Information Architecture in Practice
Community-Supported Learning with Abby Covert
Ready to transform how you work? Join a learning community solving the real information architecture problems - like how to check and organize huge content collections, design navigation people can actually use, and get others to support better organizing systems. Each month, we tackle one focus area, building skills you can use on your hardest information challenges.
Your timing is impeccable. Start today.
Each month centers on one focus area of information architecture. You'll work alongside Abby Covert to develop essential skills and practical approaches to organizing information.
Your learning path includes four connected experiences each month. Community discussions that explore real challenges, workshops that build concrete skills, resource guides that capture proven methods, and practice sessions where you apply what you learn.
This structured but flexible approach helps you tackle complex information problems with confidence. Rather than just discussing theory, you'll build skills you can apply to your work right away.
Includes:
- Weekly Chat Discussions
Deep dive with Abby into specific challenges in our members-only chat channel. - Monthly Video Discussions
Join live conversations moderated by Abby exploring each topic with fellow practitioners. - Group Workshops Every Month
Participate in newly developed workshops incorporating community insights. - Growing Sensemaker's Handbook
Reference our collective discoveries and research in each focus area.
JUNE'S FOCUS AREA
CONTROLLING VOCABULARIES
Every information system lives or dies by how well you manage your terms. Success isn't just about organizing content - it's about understanding the words that help or confuse your users.
Think of it like setting the house rules before game night. Controlled vocabularies help everyone play by the same language rules—whether they’re writing content, coding interfaces, analyzing data, or using the system. In information architecture, this means deciding which words to use, which to avoid, and how to handle synonyms and edge cases. It’s less about being a language cop and more about being a translator across silos. Are marketing and product using the same terms? Does search understand what users type in? Are contributors inventing new terms that confuse things? By building shared language early, you reduce friction, cut down on errors, and make your system easier for everyone to navigate. It’s not just semantics—it’s how clarity scales.
Auditing Approaches, Methods and Tools
Community Chat Discussion
Mondays in June
@ 12 PM Eastern
Join us every Monday in May to dig into the messy, essential work of choosing the right words. We’ll explore practical ways to build and maintain shared language across teams—from naming things clearly to navigating tricky synonyms—and learn from each other’s experiences with the tools and tactics that actually work (and the ones that didn’t).
Speaking the Same Language: When Words Matter Most
Discussion Group
June 6 2025
@ 12 to 1 PM Eastern
When your team says “home,” do they mean homepage, house, or HQ? In this interactive discussion, we’ll explore the moments when word choices make or break shared understanding. Come ready to swap war stories about miscommunication, brainstorm better terms, and reflect on how small language shifts can unlock big alignment.
The Sensemaker's Guide to Controlled Vocabularies
Chapter Release
June 13, 2025
Available for FREE on abbycovert.com
Cut the confusion and align your language. This free guide gives you practical steps for creating vocabularies that stick—across systems, teams, and users. Learn simple techniques for deciding what to call things (and what not to), how to document decisions, and ways to keep your terms clear and consistent over time.
Word Choice Wars: Building Controlled Vocabularies That Work
Workshop
June 20, 2025
@ 12 to 2 PM Eastern
JULY'S FOCUS AREA
DESIGNING WITH METADATA
Your IA is only as strong as how well you handle your data about data. Success isn't just about storing information - it's about understanding the extra details that help or confuse your users.
Approaches, Methods and Tools
Community Chat Discussion
Mondays in July
@ 12 PM Eastern
Join us every Monday in July to dig into the powerful world of metadata design. We'll explore practical approaches to making information findable, connected, and meaningful across systems. From tagging strategies to metadata governance, we'll share real-world examples of what works (and what falls flat) when organizing information at scale. Bring your questions and challenges for group brainstorming.
Behind the Scenes: Making Data Work Harder
Discussion Group
April 11 2025
@ 12 to 1 PM Eastern
Is your metadata just sitting there, or is it actively helping users find what they need? In this interactive discussion, we'll pull back the curtain on metadata that quietly powers great experiences. Come ready to share examples of clever metadata implementations, debate what makes certain attributes more valuable than others, and explore how small metadata tweaks can dramatically improve findability and connections between content.
The Sensemaker's Guide to Metadata
Chapter Release
July 18, 2025
Available for FREE on abbycovert.com
Tag It Right: Building Better Data Descriptions
Workshop
July 25, 2025
@ 12 to 2 PM Eastern
Coming in August
Thoughtful Taxonomies
Coming in September
Structural Argumentation
EACH MONTH BRINGS A FOCUS AREA
Each focus area builds on the last, following the natural flow of how we make sense of, design for, and improve information spaces. This thoughtful progression helps you develop a complete approach to information architecture practice.
MONTHLY FOCUS AREAS
- January: Auditing an Existing Information Environment
- February: Establishing Measurements in Preparation for Change
- March: Conducting a Heuristic Evaluation
- April: Managing Stakeholders
- May: Diagramming & Modeling
- June: Controlling Vocabularies
- July: Designing with Metadata
- August: Proposing Thoughtful Taxonomies
- September: Arguing for Structural Resilience
- October: Proposing ROI for Architectural Improvements
- November: Collaborating in Information Architecture
- December: Managing Changes in Information Architecture
Frequently Asked Questions
What experience level is this program designed for?
