Oh well. Looks like the last time I used it was April of 2017. I have removed the link to my G+ page from the header of this page, but I’ve left it in the footer, for now, so you can see how I didn’t use it.

In Google’s own words from one of their blogs: Project Strobe: Protecting your data, improving our third-party APIs, and sunsetting consumer Google+.

[UPDATE May 2, 2019] I went ahead and removed the G+ link from the site with its redesign.

Let me be more specific about the type of information architect I’m talking about since there are so many kinds. Because my experience with information architecture is centered on the human experience with non-physical spaces, systems and processes, many would find the label User Experience (UX) Architect more appropriate / accurate for what I’m about to describe.

In my experience, the UX architect should be expected to collaborate with everyone envolved in bringing a product or service to market: other UX architects, technical analysts, business analysts, user interface developers, graphic designers, copywriters, product management, clients, programmers, and (most importantly) end users. They should also have working knowledge of the technologies being deployed. To me this knowledge is analogous to traditional architecture, in that every decision at every level (from structural to aesthetic) impacts every other decision at every level.

User Experience Architect’s Duties

These are just some of the things I have done in the past:

• Create and maintain use cases, page/site architecture, wireframes and diagrams: logic flow, site usage flow, and process flow.
• Develop templates for deliverables and standardize their use within the IA / UX team.
• Work closely with product management and development to develop the user interfaces for new features and enhancements that meet the user’s needs and expectations, and business objectives.
• Create prototypes, functional specification documents, navigational structures and labeling systems.
• Develop personas, use case scenarios, ranked feature lists, flow diagrams, site maps, and control / action / response tables.
• Collaborate with technical analysts to define transition points from user-facing to backend processes.
• Work with web designers to translate wireframes into prototypes and visual compositions.
• Provide input for user research and usability test plans.
• Work with the product development team to help manage the transition from designs into functioning products—through development, testing and launch.
• Conduct pre-launch review of projects to ensure accurate execution and positive user experience.

I’ll talk about the difference between architect, designer and analyst another time.