Building an information architecture Chapter 09 Building an information architecture

Objectives and outcomes Identify the parts of an information architecture strategy Review information architecture techniques and tools Understand the success factors for design of information architecture for a range of information environments Assess the factors contributing to an effective information architecture

Management issues How do I match information architecture to business processes? Which information modelling tool do I select? How do we design information architecture for an intranet? How can our information systems interoperate? How can I develop information security policies?

Introduction Information Architecture : ‘definition and structure of organizational information related to information systems’ Systems Development Lifecycle: ‘A model representing sequential stages for systems development’ IEEE: ‘architected’ systems seem to turn out ‘faster, better and cheaper’ and that ‘architecture is recognised as a critical element in the successful development and evolution of software intensive systems’

Systems Development lifecycle Figure 9.1 Systems Development lifecycle Source: (adapted from Hoffer et al, 2002)

Enterprise Architecture Figure 9.2 Enterprise Architecture

Benefits Key benefits of information architecture will be: Reduction in the costs in finding information Improved efficiency of information based organizational process New value derived from information through reuse

Information Architecture Process Figure 9.3 Information Architecture Process

Information Architecture strategy An overall information architecture framework for an organization related to higher level strategies The strategy will include: Objectives of how information architecture supports organizational strategies already defined Relationship between information architecture and the different systems required Details of technology integration Procedures for applying common data and information definitions across the organization

Systems Analysis The aim of the systems analysis process is to create an information model derived from evidence from the requirements stage Information model: A conceptual model of information related to organizational functions or processes

Identifying information architecture requirements Using the results from the information and knowledge audits Identifying stakeholders Questionnaires Interviews Observation Audit of documentation

Information flow diagrams A simple high-level diagram illustrating information flows The diagram will illustrate source and destinations

Information flow diagram key Figure 9.5 Information flow diagram key

Simple information flow illustration Figure 9.6 Simple information flow illustration

Information flow diagram illustrating sales process for the Lo-Cost Airline Company Figure 9.7 Information flow diagram illustrating sales process for the Lo-Cost Airline Company

Data Flow Diagram (DFD) A graphical representation in the form of a diagram illustrating external sources, flows, processes and data stores Data flow: ‘data in motion, moving from one place to another. A data flow could represent data on a customer order form or a payroll check.’ Hoffer et al. (2002)

Data flow diagram key Figure 9.8 Data flow diagram key

Data flow diagram Figure 9.9 Data flow diagram

Data flow diagram cont’d Figure 9.10 Data flow diagram cont’d

Entity relationship diagrams An entity is a self-contained piece of data that can be referenced as a unit Entity relationship diagram: A graphical representation that displays, entities, relationships and attributes

Entity relationship diagram key: Lo-Cost Airline Company Figure 9.11 Entity relationship diagram key: Lo-Cost Airline Company

Entity Relationship Diagram: Lo-Cost Airline Company: One-to-one relationship Figure 9.12 Entity Relationship diagram Lo-Cost Airline Company: One-to-One

Entity relationship Diagram: Lo-Cost Airline Company: One-to-many Figure 9.13 Entity relationship diagram Lo-Cost Airline Company: One-to-many

Entity relationship Diagram: Lo-Cost Airline Company: Many-to-many Figure 9.14 Entity relationship diagram Lo-Cost Airline Company: Many-to-many

Entity Relationship Diagram: Lo-Cost Airline Company decomposition Figure 9.15 Entity Relationship diagram Lo-Cost Airline Company: decomposition

Final Entity Relationship Diagram: Lo-Cost Airline Company Figure 9.16 Entity Relationship diagram Lo-Cost Airline Company

UML Unified Object Modelling language A visual modelling methodology covering the notation and ways of specifying, modelling and documenting object-oriented systems Object: ‘A person, a thing, or concept. Building blocks of object oriented systems. Object know things and do things’

UML Use case analysis: ‘A view of describing the sequence of actions and functionality a system should deliver facilitating the work of actors’ Actor: ‘Someone or something (person, organization or external system) that interacts with the system’

Interoperability Interoperability: ‘The ability of computer systems to work together, conforming to common standards’ Improving efficiency in reuse of information Avoid mistakes from duplication Implementing enterprise search engines

Interoperability assessment Table 9.6 Interoperability assessment table

Security Analysis Information Security: ‘protection of information and the systems and hardware that use, store, and transmit that information’ (Whitman, 2003) key features of information security are: Availability. Making sure information is available to those who need it and that they can use the information when appropriate. Authenticity. Making sure the information received is the same as the original source. Confidentiality. Making sure information access is only available to those who require it. The opposite side to availability. Integrity. Safeguarding the accuracy of information – is it the same as the original? Has it been altered or corrupted?

