Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Second Edition

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The question remains: how does a company strike a balance between consultants and in-house staff? Let’s begin with the outies. There are all sorts of reasons why companies hire consultants in general, and most of these can be applied to information architecture specifically.

Projects

Companies often hire consultants to complete a project with a limited duration. This relates to the project/program distinction we just made. You don’t want to hire a full-time, permanent employee for a six-month project. For this reason, companies should consider using consultants heavily (but not solely) to make that initial investment in an information architecture foundation.

Money and Politics

Because of the short-term nature of the investment, it’s often easier to get budget for consultants than for in-house staff. In addition, there’s a tendency for managers within an organization to respect “objective expert advice” coming from outside the company much more than the “biased opinions” of people within the company. Given the new and insecure position of information architecture practices within many companies, “high-powered consultants” are often needed to establish internal credibility and launch the operation successfully.

Perspective

While they’re never completely unbiased, consultants really can bring a fresh, outsider’s perspective. This is particularly important when you’re trying to get outside the organizational mindset and understand the needs and behavior of your users. Consultants ...