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Kat King

Kat King

Business Intelligence Analyst
,
University of Michigan Library
California, United States
Bio

Kat King is an information architect interested in language, meaning, and the things we make. She currently works as a business intelligence analyst for the University of Michigan Library.

Upcoming Talks and Workshops

Where is the Information?

Remote

Information professionals are people who work with the stuff of information in their everyday work. We search for and elicit information, we spend time analyzing and synthesizing it, we carefully create and structure it. But understanding exactly what the information is, and where it is in our work can be tricky. Information theory can be a dense and jargon filled, and definitions in academic texts can feel divorced from the practice of actually working with information. In this talk I’ll use simple examples (sorting a set of objects, playing a guessing game, etc) to teach the audience to “see” the information, and then understand information theory concepts. I'll give a basic definition for information, show how the structure of a system determines what is information within it, how humans actually interact with information, and the difference between information and other meaningful content.

In the past I've given talks about this subject that taught the theory by citing the work of academics who study information, but it in this talk I'll teach with examples too keep it accessible.

Past Talks and Workshops

Where is the Information?

Information Architecture
2023
 

Often product people don’t understand IA and the problem it solves, and we think UX research will be enough. As the web and development has evolved it appears that the UX discipline has become the predominant means of understanding our customers/users. My initial introduction into IA, as a product owner, was confusing. I couldn’t see the user problem that IA solves. There were so many concepts and methods framed with language that I didn’t understand (ironically!). For IA to become embedded in the product development process, we must also use the language of product: What user problems does IA solve and what are the commercial/organizational benefits of IA? The methods of IA can be explained later. In this talk I will share ideas and approaches:- A better way to explain IA to product people /stakeholders- Show the impact of IA through identifying the targeted metrics - Final stage of embedding IA in product: Building understanding and empathy for IA through delegating IA user interviews, testing to product folk