Information Architecture - SharePoint's Story

By Steven Pogrebivsky (@metavistech) Jan 25, 2012

Consider this: Microsoft has sold over 125 million licenses of SharePoint. It is a multi-billion dollar business. SharePoint is a platform that everyone seems to have, many actually use and most don’t understand how to implement and manage properly. There is no platform more in need of a proper information architecture than SharePoint. But what exactly does that mean?

What Is an Information Architecture?

Before we dive into the ins and outs of information architecture for SharePoint specifically, it might be a good idea to define what an information architecture is. One of the simplest definitions I’ve read is:

Information architecture is the term used to describe the structure of a system, i.e the way information is grouped, the navigation methods and terminology used within the system.”

To paint a better picture, think about starting a new job. You get assigned a desk and before you even get to drink your coffee, someone from IT pops by to get your computer set up. He makes sure you have access to the Intranet, to SharePoint for working on projects and to all the file shares your department has access to. You’re all set.

So when your new boss gives you your first assignment to create a new project site and pull together a list of documents as well as create several new ones, you think you’ll be fine, all the information you need is at your fingertips. Unfortunately, there’s no rhyme or reason to the file share, you have no idea how to set up your project site because every project you have access to has done something completely different and all your searches are coming up empty.

Think of an information architecture as a blueprint, a way to organize your information so that it’s easy to find. The example above? That is what happens when an organization falls to properly plan and implement an information architecture. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to do.

3 Elements of an Effective Information Architecture

According to Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, there are three key tasks that need to be completed when you are defining an information architecture: understand the business/context, the content and the users.

Business/Context — You need to understand the business objectives and the organizational structure. Any constraints on time and budget will also have to be considered.
Content — You must have a clear understanding of all the content that is to be stored in the system. Think of this like a content audit where you document where all the information is now, who has access to it, who needs to have access to it, what it’s used for, etc..
Users — Understand the users of the content, their behaviors, tasks and their expectations.

All three things, clearly defined and understood will help you identify the most appropriate information architecture for your system.

Information Architecture & SharePoint

Maybe you are thinking at this point that having a great information architecture is critical for any content management system you implement, that this is not a problem unique to SharePoint. And you are correct. No matter what system you choose to implement, it is critical to get your IA right or your information is simply taking up space and your users will be frustrated.

The fact is though, that every day we hear one more horror story about a SharePoint implementation gone wrong. SharePoint is a platform that offers so much capability and is so easy to get started with, that many organizations have allowed their departments and/or employees to simply jump in and get things started. They haven’t taken the time to consider what they really need to do to get their information managed right and available to the right people.