the difficulty of choosing between 'Good, Fast and Cheap.' Here's one approach using Excel and Visio.

Angeles, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Project Management>Information Design

Avoiding the Content Silo Trap™, Enterprise Content Management  

Organizations frequently fall into the content silo trap, multiple authors creating similar information, in many areas of the organization. Authors rarely share their information (they work in silos) or are even aware that this information already exists elsewhere in the organization. Technical communicators have been single sourcing for years, this session looks at how to move beyond technical publications to assist your organization with enterprise content management. This session includes a case study from Eli Lilly.

Rockley, Ann and Jodee Clore. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Information Design