Teaching methods: Presentation

• Concept of information architecture as analogous to building architecture
• Benefits of this metaphor to information systems design and planning
• Typical pattern of information deployment technology, and its implications for information architecture
• Views and components of the Zachman Framework for information systems/enterprise architecture

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

• Define the concept of information architecture, and name at least three ways in which this metaphor can be helpful in designing, planning, and maintaining information systems;
• Discuss the Zachman framework, and indicate the level(s) of the framework at which public health managers can make the most useful contribution;
• Incorporate the technology-specific sessions of this Informatics course into the larger conceptual model of information architecture.

• None

• Cook MA. Building enterprise information architectures: Reengineering information systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR, 1996
• Brooks FP, Jr. The Mythical Man-Month : Essays on Software Engineering (20thAnniversary Edition). New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1995.
• Zachman JA. A framework for information systems architecture. IBM Systems Journal 1987;26(3).