Writing Assignment

For this assignment, you will need to have read the two books assigned for the course.

Additionally, read this chapter of the Web Project Guide

Throughout their book, Hane and Atheron use the running example of designing a content model for the Information Architecture Summit conference. They spend a significant part of the book detailing the process behind this design, and explaining the model. This model is detailed in multiple places in Chapters 5 through 8.

You will submit a document relating the IA Summit model to a hypothetical CMS as described in Barker’s book. Assume you have a CMS that maximally fulfills all 23 evaluation criteria in Barker’s book. How would you use these features to configure a CMS to support the model described by Hane and Atherton?

Your document should:

  • Detail every type and every attribute
  • Explain the attribute type and the underlying data type
  • Explain how the attribute should be validated
  • Explain what editorial element would be presented to editors in the editorial UI
  • Explain how links between types would be modeled and what that UI would look like
  • Explain which objects constitute pages and which would the operative content objects of an HTTP request
  • Explain what types, if any, could use inheritance or composition to make your model more manageable
  • Explain any other aggregations you might need to use
  • Assume that the website has been connected to an online ticketing system. This system allows people not attending the full conference to purchase tickets. However, this is limited to 10 tickets per session. How would this system intersect with the content model?

There are no restrictions on structure. You can submit a narrative, a set of matrices, etc. – so long as the information is clear and complete.

This assignment is due by the day of the final lecture.