---
title: "Podcast: A Practical Guide to Information Architecture, with Donna Spencer"
date: 2011-03-18
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canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2011/03/18/podcast-a-practical-guide-to-information-architecture-with-donna-spencer/
---
# Podcast: A Practical Guide to Information Architecture, with Donna Spencer
**Listen here:**

[![](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/apple_podcasts.png)](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id-rather-be-writing-podcast/id277365275)

[![](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/watchonyoutubeblack.png)](https://www.youtube.com/@idratherbewriting)

[![](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/spotify.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/4HeOZfPGMMfViOhVS40QBD)

![A Practical Guide to Information Architecture](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/ia_book_cover.jpg)

Donna Spencer is the author of [A Practical Guide to Information Architecture](http://practical-ia.com/) as well as two other books (on card sorting and writing for the web). She's an experienced information architect, based in Australia, who gives regular [workshops on information architecture](http://maadmob.com.au/workshops/information-architecture-iasummit) at conferences such as the [IA Summit](http://2011.iasummit.org/) and also runs the [UX Australia conference](http://www.uxaustralia.com.au/). In this podcast we talk about information architecture, especially in the context of technical communication. Some of the topics we cover include the following:

- What information architecture is, especially in contrast to content strategy and user experience

- Why writers are well suited for information architecture

- Reasons for doing user research prior to building your information architecture

- Determining user terminology (and dangers of choosing the wrong terms, even if people use them)

- Evaluating browse versus search, and the problem of looking for information without knowing the right terms

- Strategies for dealing with overlapping categories and difficult-to-fit topics

- Why organizing content by audience can be tricky

- Using focused entry points to serve different audiences

- Finding what you need when you don't know what you need

- Organizing content by popularity, and other alternative classification schemes

- Scenario driven testing with index cards

- Card sorting strategies, tools, and limits

- Reasons for brainstorming IA off-screen, without your computer.

- Determining the number of top-level navigation options

- Providing navigation through next and related links

- Beginning the information architecture at the content page rather than the home page

- The kind of content to add to your home page

I highly recommend this book as well as learning more about information architecture in general. For more information about Donna Spencer, see her site, [Maad Mob](http://maadmob.com.au/). For more information on her book, see [A Practical Guide to Information Architecture](http://practical-ia.com/). You can follow Donna on Twitter [@maadonna](https://twitter.com/maadonna).