Editing Information architecture (section)

==Definition==
''Information architecture'' has somewhat different meanings in different branches of [[information system]]s or [[information technology]]:
# The structural design of shared information environments.{{Sfn | Morville | Rosenfeld | 2007}}{{Rp|4}}
# The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities, and software to support [[findability]] and [[usability]].<ref name="What"/><ref>Morville&nbsp;&amp; Rosenfeld (2000). p.&nbsp;4. "The art and science of shaping information products and experienced to support usability and findability."</ref>
# An emerging [[community of practice]] focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.{{Sfn | Morville | Rosenfeld | 2007}}{{Rp|4}}<ref>Resmini, A. & Rosati, L. (2012). A Brief History of Information Architecture. ''Journal of Information Architecture''. Vol. 3, No. 2. [Available at http://journalofia.org/volume3/issue2/03-resmini/]. Originally published in Resmini, A. & Rosati L. (2011). ''Pervasive Information Architecture''. [[Morgan Kaufmann]]. (Edited by the authors).</ref>
# The combination of organization, labeling, search and navigation systems within websites and intranets.{{Sfn | Morville | Rosenfeld | 2007}}{{Rp|4}}
# Extracting required parameters/data of Engineering Designs in the process of creating a knowledge-base linking different systems and standards.
# A blueprint and navigational aid to the content of information-rich systems.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Toms|first1=Elaine|author1-link=Elaine G. Toms|title=Information interaction: Providing a framework for information architecture|journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology|date=17 May 2012|volume=53|issue=10.1002/asi.10094|pages=855–862|doi=10.1002/asi.10094}}</ref>
# A subset of [[data architecture]] where usable data (a.k.a. information) is constructed in and designed or arranged in a fashion most useful or empirically holistic to the users of this data.
# The practice of organizing the information / content / functionality of a web site so that it presents the best user experience it can, with information and services being easily usable and findable (as applied to web design and development).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Information_architecture|title=Information Architecture|date=8 June 2023 |publisher=Mozilla Developer Network}}</ref>
# The conceptual framework surrounding information, providing context, awareness of location and sustainable structure.

=== Debate ===
The difficulty in establishing a common definition for "information architecture" arises partly from the term's existence in multiple fields.  In the field of [[systems design]], for example, information architecture is a component of [[enterprise architecture]] that deals with the information component when describing the structure of an enterprise.

While the definition of information architecture is relatively well-established in the field of systems design, it is much more debatable within the context of online information (i.e., websites). Andrew Dillon refers to the latter as the "big IA–little IA debate".<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Dillon | first = A | year = 2002 | title = Information Architecture in JASIST: Just where did we come from? | journal = Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology | volume = 53 | pages = 821–23 | issue = 10 | doi = 10.1002/asi.10090 }}.</ref> In the little IA view, information architecture is essentially the application of [[information science]] to [[web design]] which considers, for example, issues of classification and information retrieval. In the big IA view, information architecture involves more than just the organization of a website; it also factors in [[user experience]], thereby considering [[usability]] issues of [[information design]].