---
name: information-architecture
description: "A specialized skill for designing the information architecture (IA) of knowledge bases. Used by the taxonomy-designer agent when designing classification systems, navigation, and labeling systems. Automatically applied in contexts involving 'information architecture,' 'IA design,' 'category design,' 'navigation,' 'sitemap,' or 'card sorting.' Note: UX research execution and UI prototyping are outside the scope of this skill."
---
# Information Architecture — IA Design Tool
A specialized skill that enhances the taxonomy-designer agent's classification system design capabilities.
## Target Agent
- **taxonomy-designer** — Classification systems, tags, navigation design
## 4 IA Design Systems
### 1. Organization System
| Classification Method | When to Apply | Examples |
|----------------------|---------------|----------|
| By topic | When domains are clearly defined | Development / Design / Marketing |
| By audience | When user groups differ | New hires / Experienced / Managers |
| By task | When centered on user actions | Getting Started / Developing / Deploying |
| Hybrid | For complex knowledge bases | Categories + Tags |
### Depth Guidelines
```
Optimal: 3-4 levels (7 plus/minus 2 rule)
Level 1: 5-9 top-level categories
Level 2: 3-7 subcategories per category
Level 3: 3-10 documents per subcategory
Level 4: (if needed) Handle as sections within documents
```
### 2. Labeling System
| Principle | Good Example | Bad Example |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| User language | "Getting Started" | "Initial Configuration Procedures" |
| Consistent grammar | Uniform verb form | Mix of nouns and verb phrases |
| Specific | "Writing React Components" | "Components" |
| No duplicates | One meaning per label | Same content, different names |
### 3. Navigation System
| Type | Purpose | Location |
|------|---------|----------|
| Global Navigation | Access to overall structure | Sidebar / Top bar |
| Local Navigation | Browse current section | Sub-menu / TOC |
| Contextual Navigation | Connect related content | Inline links, "Related Articles" |
| Breadcrumb | Show current location | Top of page |
| Search | Direct access | Global search bar |
### 4. Search System
| Element | Design Items |
|---------|-------------|
| Search scope | Entire / By category / By tag |
| Indexing | Title / Body / Tags / Metadata |
| Synonym dictionary | deploy = deployment, config = configuration |
| Facet filters | Category, tag, date, author |
## Taxonomy Design Process
### Step 1: Card Sorting
```
1. List all knowledge items as cards
2. Group similar cards
3. Assign labels to each group
4. Establish relationships between groups (parent-child, sibling)
5. Visualize results as a dendrogram
```
### Step 2: Sitemap Construction
```markdown
## Knowledge Base Sitemap
+-- Getting Started
| +-- Environment Setup
| +-- First Project
| +-- Core Concepts
+-- Development Guide
| +-- Architecture
| +-- Coding Conventions
| +-- API Reference
| +-- Testing
+-- Deployment
| +-- CI/CD
| +-- Environment-Specific Configuration
| +-- Monitoring
+-- Operations
| +-- Incident Response
| +-- Backup/Recovery
| +-- Security
+-- Reference
+-- FAQ
+-- Glossary
+-- Changelog
```
### Step 3: Cross-Reference Map
```
[Document A] <--related--> [Document B]
| |
prerequisite follow-up
| |
[Document C] [Document D]
```
## Tag System Design
### Tag Types
| Type | Examples | Purpose |
|------|---------|---------|
| Topic tags | #react, #docker | Technology classification |
| Level tags | #beginner, #intermediate, #advanced | Difficulty filtering |
| Type tags | #tutorial, #reference, #guide | Content format |
| Status tags | #draft, #in-review, #published | Document status |
### Tag Governance
| Rule | Description |
|------|-------------|
| Controlled vocabulary | Only use predefined tags |
| Hierarchical tags | Define parent/child relationships |
| Synonym management | JS = JavaScript, unify to one |
| Tag review | Clean up unused tags quarterly |
## YAML Front Matter Standard
```yaml
---
title: "Document Title"
category: "Development Guide"
subcategory: "Architecture"
tags: [react, frontend, intermediate]
author: "Author Name"
created: "2024-01-15"
updated: "2024-03-20"
status: "published"
related:
- /development/coding-conventions
- /reference/api
---
```