How much time should I plan to commit each month?
What if I can't attend all the live sessions?
Do I need to commit to all 12 months?
Will this be relevant if I don't work as an Information Architect?
Can I see the rest of the schedule?
MEET YOUR GUIDE
ABBY COVERT
Abby Covert is an information architect, writer and community organizer with two decades of experience helping people make sense of messes.
She has written two popular books, How to Make Sense of Any Mess and Stuck? Diagrams Help. She currently spends her time making things that help you to make the unclear, clear, many of which she makes available for free on her website www.abbycovert.com
In 2022 she started The Sensemakers Club where she brings together sensemakers from different walks of life to learn from one another. Abby currently lives and writes from Melbourne, Florida where her most important job title is ‘Mom’.
"In 2025 I want to be in the thick of defining a practice while in community with fellow practitioners, not standing at a pulpit preaching to a choir who has been well rehearsed to sing along." - Abby Covert
Sensemakers face increasingly complex challenges made of information.
- Systems that defy conventional frameworks
- Stakeholders with competing needs
- Rapid technological change
- Growing information complexity
Traditional education isn't keeping up with the sense that we collectively need to make. We need a new approach.
"We need a different way to learn about working with information, data, content and people."
- Abby Covert
This isn't another course where an expert tells you what to do. Instead you will learn through active discussion, help shape curriculum as we go, test ideas in real time and build lasting connections with other folks doing the same.
This is an exercise in what we can discover together. No pedestals. No preaching. Just real exploration with fellow practitioners.
Turn Learning into Action
Build Your IA Practice
- Turn complex information problems into clear, actionable solutions
- Make decisions based on real evidence, not just gut feelings
- Get key players on board using tested communication strategies
- Design organizing systems that work for real people
- Lead meaningful change in your organization or team
Learn from Real Experience
- See how others tackle information challenges in different fields
- Dig into real projects and learn from what worked (and didn't)
- Get honest feedback when you're stuck
- Build lasting connections with other information architects
Take Home Practical Tools
- Step-by-step guides for each area of IA practice
- Watch in-depth workshops again when you need them
- Quick summaries that capture key insights from our discussions
- Ready-to-use templates and frameworks for common IA challenges
JOIN THE JOURNEY
Information Architecture in Practice
Subscribe to Club Emails
By subscribing to monthly email updates you will gain access to key learnings from this course and access to published chapters every month.
FREE
Subscribe TodayJoin the Sensemakers Club
Club members at all levels get access to chat channels, monthly moderated discussions with Abby and a 25% discount on any monthly workshops
$75/m
Start TodayWord Choice Wars: Building Controlled Vocabularies That Work
Workshop taught by Abby Covert
June 20, 2025
@ 12 to 2 PM Eastern
The words we use shape how people navigate, understand, and trust the systems we build. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get into the nitty-gritty of creating controlled vocabularies that actually stick. You’ll learn how to map messy terms, wrangle synonyms, and guide your team toward shared language—without getting lost in semantics.
$125
per drop in
Tag It Right: Building Better Metadata
Workshop taught by Abby Covert
July 25, 2025
@ 12 to 2 PM Eastern
The metadata we create determines what people can find, connect, and understand across our systems. In this hands-on workshop, we'll move beyond theory and dig into the practical work of designing useful metadata. You'll learn how to audit existing attributes, create structured tagging systems, and implement governance approaches that keep your metadata clean and consistent over time. Come with a real metadata challenge, leave with a solid plan of attack.
$125
per drop in
Become a Premium Member
Club members at all levels get access to chat channels, monthly moderated discussions with Abby and a 25% discount on any monthly workshops
In addition, starting in 2025, premium club members will receive access to all workshops including recordings.
This is the best way to get access to the content in this program while paying month by month.
...and yes, we know how valuable this braintrust is about to be.
$100/m
Start TodayWorkshop Videos For Sale
(Premium Members Get FREE Access)
Strategies for Effective Audits
Learn pressure-tested strategies for running successful information audits that deliver real value to your organization. This hands-on workshop will equip you with practical techniques you can apply immediately to your own audit projects.
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How to Measure Before Change
Learn tested ways to capture your current state before making changes. This hands-on workshop shows you how to document what matters, spot patterns in how people work, and set up measurements that help rather than hinder your improvement efforts.
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Heuristics in Action
Learn practical ways to catch issues before they trip up users. This hands-on workshop shows you how to spot common problems, find patterns in user confusion, and set up simple checks that help you fix issues early in your design work.
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How to Manage Stakeholders
Learn practical methods to identify and work with the people who matter most to your project's success. This hands-on workshop gives you simple but effective tools to map stakeholder influence, understand competing priorities, and build the relationships that turn good ideas into implemented solutions.
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Diagramming & Modeling
Stop creating diagrams that collect dust! This hands-on session teaches you how to build visual models teams actually use. You'll learn the nuts and bolts of effective system blueprints, practical ways to match your models to real problems, and methods to ensure your work becomes a go-to resource rather than forgotten documentation. Bring your current project challenges—you'll walk away with clear, useful blueprints your team can put to work immediately.
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