The Role of the Information Architect and Information Modeling

1. The Role of the Information Architect and Information Modeling Julia CroninSTC Presentation January 18, 2001

2. Let’s Find Some Common Ground • We all have customers.

3. From Networks to Printers, the High-level Tasks Remain the Same • Our customers need to • understand • install • use • troubleshoot the products that we sell

4. Let’s Find Some Common Ground • We all have customers. • Our customers work in complex environments with many products.

5. Customers Work in Complex Environments Using Multiple Products • Work in highly competitive businesses • Must operate tools and equipment with little or no training or experience • Manage multiple priorities in demanding culture

6. Let’s find some common ground... • We all have customers. • Our customers work in complex environments with many products. • We are meeting the challenges posed by the internet revolution.

7. Internet Revolution Challenges • Extremely varied customer needs and expectations. • Work at web speed (3 months = 1 year). • Need to turn on a dime in response to the one great constant….change. • Reengineer our development, publication, and delivery processes. • Integrate training and documentation cultures/content to enable the delivery of unified information solutions.

8. How to Leverage and Achieve“Best Practices” • Know your customers • Integrate documentation and training information • Develop customer-focused, task-based information • Enable “push button” publishing environment • Eliminate information duplication and facilitate information reuse • Design for modularity and use information models • Employ the services of Information Architects

9. What do Information Architects Do? • Analyze user needs and define solutions. • Design information and skill building solutions. • Work with project managers and information developers to implement the solution. • Make sure that customer expectations are met. • Continually research information management, delivery, and access strategies to improve or modify the design.

10. Strategies and Tactics, Part I Information Architects add value on two different levels • At the strategic level, they • Have a high level understanding of how all the products fit together • Define, develop and ensure the application of a corporate information model that works across platforms, divisions, and product families • Develop and support strategies, processes and standards that ensure task based, seamless, integrated documentation and training • Continually research information management, delivery, and access strategies to improve or modify the design infrastructure.

11. Strategies and Tactics, Part II • At the tactical level, they • Are members of individual product teams where they become intimately familiar with the technology and customers for a particular product or product family • Analyze, design and help to implement information and skill building solutions • Are keenly aware of demands from customers and product development groups and continually manage the difficulties associated with delivering on time without sacrificing quality.

12. Strategies and Tactics, Part III • Despite the inherent tension, it is critical to have Information Architects assigned at both strategic and tactical levels. • It can be a grave mistake to ask one Information Architect to wear both hats at the same time. Sooner or later, something falls through the cracks…

13. Strong customer focus Product knowledge Knowledge of information design principles Three to five years of technical writing Knowledge of information management and delivery Good interpersonal skills Knowledge of user needs and usability assessment techniques Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment Ability to perform needs analysis Information Architect:Skills and experience needed

14. Job Duties: Research • Collaborate with other Nortel groups to keep informed about investigations and trials of new technologies and methods. • Investigate new and emerging technologies and systems for information development and dissemination. • Seek input from writers, editors, course developers, and instructors on what works and what doesn’t. • Gather and monitor customer feedback for potential impact to information development and delivery systems.

15. Job Duties: Define and Design • Help define standards and methodologies for information development and dissemination. • Develop strategies to increase information development process efficiency. • Influence user interface design to make sure that user navigation is intuitive, predictable, and flexible.

16. Job Duties: Education, Communication, and Mentoring • Help information developers to learn information development and delivery standards. • Support the efficient development and delivery of documentation and training. • Investigate and promote collaborative solutions with internal and external customers. • Provide editing and standards (ISO/TL) services to other groups within Training & Documentation Services.

17. What is the Information Model?

18. The Information Model is a tool that... • helps identify the task-based information customers need • provides a content framework for developing information • supports any packaging and presentation of information • is used fortraining and for documentation

19. The Information Model enables... • cost-effective support of all products • systematic method of identifying reusable information • consistent approach to restructuring and developing information

20. Categories Topic groups Information Model ManageAcctg Customer Support ManagePerf TechFundmntl About theProduct Plan &Engineer InstallHardware InstallSoftware Commissn Configure Administer What’s new What’s new Topics Fundamentals Fundamentals Sub-categories Tasks Tasks Troubleshoot Troubleshoot Structure of the Information Model

21. Dispelling the myths about the Information Model…It is not: • a “cookie cutter” template for developing Training and Documentation • intended to be used in its entirety • required to use it as a linear framework

22. Install Hardware Plan & engineer The Model as a grocery store… • Each category is an aisle with topics (goods), grouped on shelves (topic groups) • Each topic is an item from a shelf Manage Perf

23. Determining provisioning requirements Managing the installation Preparing the site Optimizing performance Configuring routes Based on your research and user needs…. …select the items (topics) that you need.

24. A closer look at the structure of the Information Model

25. Information Model What is a category? • A category groups information that relates to a specific functional area • Use only the categories that apply to your product. • Not all categories apply to every product. • Not all categories apply to both Training and Documentation.

26. Customer Support Technology Fundamentals About the Product Plan and Engineer Install Hardware Install Software Commission Configure Administer Manage Performance Manage Accounting Manage Faults Manage Security Information Model What are the categories?

27. Information Model Example category • Install Hardware • contains information about the functions of installing and removing hardware • defines the descriptive and procedural information required to • plan and prepare the installation site • install the equipment • upgrade and replace the hardware

28. Information Model What is a topic? • A topic represents information relating to activities performed. • Use the topics that apply to your product. • Not all topics apply to every product. • Not all topics apply to both Training and Documentation.

29. Information Model Example topic: • Examples of possible information chunks that would be mapped to this topic are: • install the DWDM shelf assembly • insert the OC-48 cards • anchor the FiberWorld frame “performing the hardware installation”

30. Information Model What is a topic group? • The topics of the Information Model are grouped according to their purpose within each category. • The topic groups are: • What’s new • Fundamentals • Tasks • Tools and Utilities • Troubleshoot • Verify

31. Information Model Example topics forInstall Software • understanding what’s new in software installation • understanding software installation fundamentals • understanding the software installation user interface • managing the software installation • performing the software installation • understanding how to use software installation tools and utilities • performing software verification

32. How was the Information Model developed? …And what do we do now?

33. How was the Information Model developed? • Developed by representatives from all LOBs; training and documentation • Initial validation by: • training and documentation developers • architects • quality assurance • product developers • customers’ input