• Richard Saul Wurman 在 1976 首先創出資訊架構這個詞彙。 (Wurman 1989)
• 1990s 之後的網站設計專業的發展
  • Rosenfeld 與 Morville 出版第一版的「在網際網路的資訊架構學」(1998)之後，資訊架構開始被廣泛的使用在網站規劃與介面設計領域。
    Information architecture (IA) is, at best, an ambiguous term that came into widespread use with publication of the first edition of Rosenfeld and Morville's (1998) Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.[Jacob & Loehrlein, 2009:147])

Wurman 創立「資訊架構」一詞時，並沒有給出明確定義，但卻描繪出資訊架構師的工作與任務，可以視為界定資訊架構師專業工作的目的與內涵：

信息建筑师的工作任务：(1)组织数据中的固有模式，化复杂为明晰; (2)创建信息结构或地图，令他人找到其通向知识的个人路径;(3)信息建筑师是即将到来的21世纪的专业化职业，代表着该时代对清晰、人类理解、信息组织科学的集中需求。(荣毅虹、梁战平（2003）p.229-30)

Wurman 在 IA Summit 10 的keynote中，表示資訊架構師的使命在於傳播、溝通與促進理解，而非只是規劃網站與介面 ¹⁾

What my rant was about is what information architecture, not to me, this is a generalized statement. It is about understanding. It starts with understanding, and ends with understanding. What are we doing this for? It is for understanding. We want to make something understandable to another human being, to ourselves. That is my ploy. I don’t care about you. I want to make it understandable to myself. I want to have an interest. Something I don’t understand, I want to make it understandable.

I did a book which had the plans of 50 cities in the world all to the same scale. Wasn’t that information architecture? I think so. It was a systemic way of understanding information.

There were no computers then, by the way. There was no wire frames. There was no web pages. There was none of those things. That doesn’t make information architecture.

What makes an information architect is an attitude. A desire, a passion to communicate systemically with rules and systems, and transfer information to another human being.

荣毅虹、梁战平（2004）整理許多不同的IA定義描述，歸納出其中IA的目的在於：

使信息可视和可理解、帮助人们更加成功地找到和管理信息。 ²⁾

資訊架構的目的：

• 透過有目的且服務導向的方式，確認並組織資訊。(Cummings, 2009)
• 改善特定讀閱者(audience)的資訊的取用性、檢索性、與使用性；也同時改善出版資訊往後的維護性與發展性。(Cummings, 2009)

• Richard Saul Wurman (1976)
• Rosenfeld & Morville
  • Rosenfeld & Morville (1999):
  • Morville, P. (2002). “The Definition of Information Architecture.” Semantics: Peter Morville’s Column about Information Architecture and Strategy. Semantic Studios. http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000010.php
• 辯論期 (90s-20th)
  • 此處有2001當年各種定義百花齊放的樣子 Wodtke, C. (2001). Defining the damn thing Retrieved August 9, 2011, from http://www.eleganthack.com/?p=421
  • Dillon(2002) 資訊架構是「設計、製作、評估具備能廣被所預期的利害關係人在個人方面與社會方面可接受的資訊空間的過程」
    IA is the term used to describe the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating information spaces that are humanly and socially acceptable to their intended stakeholders.(Dillon, 2002:821)
  • Garrett (2003) 認為資訊架構是網站設計中的架構性與概念性組織。節點的理性結構，與歸類的語義結構，能讓使用者有效地的獲取與瀏覽網站內容。
  • Morrogh(2003) 資訊架構是「設計資訊環境，並管理資訊環境的設計過程」
    the design of information environments and the management of an information environment design process.(Morrogh, 2003:6)
• (雞尾酒)整合性定義
  • Rosenfeld & Morville (2006):
    1. 共有資訊環境的架構設計
       The structural design of shared information environments.
    2. 網站或網路中組織、命名、搜尋與導覽系統的結合
       The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets.
    3. 為資訊產品增進其可尋性與使用性的科學與藝術
       The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability.
    4. 專注於數位地貌建立設計與架構原則的新興的實踐社群
       An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.
  • Information Architecture Institute http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/resources/what_is_ia.php:
    1. 共有資訊環境的架構設計
       The structural design of shared information environments.
    2. 為網際網路、網站、線上社群、軟體執行資訊組織與命名，以助於其可尋性與使用性的科學與藝術
       The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities, and software to support findability and usability.
    3. 專注於數位地貌建立設計與架構原則的新興的實踐社群
       An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.
  • Cummings(2009)資訊架構是一個學科與一組方法，其目的是以有目的且服務導向的方式，確認並組織資訊。
  • Francke(2009:18)³⁾ 通常是指製作大型網站的過程之一；或也可以是一種運用在大型網站建置以外的隱喻，例如企業資訊技術架構中的元件配置模型。

