The word ontology appears in numerous contexts ranging from the philosophical to the applied. According to Ashlea McKay, a senior user experience writer and researcher, in the context of information architecture (IA), ontology refers to the meaning behind labels, terms, and language and content categories.
Furthermore, ontology is driven by the needs, expectations and goals of the users. Therefore, it is important to get the ontology correct because the meaning behind a label or term on an organization’s website might mean a completely different thing to the users and customers. Significantly, a poorly designed ontology can lead to findability issues, retention problems, user errors and much more.
Considering that a website is only as strong as its IA, it is important to strengthen IA by developing a well researched and reasoned ontology. In fact, in the context of IA, ontology can be thought of as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
Click here to see some examples that will help build, apply and communicate your understanding of ontology to others.
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