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The Evolution of Information Architecture

The document discusses the evolution of information architecture (IA) and its significance in digitized urban environments, focusing on the concepts of abstraction, conceptualization, and mental representation. It highlights the four waves of IA, culminating in the fourth wave that transcends physical and digital realms to operate at the data level. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of IA in developing smart cities and the creation of new structures based on data.

Design◦

The Evolution of Information Architecture

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THE EVOLUTION OFIA A JOURNEY IN THE MICRO-MESO- MACRO-META Mapping the Domain Workshop - March 22nd 2017 @simon_norris
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CONTENTS • WHAT ISINFORMATION ARCHITECTURE? • ABSTRACTION, CONCEPTUALISATION AND MENTAL REPRESENTATION; @simon_norris • IA AND THE DIGITISATION OF OUR CITIES.
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MICRO
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MESO
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MACRO
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META
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LET’S CONSIDER WHATIA IS? @simon_norris
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@simon_norris TO UNDERSTAND THEQUESTION WE CAN TURN TO: • Abstraction; • Conceptualisation; • Mental Representation.
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ABSTRACTION IS ESSENTIALTO INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE @simon_norris
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@simon_norris CONCEPTUALISATION IS ESSENTIAL TO INFORMATIONARCHITECTURE
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A map isnot the territory Alfred Korzybski “ “ @simon_norris
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MATCHING THE INTERNALWORLD WITH THE EXTERNAL WORLD MENTAL REPRESENTATION: @simon_norris
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A formal systemfor making explicit certain entities of information, together with a specification of how the system does this David Marr “ “ @simon_norris
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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@simon_norris BRINGING IT ALLTOGETHER
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THE FOUR WAVESOF INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE MAPPING THE DOMAIN: @simon_norris
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CLASSICAL
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USER GENERATED
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PERVASIVE
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INVERSION
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The forth waveof IA no longer deals in purely physical or digital terms but operates at the level of data Jason Hobbs “ “ @simon_norris
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THE DIGITISATION OFOUR CITIES: SMART CITIES @simon_norris
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INVISIBLE TECHNOLOGY Global reach& power; SW platforms for business model disruption, stability, non-privacy preserving & inadequately secure Enabled by: Core Cloud Compute Tech IP Networks Broadband Access Local real estate, fibre, trust, optimised HW/SW network platforms, programmability, privacy preserving, & secure Enabled by: Edge Cloud Compute Tech Virtual Networks Broadband & Mobile Access @simon_norris
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A TRANSFORMED ENVIRONMENT @simon_norris
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@simon_norris CONCLUSIONS • DATA WILLALLOW US TO CREATE NEW STRUCTURES: NEW SCALES. • THE COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF ABSTRACTION, CONCEPTUALISATION AND MENTAL REPRESENTATION ARE FUNDAMENTAL. • OUR SMART (DIGITAL) CITIES WILL NEED IA’S.
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THANK YOU @simon_norris