然而，到了1990年代晚期一直到21th初期，資訊架構/建築師們開始對資訊架構一詞的定義展開了熱烈的討論

• Wodtke, C. (2001). Defining the damn thing Retrieved August 9, 2011, from http://www.eleganthack.com/?p=421
• 網站IA之父Rosenfeld於2003發表一篇文章，表示掛什麼樣的名稱並不重要。並不值得花精力在名稱與定義上，而應該著重於更具體的問題上。 Rosenfeld, L. (2003). (Not) Defining the damn thing Retrieved Auguest 9, 2011, from http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/_not_defining_the_damn_thing
• Francke, H. (2009) 認為，“資訊架構社群對於「資訊架構定義」唯一的共識，就是「沒有唯一的定義」(Reiss, 2000, 2; Morville, 2002)。Richard Saul Wurman被公認為是最早創建出「資訊架構/建築學(information architecture)」一詞的人(Morrogh, 2003)。
• Jacob & Loehrlein (2009:150)認為，在資訊架構師的專業社群間，對於資訊架構實際上要做什麼有許多不同的定義。
  There are numerous definitions of information architecture. Although many of them overlap to a greater or lesser degree, within the IA community there seems to be little consensus as to just what the practice of information architecture actually entails.(Jacob & Loehrlein, 2009)
  • Definitions of information architecture are various and, at times, wide-ranging, extending from Dillon's (2002, p. 821) characterization of IA as “the process of designing, implementing and evaluating information spaces” to Mok's (1996, p. 99) more limited characterization of IA as the arrangement of structures so as to form a cohesive whole. (Jacob & Loehrlein, 2009:155)

然而數個定義的努力（Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002, 4;Information Architecture Institute, 2005; Wodtke et al., 2001），到了最後都同時包含了數個不同面向。：”
The one thing that the information architecture community seems to agree on when it comes to defining information architecture is that they cannot agree on a definition (Reiss, 2000, 2; Morville, 2002). Richard Saul Wurman is usually acknowledged as the person who coined the term information architecture in 1975 (Morrogh, 2003). Since the late 1990s, information architects have been engaged in a lively debate on an appropriate definition. However, despite the disagreement, many of the attempts to define the area include one or several of the following three ideas (taken from Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002, 4; but see also Information Architecture Institute, 2005; Wodtke et al., 2001)

• 在資訊系統中，組織、命名、與導覽系統設計的結合。
  The combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an information system.
• 資訊空間中的架構設計，讓使用者能更容易完成工作或取用資訊。
  The structural design of an information space to facilitate task completion and intuitive access to content.
• 架構與歸類網站與內部網路的科學與藝術，以幫助人們發現與管理資訊。
  The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and manage information.

例如：

• Rosenfeld & Morville (2006)
• Information Architecture Institute

荣毅虹、梁战平（2004）⁴⁾分析數個IA不同的定義，歸納出各個定義中描繪IA的不同面向：

表1 IA描述概览

• 資訊架構的應用:
  • 主要應用在網站設計，並且同以下的專業領域相關：使用者介面設計、內容發展、內容管理、使用性工程、互動設計、使用者經驗設計。也與資料庫設計、文件設計、知識管理有非直接的關係。(Cummings, 2009)
    Information Architecture is a discipline and a set of methods that aim to identify and organize information in a purposeful and service-oriented way. It is also a term used to describe the resulting document or documents that define the facets of a given information domain. The goal of Information Architecture is to improve information access, relevancy, and usefulness to a given audience, as well as improve the publishing entity's ability to maintain and develop the information over time. It is primarily associated with website design and it is directly related to the following professional disciplines: User interface design, content development, content management, usability engineering, interaction design, and user experience design. It is also indirectly related to database design, document design, and knowledge management. (Cummings, 2009)

