Information-Driven Business: How to Manage Data and Information for Maximum Advantage

Chapter 17. Enterprise Information Architecture

The first generation of computing was focused on back-end batch processing intensive functions, such as managing bank account balances, calculating telephone bills, and producing financial statements. The amount of information involved in each of these functions was limited to the boundaries of the specific activity being undertaken.

The design for these types of systems was heavily focused on the calculation process. In this era of development, design documents included large system flowcharts defining the program steps that needed to be undertaken. The data resulting from each step was of little more consequence than managing its storage and retrieval.

The next generation of computer systems provided interactive functions for a wider range of staff, including those interacting with customers. Such computing solutions needed to be more intuitive, given the wider range of functions individuals were being asked to undertake, the reduced level of training resources that could be dedicated to this wider audience, and the inclusion of a large group of users who had little or no computing experience.

The first generation of the World Wide Web on the Internet spawned a much wider need to understand how information is consumed and encouraged designers of Web pages to design their sites very carefully, so the sites would meet the needs of all of their user community. This created the first generation of information architectures.

The term information ...