Editor's Notes

#2 Our world is changing. It is digitising. Data is quickly becoming the new currency. The meaningful use of data raises challenges regarding the scale at which to design. In this new world of uber-interconnectedness the micro-macro perspective is being supplanted by micro-meso-macro-meta thinking. Understanding the consequences of such wide sweeping digital change represents a challenge at both the practice and academic levels of IA. Yet, the need for IA has never been greater especially when we consider our cities are transforming into digital platforms: smart cities. This is a light speed journey into micro-meso-macro-meta thinking.
#3 The presentation will cover: 1. What is information architecture? 2. The importance of abstraction, conceptualisation and mental representation skills. 3. IA and the digitisation of our cities.
#4 Traditionally the scales of micro and macro are well represented in many domains. However, they have limitations which are not easily resolvable…this is becoming especially problematic in our digimodern epoch. Let’s take the uber service as an example. At a micro level we see the driver’s UI showing the route to the rider’s pick-up destination.
#5 At the meso level the rider’s UI shows the drivers available around them, e.g. there are many drivers taking many routes.
#6 Scale up to the macro level and we can see riders waiting, rides in progress and empty drivers. Uber app users don’t see this perspective but I bet Uber does.
#7 Scale-up again to the meta level and we see Uber’s activity at a country level. The cities they are in (and the cities they aren’t). In micro-meso-macro-meta thinking the meta factor can occur at all the levels. It is not independent yet it can be. The meta is what provides definition to understanding this interconnectedness and therefore scale.
#8 Let’s consider what IA is? This is important because underlying the IA craft are a number of skills. Skills that help us better structure information so we can better support decision making, and in turn help us craft the digital experiencing process to be more meaningful. The process our user experiences come from.
#9 These are designerly skills: • Abstraction • Conceptualisation • Mental Representation
#10 Information is not data. Information is abstracted from data and represents a first order level of abstraction. Information Architecture on the other hand represents a second order level of abstraction. That is, the architecture of the information is abstracted from information. Hence, information architecture.
#11 Understanding such relationships requires conceptualisation. In its most simplified form conceptualisation represents an abstract often simplified representation of something. For example, Darth Vader holding the Apple logo in his hand. Essentially, as IA’s we are concerned with understanding and designing structures. We can think of such structures as scalable systems. Do the conceptual models we generate match the realities we are designing for? Are we designing at the right scale? With physical buildings scale is self-evident. Not necessarily so with digital structures and therefore IA.
#12 “A map is not the territory.” Alfred Korzybski From a digital perspective what is the territory we are designing? Easy with physical structures. Again not so with non-physical structures. Yet, to be able to understand the world we need to be able to model it, this requires our conceptual ability. The challenge is always how well do our conceptualisations match mental representations?
#13 Mental representation allows us to match the internal world of representations and concepts with the external world. Mental representation allow us to blend our internal and external worlds together. They are the interface of our reality.
#14 “A formal system for making explicit certain entities of information, together with a specification of how the system does this.” David Marr
#15 My point is that this data tsunami we are undergoing requires different thinking. The micro-macro perspective can be enhanced and the skills of abstraction, conceptualisation and mental representation are highly relevant. Let me demonstrate with an example.
#16 See the dot?
#33 It’s not a house. It’s a collection of lines connecting dots that a representation of a house, a concept. In this simple example we see how abstraction, conceptualisation and mental representation comes together.
#34 What does this mean in terms of mapping our domain? I think of IA as composed of four waves of activity.
#35 Classically: taxonomy, search, information hierarchy.
#36 User generated: folksonomy; consumer-driven structures (not producer-driven structures).
#37 Pervasive: multi-device and multi-channel; supporting both, synchronous, and asynchronous interactions.
#38 Inversion: data-driven emergent systems. The picture is Burning Man 2015 where attendees used FireChat to create a peer-to-peer wireless network through their smartphones. An interconnected digital canopy.
#39 I’m not alone in this way of thinking. Inversion is important because the focus on data will help us apply micro-meso-macro-meta thinking. It will allow us to understand and design at different orders of magnitude, yet undefined. Inversion allows us to apply IA at scale - supra-scale.
#40 Why do I believe inversion is so important? Because we are facing one of the greatest and most exciting challenges of the 21st century. The digitisation of our cities! Cities are evolving into smart cities. And the need for IA has never been greater. Inversion can be used to process data and help us make sense of patterns of information at supra-scale, city scale. Understanding these patterns of information will require abstraction, conceptualisation and representation skills.
#41 What is happening right now? Many cities are going through a transformation or are about to. They are laying the technology that will move them from core cloud computing systems to edge cloud computing platforms (this is referred to as the ‘third wave’ in digital city terminology) where millions of apps, billions of users and trillions of things are being connected. This represents an unprecedented paradigm shift and will effect how we will live! Just as the car changed everything. So, will data. It will be revolutionary and usher in personal and global digitisation. Technology will become invisible and experience will dominate. What is at the heart of this transformation?
#42 5G. A massive upgrade in bandwidth. This will allow person-to-person and machine-to-machine interaction and interactions on a mind boggling scale. Much of what is being discussed about the future of social computing, machine intelligence and automation will become possible. Smart cities. Smart lifestyles. Smart experiences.
#43 Whilst IA has mainly been applied to digital structures and more recently the interaction between digital structures or platforms. The emergence of cities as platforms will be one of the most influential changes we will live through, it means we can apply IA at city-scale. Micro-meso-macro-meta thinking can help us achieve greater understanding and harmony in a world dominated by data and technology. The need for IA has never been greater.
#44 Thank You :)

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Editor's Notes