Duncan Stephen

Just as human-centred approaches as a whole have suffered from being flattened to a superficial layer, information architecture has suffered its own flattening.

This content is password-protected.

I originally wrote this in 2023, but the time to publish it slipped away.

Many of us who work with human-centred approaches (by which I mean user experience, interaction design, service design and similar fields) are waking up to a harsh reality of what has happened to our practice over the years.

The Digital Strategy for Scotland commits us to delivering personalised public services that are flexible, accessible, and responsive.

One of the most important books about user experience is Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug.

I don’t normally write about music any more, but I feel compelled to write about the new Boards of Canada album, Inferno.

Last month I attended Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2026.

Large language models have pushed their way through to the other side of the hype cycle.

I have been using WordPress since 2004.

For the past month, my manager Marc Lunness and I have been running events showcasing the opportunities of connected content and information architecture.

I am pleased to be involved in organising a series of learning sessions about connected content and information architecture.

I will be speaking at World IA Day London 2026, an online event about information architecture.

Modern artificial intelligence tools are largely rooted in text-based interactions.

In information architecture, we work with graphs a lot.

I am ending 2025 by writing about 2024.

The information architect Peter Morville likes to say: “all maps are traps”.

Recently I had to intensively research a couple of topics involving potential purchase decisions.

How would you describe agile as a philosophy?

I have made some behind-the-scenes changes to this website.

In 2021, the Verge published an article analysing the horror that the current generation of students couldn’t understand the way their professors thought about computers (Internet Archive version).

One of the most powerful methods in information architecture and user experience is also one of the least well-known.

Information architecture normally focuses on the objects that need to be represented in a system.

Amid technology-focused hype cycles, the job of human-centred practitioners is to remind everyone: the main reason people use technology is to enhance our connections with other humans in the real world.

I have long felt uneasy about modern occupations associating themselves with high-status traditional professions.

Benefits of object-oriented user experience In previous posts I have explained what an object-oriented approach to structuring information is, and how we are doing it at the Scottish Government.

Modelling the real world I have described in a previous post how object-oriented user interface concepts have successfully persisted for decades.

In my job at the Scottish Government, we are understanding the opportunities that can be provided by better structuring our information.

The original draft of this post was written in 2022, at a moment when “big tech” was facing a reckoning.

I was sad to learn earlier that Vicky Teinaki has died.

In my newish job working with structured information with the Scottish Government, I am deepening my understanding of concepts around information architecture, and how to apply ideas from the discipline to our context.

I found some very vintage but surprisingly pristine litter in Morningside a few weeks ago.

You can now follow me on Bluesky: @duncanstephen.net.

In 2021 I attended a series of online webinars by Jared Spool called Taking Control of Agile UX.

Happy Halloween.

I have decided to refresh my approach to blogging (yet again).

The job market is rough at the moment.

The latest chapter in my career has closed, as I have found an incredibly exciting new opportunity.

Perception–Cognition–Action (PCA) analysis is a method of uncovering the root causes of usability errors and accessibility challenges in systems.

Adapted from an article I originally wrote for User Vision.

I will be speaking at the UX Healthcare conference in London on Friday 12 April.

In late January our second daughter Imogen was born.

I went to just two concerts in 2023, and they were both of Pulp’s performances in Scotland.

Lots of 2023 went unblogged.

I have recently completed my 50th parkrun.

Alex and I are expecting a second baby!

Britpop has been having a moment again this summer.

Join me for a virtual breakfast session where you will learn about the links between behavioural science and user experience.