Information design (also known as 'information architecture') is the study of the details of complex systems. Among these are websites, user interactions, databases, technical writing documentation, and human-computer interfaces.
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The Dimensions of Information Architecture 
A quest for a layered model that helps us understand and leverage the unique qualities of various information architecture components.
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Disease Classification and the Organization of Large-Scale Web Sites 
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been employed by the world's public health officials to chart the nature, frequency, and geographic origins of diseases and causes of death in human populations since the late nineteenth century. The ICD has been modified every decade since the 1890s, and a study by Bowker and Star of these changes, in concert with the work of others on the practices employed in information mapping, can be used to better understand the organization of large-scale web sites. Specifically, web designers must adapt classification schemes to fit multiple social worlds. Additionally, we need to understand that these systems can become so entrenched in our thinking that they become "invisible," thus undermining our ability to adapt them as future needs or insights arise.
Applen, J.D. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2001). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Biomedical
#29589
Displaying ADO Retrieved Data with XML Islands
An XML data island is a piece of well-formed XML embedded into an HTML file. This article will show you how to retrieve data in an XML format from a database using ADO; you will also learn how to bind this data into an HTML document.
Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. Dev Articles (2006). Articles>Information Design>XML>XHTML
#31124
I have seen a couple of blog postings lately that underscore the statement that DITA is not for everyone or for every situation.
Rockley Group, The (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA
#29287
If you line DocBook and DITA up, I think DITA can point to four technical differences that are arguably features in its favor.
Walsh, Norman. DITA for DocBook. Articles>Information Design>DocBook>DITA
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The DITA Knowledge Base pages provide a reliable basis of technical and educational information on the standard.
XML.org (2006). Resources>Information Design>XML>DITA
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#31752
You will better understand how DITA can support your organization and how it can scale to meet your enterprise content needs by first understanding the basics of DITA standardization.
Priestley, Michael and Amber Swope. Just Systems (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA
#29391
DITA Users is a membership organization that includes: individuals learning DITA; organizations moving to single-source authoring and multi-channel publishing; vendors of XML Editors and XML Content Management Systems.
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The abbreviation DITA stands for 'Darwin Information Typing Architecture', an information architecture based on XML. DITA is not a mere reinvention of the wheel: rather, it sets the standards for known structuring requirements. The most striking feature of this architecture is the clear orientation towards a technology for structuring, which has already proved its worth in online documentation.
Closs, Sissi. tekom (2006). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA
#31171
DITA: From the Perspective of Someone Actually Using It
In this podcast, Marlene Martineau of New Dawn Technologies explains why they adopted DITA, how they adopted it, the benefits they're experiencing, and the reasons why she'll never go back.
Martineau, Marlene. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA
#31743
DITA: Opportunities To Help Shape The Standard, Promote DITA Adoption, Develop Real-World Solutions
Want to get involved in the formation of one of the most important XML standards impacting content professionals? You can. And, you should. The folks at OASIS—the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards—have made it easy for just about anyone to participate.
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DITA: What You Need To know about the Darwin Information Typing Architecture
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is a hot topic among those who author, edit, deliver and manage content. But adopting a standard architecture is an important decision that requires up front research and knowledge of the pitfalls. Find out if DITA is right for your organization. Read this whitepaper to learn more (PDF).
Manning, Steve. Rockley Group, The (2005). Articles>Information Design>Metadata>XML
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A gathering place for information about DITA.
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Diversity is Power for Specialized Sites
Small websites get less traffic than big ones, but they can still dominate their niches. For each question users ask, the Web delivers a different set of sites to provide the answers.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Web Design>Information Design
#28147
Do Internet Users Want Deep Content or Immediate Gratification?
For a long time I have been an advocate of quality content on web sites. And now I am conducting an experiment that pitches quality content against immediate gratification.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Writing
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Do We Really Need a Site Navigation?
Whoever performed any usability tests knows, that users look straight away at the content. Users first look the pictures then at the titles then at the text. Navigation often gets completely ignored. In my seven years of conceiving websites and monitoring usablity tests I am tempted to say that navigation is useless.
Information Architects Japan (2006). Design>Web Design>Information Design
#31582
This blog discusses documents and information designs “in the wild" - especially those that are exceptionally good or exceptionally bad.
Doc or Die. Resources>Documentation>Information Design>Blogs
#31159
DocBook and DITA Editors: Is Their Future Online?
Thanks to my Google News Alert service, I recently discovered some on-demand XML Editors supporing DITA. While Salesforce democratized software on-demand in the CRM market, I am still perplexed on the future of on-demand pure play software. So let's see first what makes on-demand software, also known as Saas (Software as a Service), so attractive nowadays. I see five compelling reasons.
Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Information Design>Software>DITA
#30753
A DocBook Basics and References
DocBook is an easy-to-understand and widely used DTD. Dozens of organizations use DocBook for millions of pages of documentation, in various print and online formats, worldwide.
Walsh, Norman. dpawson.co.uk (2004). Books>Information Design>XML>DocBook
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Document Analysis, Modelling, and Markup
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is an ISO standard for document publishing. SGML allows you to port your documentation from one plagorm to another easily. Another benefit is that SGML lets you write the information one time and use it in many places. After planning your SGML implementation, the first step in your implementation is to create a Document Type Definition( DTD). In order to create a DTD, you must complete several steps: identify project parameters, analyze your documents, model your document, convert your model to DTD mark up, and test your DTD.
Dimick, Sharlyn A. and Lori A. Stertzbach. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Information Design>SGML
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Document Engineering and Information Architecture
This course introduces the discipline of Document Engineering: specifying, designing, and deploying electronic documents and information repositories that enable document-centric or information-intensive applications. These applications include web services, information supply chains, single-source publishing, composite applications/virtual enterprises/portals, and so on. Course topics include developing requirements, analyzing existing documents and information sources, conceptual modeling, identifying reusable semantic components, modeling business processes and user interactions, applying patterns to make models more robust, representing models using XML schemas, and using XML models to implement and drive applications. The syllabus contains over 20 short case study examples from different industries, with special emphasis on business-to-business, healthcare and medical informatics, and e-government.
Glushko, Robert J. University of California Berkeley (2008). Academic>Courses>Document Design>Information Design
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Documenting in N-Dimensional Space
As technical communicators, we are being challenged with how to structure information in a multiple dimensional space made possible with Web technology.
Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2005). Articles>Documentation>Information Design
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The issue of documenting schemas—or any machine readable language—goes beyond simple additions of comments. Thereal challengeistocreateschemasthat arereadablebothdirectlybylookingat their sourcecodeandbydocumentation extraction tools.
van der Vlist, Eric. O'Reilly and Associates (2001). Articles>Information Design>XML>Documentation
#31756
Does XML Suck? Or: Why XML is Technologically Terrible, but You Have to Use It Anyway
XML purports to be a simple, vendor-neutral textual external representation for hierarchically-structured data. But...
Crane, Aaron. XML Sucks (2002). Presentations>Information Design>XML
