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One way to synthesize these varying needs is the use of personas that express the information values within a business culture .”
The Hunter / Gatherer : Information about new opportunities The Hunter persona searches for new business opportunities , manages customers and brings in new business . Here , typical information architectures would support Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ), Master Data Management ( MDM ), Customer Data Integration ( CDI ) and the like .
The Villager : Information to accomplish day-to-day tasks The villager persona typically manages the data required to accomplish information needs . These include managing data stores , data quality , metadata , report preparation and other data support functions .
The Explorer : Enterprise-wide discovery for innovation The explorer in an enterprise is typically future facing and is concerned with the discovery of new opportunities . While some enabling architectures here can be support activities like trend analysis , much of the explorer ’ s use of information is ‘ discovery ’ in nature and may not benefit from pre-determined reports . It also typically includes complex analyses of both structured and unstructured information .
The Storyteller : Information publishing , data visualization and social media Today ’ s information consumer is also an information producer . The storyteller persona represents users who capture and share enterprise knowledge . Key information architectures / applications here are knowledge management systems , community Wikis and social networks and digital media .
Given the growing importance of big data , taking a look at your enterprise ’ s varying information needs with a client-centric perspective is a good way to begin your Information Architecture initiatives . From there , you can determine important information values and key performance indicators for your information services . That ’ s a great first step in providing an information service that is meaningful to clients / users and citizens alike . references
1 . Co-creation Strategies for Breakthrough Innovation – Innovation cultures web lecture led by Liz Sanders , PhD . – Intervista Institute www . intervista-institute . com , www . innovationcultures . com
2 . Ethnography is a branch of anthropology that uses social science research approaches that is the study of social behavior of people within a culture . These can include direct participant observation ( often in the field ), interviews , etc . - http :// en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Ethnography
3 . Intel ’ s Cultural Anthropologists – Fortune / CNN Money http :// money . cnn . com / 2010 / 09 / 20 / technology / intel _ anthropologist . fortune /? section = money _= latest
4 . Ethnography is the new Core Competence – Bloomberg Businessweek http :// www . businessweek . com / magazine / content / 06 _ 25 / b3989414 . htm
Photos : Kent Bimson , used with permission .
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