Process teaches

We learn through feedback loops. Human beings are very bad at understanding cause and effect when they’re separated by time. To learn, we need to close the feedback loops so we understand the effects of our choices, and have less of a chance to blame it on externalities.

A good, iterative IA process teaches by tightening the feedback loop. Ideas get a chance to break when they’re put into a system model, then when their relationships are identified, then when their attributes are teased out, all before you move out of sticky notes. An information architect (or a feature team) that only sees what works once they ship it won’t get the kind of quick feedback they need to learn to make better decisions.

References

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization: Second Edition. ![[@sengeFifthDisciplineArt#^0bb92b]] ![[@sengeFifthDisciplineArt#^b9f098]]

Ko, A. J. (2023). Informatics Teaching Guide

Assessment can be summative or formative. Summative assessments are measurements taken at a moment in time to see what somebody knows and then aggregate later. Most exams are summative. Formative assessments are diagnostic and support deliberate practice. They are one of the ways you get that deliberate practice. The results of formative assessments are used but not retained.