Sample Job Description: Management Information Architect
To successfully design and implement an information architecture and its supporting technology, the team needs resources to perform some key roles. Roles are functions assumed by a person in a particular situation. One person may perform more than one role and any given role may be performed by one or more people – it really depends upon the skills of the individual(s), scope of the project, and availability of the resources.
These are the key roles you need to have for a successful DITA implementation:
Management Information Architect
The following role descriptions are general descriptions. Your team may have more specific descriptions that can be used or adapted for the project.
Management Information Architect
There is no single definition of the Information Architect role. In fact, every working Information Architect has a unique job description, list of responsibilities, and set of skills. Regardless of how amorphous this role is, most Information Architects agree on one thing—this job is all about structuring and maintaining information so that it is findable and useable.
The Management Information Architect develops content structure to support user access. This role is responsible for establishing structures that facilitate creating, reusing, updating, and maintaining content and metadata. The Management Information Architect works with Delivery Information Architects, Content Strategists, Content Authors, and Transform Developers.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Develop the content model. This includes identifying DITA elements, their proper usage, and any necessary customization.
Collaborate with stakeholders to determine taxonomy values and associations.
Specify custom tool requirements to support content development.
Determine proper reuse strategies.
Create and maintain common reusable content. This may include approved boilerplate text, warnings, product names, glossary terms, note usage, etc.
Create and maintain conditional processing values.
Collaborate with the Delivery Information Architects to assess current and future delivery requirements for each audience.
Define content organization standards for each deliverable category.
Document proper content creation and reuse guidance. This can include topic element usage and metadata application requirements.
Develop samples to demonstrate content structures and element usage.
Define element support for content interchange with stakeholders.
Define conversion patterns for migrating legacy content to the new content model.
Skills
The skills necessary to successfully perform this role include, but are not limited to the following:
Ability to see, define, and refine the broad vision for global content creation and usage.
Communication and interpersonal skills necessary to gain support for cross-product team initiatives from global stakeholders.
Comprehension of business drivers and their impact on content creation, reuse, and delivery.
Ability to analyze content structure for semantic value.
In-depth DITA specification knowledge.
Training skills necessary to educate others in proper element usage.
Ability to collaborate with other roles to create, manage, reuse, customize, and deliver content.
Ability to coach or mentor others.
Familiarize yourself with other roles in our DITA Implementation Team series.
If you want to learn more about hiring or training for your DITA implementation, consider booking a coaching package with Amber Swope.
