A chronological look at DITA's 20-year history — from early XML experiments to DITA 2.0's machine-interpretable knowledge model — told through the lens of one practitioner's career.

A practitioner-driven walkthrough of how design and information architecture must work together — not in sequence, not in silos — to build content experiences that hold up in the real world.

Good self-service documentation doesn't happen by accident — it starts with information architecture. Amber Swope and Lief Erickson explain how IA structures content that users can actually find and use on their own.

How do you scale your content strategy while preparing for AI? Amber Swope covers IA maturity models, DITA roles, and generative AI's impact on content architecture in this hour-long podcast conversation.

Four scenarios that reveal the blind spots, team reactions, and practical takeaways for agents of change and their teams navigating tool adoption, structured authoring, new metrics, and process change.

The skeptic on your team who resists every change initiative might be your most valuable asset. Amber Swope explains how to understand, engage, and ultimately win over your curmudgeon.

A practitioner case study from LavaCon 2024 examining how content quality, semantic structure, archetype-informed prompting, and knowledge injection shape generative AI results.

Most teams doing structured content work don't have a dedicated information architect. That doesn't mean the IA work doesn't need to happen — it means someone on your team is already doing parts of it without the title or the framework. In this session, I walk through the distinction between management IA and delivery IA, and what a small team can do to make real progress on both without hiring a full-time specialist.

Intelligent content is content that can have a life of its own — designed to be delivered across contexts and to perform as designed when it gets there. In this roundtable from PoolParty Summit 2024, I joined five colleagues from the Content Component Alliance to work through what that actually requires. The conversation covers framework, metadata, terminology, knowledge graphs, and why most organizations building AI tools right now are solving the wrong problem.

Most DITA implementations underestimate what information architecture actually requires — and that gap shows up in the content well after go-live. In this STC presentation, I walk through the distinction between management and delivery IA, how the DITA Maturity Model maps investment to return, and what an information architect actually does at every stage of the content lifecycle, from authoring through delivery.

Most generative AI projects don't fail because the technology doesn't work — they fail because the content fed into the system isn't structured, scoped, or quality-controlled. In this panel, Lief Erickson, Fabrice Lacroix, and I discuss the patterns we've seen across real projects, including why "almost right" answers are more dangerous than obvious hallucinations. If you're a content professional trying to figure out where you fit in your organization's AI initiative, this conversation is for you.

How do you know if your information architecture is actually working? Amber Swope and Patrick Bosek discuss IA validation, troubleshooting, and the difference between platform-dependent and independent deliverables.

How do you become an information architect when there's no official degree or certification path? Amber Swope explores the career routes that lead to the IA role in part two of this series.

What is information architecture, where did it come from, and why does DITA make it powerful? Amber Swope and Patrick Bosek cover the foundations in part one of this three-part series.

Information architecture isn't a one-time project — it evolves as your content and business needs change. Amber Swope explores IA maturity models, metadata strategy, and how to know when it's time to level up.

Most organizations underuse their CCMS because their information architecture isn't ready for it. Amber Swope shows you exactly what to fix before your CCMS can deliver on its promise.

Content governance is one of the most misunderstood investments an organization can make. Amber Swope explains how to build a governance model that actually supports your business goals rather than slowing your team down.

A DITA content model is often the first thing cut when deadlines are tight — and it's always a mistake. Amber Swope walks through her methodology for building one efficiently, even under pressure.

Agile and information architecture don't always play nicely together — but they can. Amber Swope explains how IAs can use backlogs, content stories, and sprint planning to stay ahead of the development team.

What does information architecture actually mean — and what does an information architect do? Amber Swope unpacks the discipline, including her distinction between management IA and delivery IA, in this conversation with Alan Pringle.