A Tested Information Architecture Makes Enterprise Content Easier to Find
Build an information foundation that makes company content easier to find.
Para ran a formal enterprise information architecture project. We started with discovery and a full content inventory. We sorted content with real users and drafted the architecture, then tested it with them. Finally, we built the technical structure that search and navigation run on.
Business challenge
- Company content needed one consistent structure and way of classifying it.
- Navigation and search had to match how users really looked for information.
- Taxonomy and metadata needed governance so the team could keep the model current.
Para approach
- We ran discovery with stakeholders and users.
- We took stock of company content and gave it structure.
- We used card sorting and user testing to prove people could find things.
- We defined how teams would tag and classify content.
- We designed navigation and enterprise search, and the governance to keep them current.
How it works
Validated information-architecture method and applied SharePoint implementation evidence. Evidence: initial IA design, project task records, intranet presentation and deployment documentation.
User Discovery
Content Inventory
Card Sorting / Testing
Taxonomy & Metadata
Navigation / Search
Governance
Delivered capability
Discovery & content inventory
We researched what users needed and how the client organized information.
Card sorting & user testing
We tested navigation and findability with real users.
Taxonomy & metadata
We set up managed terms and ways to classify content.
Global content types
We built reusable content structures for the whole company.
Search & navigation
We designed the architecture for navigation and enterprise search.
Governance
We planned how to keep the information model current over time.
Evidence-supported outcomes
Repeatable IA method
We created a reusable approach to enterprise information architecture.
Improved findability foundation
We put structures in place that support navigation and search.
Controlled information model
Teams can govern the information model the same way across the company.
Modernization readiness
Once the customer confirms it, the method can support current Microsoft 365 and enterprise search work.
Technology & delivery context
Older SharePoint intranet with managed metadata, global content types, and search and navigation setup. This case proves a method and applied architecture. It is not a software product.
Have a similar enterprise challenge?
Para can assess where you stand today and shape the right approach. We then carry it from business need through delivery and ongoing operations.