• 內容盤點 (Content Inventory: For large scale websites, often no one person or group is aware of the entire site's content, which may include a wide variety of document types and formats. Performing a content inventory for a new or preexisting site is often the first step in a series of activities that result in more useful website information. The content inventory can be performed at the same time as Content Analysis, and the two terms are sometimes considered synonymous though content analysis may, of course, be a separate and more in-depth endeavor.
• 內容架構 (Content Hierarchy: A Content Hierarchy is created by grouping content into vertical relationships. A Content Hierarchy can be performed as a “top down” (broad categorizations) or “bottom up” (detailed attributes) oriented process. See also Taxonomies, and Site/Content Maps.
• 網站流程圖 (Site Flow)s: A Site Flow is a diagram depicting the use or user flow of information. When site flows are produced according to empirical user research, they can help establish information relationships that other methods might miss. Site flows often employ standard shape libraries, such as that offered by Jesse: http://jjg.net/ia/visvocab/
• 內容模型 (Content Model): A Content Model is a broadly used term referring to organizing principles for grouping content, e.g. by inherent relationships such as by product, process, audience, etc. And/or referring to ways of structuring data, including metadata, associatively.
• 控制詞彙 (Controlled Vocabulary): A Controlled Vocabulary is a collection of carefully selected, preferred and/or authorized terms, including their synonyms. Often descriptive. Used in meta data schema, taxonomies, a thesaurus, content labeling, and tagging, as well as search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
• 索引典 (Thesaurus): A Thesaurus is a collection of related terms for the purpose of synonym control and mapping. Commonly used in support of search systems. For Information Architects, thesauri normally define many-to-one relationships between terms.
• 分類表 (Taxonomy): A Taxonomy is a hierarchical index that define content relationships for the purpose of classification. Usually based on a Controlled Vocabulary, and can relate to fixed site navigation schemes.
• 同義詞 (Synonym Ring)s: A Synonym ring is a small-scale keyword or key phrase relationship circle, the relationships of which are directly associated by usage, culture, jargon, etc.. A thesaurus may not normally contain these relationships.
• 詮釋資料 (Metadata, and Metadata Schema): Descriptive element/value pairs used to describe, tag, and sometimes classify, information in various forms and formats. Dublin Core is one of the most popular metadata standardization initiatives: http://dublincore.org See also Meta Tags.
• 網站地圖 (Site Map)s: For smaller-scale websites, the navigation system can serve as a de-facto site map. For larger ones however, site maps that provide a complete and hierarchical index of all important content and functionality titles have proven over time to be extremely useful to website users. It can even be said that site maps gave birth to the practice of Information Architecture.

• The Information Architecture Institute (2002-present) http://iainstitute.org
• ASIS&T, SIG-IA

• Journal of Information Architecture
  http://journalofia.org/
  (Spring 2009 起 )
• Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
  http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/index.html
  (Vol. 26, No. 5 June/July 2000 起開始報導IA相關活動，October / November 2001 起有IA專欄)

• UPA International Conference, http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/
• Information Architect Summit, http://iasummit.org
• IDEA Conference, http://ideaconference.org
• UIE's Web App Summit, http://www.webappsummit.com
• Euro Information Architect Summit, http://www.euroInformation
• ACM/SIGCHI, http://sigchi.org/conferences/
• FOWD, http://events.carsonified.com/fowd

Second-tier conference-holding organizations include ASIS&T (American Society for Information Science and Technology), ACHI (Advances in Computer-Human Interactions), FOWD (Future of Web Design), and Web Directions.

• Boxes and Arrows, http://www.boxesandarrows.com/
• UX Booth http://www.uxbooth.com/
• UXmatters http://uxmatters.com/
• UXMagazine http://uxmag.com/
• Johnny Holland http://johnnyholland.org/
• A list Apart http://www.alistapart.com/
• Digital Web Magazine, http://www.digital-web.com/

• Kent State
• Baltimore
• in Library and Information Studies, there are course titled in IA.

• 資訊焦慮 Information Anxiety“, and “Information Anxiety 2”, by Richard Saul Wurman,
• 北極熊書 Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites

• Cummings, M. (2009). Information Architecture. Retrieved 16 October 2010 from Interaction-Design.org: http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/information_architecture.html
• Turnbull, D., & Dillon, A. (2006). Information Architecture. in Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. NY: Marcel-Dekker.
• Francke, H. (2009). Towards an Architectural Document Analysis. Journal of Information Architecture, 1(1), 16-36.
• Morrogh, E. (2003). Information architecture: An emerging 21st century profession. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Rosenfeld & Morville
  • Rosenfeld, L., & Morville, P. (1998). Information architecture for the world wide web. CA: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. Sebastopol, CA, USA.
  • Rosenfeld, L., & Morville, P. (2002). Information architecture for the World Wide Web (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.
  • Morville, P., & Rosenfeld, L. (2006). Information architecture for the world wide web (3 ed.): O'Reilly Media.

• Special issue in JASIST 53(10)
  • Burke, L. (2002). Designing a new urban Internet. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 863-865.
  • Cunliffe, D., Jones, H., Jarvis, M., Egan, K., Huws, R., & Munro, S. (2002). Information architecture for bilingual Web sites. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 866-873.
  • Dillon, A. (2002). Information architecture in JASIST: Just where did we come from? Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 821-823.
  • Hauck, R. V., & Weisband, S. (2002). When a better interface and easy navigation aren't enough: Examining the information architecture in a law enforcement agency. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 846-854.
  • Haverty, M. (2002). Information architecture without internal theory: An inductive design process. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 839-845.
  • Large, A., Beheshti, J., & Cole, C. (2002). Information architecture for the Web: The IA matrix approach to designing children's portals. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 831-838.
  • Notes toward a new curriculum. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 824-830.
  • Rosenfeld, L. (2002). Information architecture: Looking ahead. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 874-876.
  • Toms, E. G. (2002). Information interaction: Providing a framework for information architecture. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(10), 855-862.

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