Security: PDCA model Plan: establish policy, objectives, targets, processes and procedures relevant to managing risk and improving information security to deliver results in accordance with an organization’s overall policies and objectives. Do: Implement and operate the security policy, controls, processes and procedures. Check: Assess, and where applicable, measure process performance against security policy, objectives and practical experience and report the results to management for review. Act: Take corrective and preventive actions, based on the results of the management review, to achieve continual improvement.

PDCA Model Figure 9.23 PDCA model Source: BSI, BS 7799–2:2001, Figure 1

Design: database design The process of database design requires the information architect to define the structure of a database The process of normalisation is used to optimise the database to minimise redundancy or duplication of information In order to ensure consistent database design across an organization, many organizations using the same types of information will use a data dictionary

Design: web design Consider the difference between websites and intranets Web blueprint: an overview sitemap indicating page types and page components and their relationship to the home page Wireframes: also known as schematics, a way of illustrating the layout of an individual webpage

Web Design Process Figure 9.27 Web design process

Web blueprint for a university Intranet Figure 9.28 Web blueprint for a university Intranet

Basic wireframe for a university intranet with global elements Figure 9.29 Basic wireframe for a university intranet with global elements

Basic wireframe for a university intranet with global elements and unique elements Figure 9.30 Basic wireframe for a university intranet with global elements and unique elements

Navigation systems Narrow and deep : few links on the pages, but more clicks requires to move down the structure the to required information destination Broad and shallow: more links on pages, less clicks to information destination Breadcrumbs Search versus browse

Broad and shallow navigation Figure 9.31 Broad and shallow navigation

Narrow and deep navigation Figure 9.32 Narrow and deep navigation

Global, local and contextual navigation Figure 9.33 Global, local and contextual navigation Source: Rosenfeld and Morville (2002)

Using standards and guidelines for web design Consistent application of design standards and organizational style Manuals, templates and style guides Example: UK Government web guidelines

Designing for Interoperability Controlled vocabulary: a list of equivalent terms. Often enumerated Taxonomy: a browsable hierarchy of organizational classification terms Thesaurus: a more developed and complex controlled vocabulary, showing relationships in terms of hierarchy, equivalence and association

Using Extensible Markup Language – XML XML is a vital component of interoperable information architectures By agreeing to a given DTD or schema, a group of developers has accepted a set of rules about document vocabulary and structure Enables information consistency

XML Schemas A set of rules XML language for specifying the structures of XML document types Documents that reference schemas must conform to the rules specified Alternative to DTDs Example of use: UK Government

See in action: Guardian Newspaper: http://www.onlineblog.com/ XML in action: RSS A version of XML and RDF that offers a standardised way of syndicating news headlines Core elements Title Link Description See in action: Guardian Newspaper: http://www.onlineblog.com/

Usability British Standard definition: ‘extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use’ (1999) Two parts (Badre) Ease of learning: the time it takes users to learn how to do a job using the system compared to another method Ease of use: the minimum number of actions required to complete a task successfully

Security Design Whitman (2003): Logical security design: blueprints that examine and implement key policies Physical security design: technology required to support the blueprints.

Security Policies ‘The rules for the protection of information assets of the organization’ (Whitman, 2003) High level and targeted policies The purpose of an acceptable use policy is to summarise the overall policy for users, outlining the responsibilities the user has to information security in the organization

Security design:physical The level and use of the above technologies will be related to levels of risk assessment in the planning stage. Options: Deployment of firewalls Intrusion detection systems (IDS) Encryption technologies Access control devices Wireless access devices Remote access