Information architecture and user experience

The digital worker is confronted today by multiple inputs and customer design requirements. One of those is the so-called Information Architecture (IA).This is essentially about the static structure of a website, and describes the flow in order to obtain the best customer-user experience. Information architecture models the shared visual and contextual data that a customer can see in a web page, application, and environment.

Most Java engineers might have seen IA diagrams being passed around among the designers and business analysts during business team discussions. It would be an error to simply gloss over or ignore these discussions, which is why a digital developer ought to have some awareness about how, why, and where is the IA applied. It looks a bit like the visualization of a site map. The following is an example of an information architecture diagram for an e-commerce application:

Basic information architecture for fashion store web site

The preceding diagram describes the IA for a potential fashion store web application. It might be considered too simplistic for this book. This diagram, however, is a work in progress for a pitch, a sales meeting in order to win the contract to develop and build the web application. Architecture is based on three components that are vital for the customer: the initial welcome page, the access to the catalogue and product, and content about the corporation. For this particular customer, the diagram reflects their concerns for the featured fashion items, brands, and promotions. The IA will evolve over time through further interactions with the customer. If we win the pitch to develop the fashion store application, potentially, it might be the searchability of the site that requires deeper investigation.

Information architecture helps the designers and developers along with the business stakeholder to understand the structure of the website through a shared language that consolidates the knowledge and purpose of the domain. A website owner and the business can view the IA as a breakdown of the content. They can comprehend how the site is built.

Information architecture can also be about kinesthetic reactions to the content (how someone feels inside). In the future, this would be important for wearable computers, because the user may not be looking at a screen for sensations and notifications. Interactions may be through sound or even through a smell or taste. These modeling techniques and an ability to write in a manner that has an emotional impact are embraced in a new and recent job title: the content strategist.

Writing and building a professional website or enterprise application has grown from its infancy. The developers now must be approachable, adaptable, and sophisticated. Approachable means the ability to work in harmony with others and as a team. Adaptable means being fearless in the face of constant challenges and changes; sophisticated means being able to cope with the stress and handling it gracefully.

Let's move on to understanding the technical aspect of the enterprise Java platform.