An Architecture for Global Health

Okay, right: I didn’t really solve that problem. But I did lead a project a few years ago at Dynamic Diagrams, defining the information architecture for a new website for the Forum for Global Health Protection (now Emerging Health Threats).

The analysis phase included user interviews with doctors, researchers, and other stakeholders. One thing most interviews had in common was how they thought about the knowledge: by named threat, by health field, or by global region. We made sure to incorporate a tagging system in the CMS and highlighted those facets in search, including combined searches.

To explain the site’s architecture, we created a diagram. The big yellow-orange cube in the diagram represents the knowledge facets and how users can access knowledge by single or combined facets, in 3D: by layers, rows, or single cubes.

BIG NOTE OF CREDIT: Kim Looney of Dynamic Diagrams did the stunning visual design. My role was to define the requirements, define the architecture, and manage the project. Second note: It’s a large PNG file and may take a few seconds to load.

Click to see the detailed view. It may take a few seconds to load.

The purpose of the site is to share information about emerging health threats from pathogens, chemicals, and the environments (natural and human). That’s what the site’s architecture is doing.