The Information Architecture Method™

We receive the question. We ask clarifying questions about the question. We do not ask clarifying questions about what answer the client hopes to find — that information would introduce bias. We ask only: what is the precise scope of information needed? What is the time horizon? What sources are available?

Duration: 1–3 sessions. Output: a scoped information request. Not a research plan. Not a hypothesis. A scoped request.

We identify all sources relevant to the information request. We assess each source for reliability, recency, and independence. We note conflicts of interest in sources. We do not exclude sources because their information is inconvenient. We include all material sources. We document which sources we considered and which we excluded, and why.

Duration: 2–5 days. Output: a source map. Not a literature review. Not an annotated bibliography. A map of where the information lives.

We extract information from sources. We do not interpret. We do not infer. We extract what is there. When sources conflict, we note the conflict and present both positions. We do not adjudicate conflicts between sources. You may adjudicate them yourself. That is a decision.

Duration: 3–10 days depending on scope. Output: a raw information set. Unorganized. Complete.

We organize the raw information set. Organization is not interpretation. We arrange information so that it is navigable. We use the client's existing taxonomy where one exists. Where none exists, we present three organizational structures and ask the client to select one. We have no opinion about which structure is better. They are different. That is all.

Duration: 2–4 days. Output: an organized information set.

We review the organized information set for completeness. We ask: is there material information that is absent? If yes, we return to Phase 3. We do not ask: does this information support a conclusion? That is not a completeness question. That is a different kind of question. We are not equipped to answer it.

Duration: 1–2 days. Output: a completeness certification or a return to Phase 3.

We deliver the information. We do not present the information. Presentation implies emphasis. Emphasis implies judgment. We deliver. The format is agreed upon in Phase 1. The content is everything we found. Nothing is held back because it complicates the picture. The picture is complicated. That is information too.

Duration: 1 delivery event. Output: the information. All of it.

Clients may request clarification of specific information items. We will clarify. Clarification means: explaining what a source says, confirming the accuracy of an extracted data point, or providing additional context for an information item. Clarification does not mean: explaining what the information means, or suggesting what to do with it. Those are opinions. We do not provide those even in Phase 7.

Duration: as needed. Output: clarifications. Not conclusions.