Glossary · 2 · Topics and information design

Information Mapping

Also known as: Information Mapping method, Information Mapping®, IMAP, Horn method

German: Information Mapping

In technical communication, Information Mapping is a structured writing method that analyzes subject matter into small labeled units, classifies each unit by the reader question it answers, and presents the result in a standardized visual format. Its core building blocks are the information block (a labeled unit covering one idea) and the information map (a set of related blocks under a heading), with each block assigned an information type such as procedure, process, concept, principle, fact or structure. The method is applied in three steps — analyze, organize, present — guided by writing principles such as chunking, relevance, labeling and consistency. Information Mapping is also a registered trademark of Information Mapping, Inc., which offers training, certification and authoring software for the method.

structured writing
information types
chunking
modular content
technical communication

In one sentence

Information Mapping: Horn's structured writing method with labeled blocks, maps and information types — a precursor of topic-based documentation.

Example

A maintenance department rewrote its service manual in Information Mapping style, so that every task appeared as a labeled procedure block with a step/action table instead of running prose.

Information Mapping grew out of research begun by Robert E. Horn in the mid-1960s; the 1969 paper "Information Mapping for Learning and Reference" by Horn, Elizabeth H. Nicol and Joel C. Kleinman is generally cited as its first published description, and Horn's later work on structured writing and hypertext (including Mapping Hypertext, 1989) extended it to screen-based information. The method predates markup-based structured authoring practice but anticipates much of it: self-contained, labeled units of information, classification by type, and separation of the writing decision (what kind of information is this?) from the layout decision (how is it shown?). Published descriptions of the method list six information types in current vendor documentation — procedure, process, concept, principle, fact and structure — while older literature often lists seven by adding classification. The direct lineage to DITA information typing is conceptual rather than formal: DITA defines types in a schema, Information Mapping defines them as writing and presentation conventions.

How it applies

Analyze before writing. The method asks for an explicit audience and purpose analysis, then sorts the raw subject matter into units by the reader question each unit answers ("How do I do this?" → procedure; "What is this?" → concept). This is the same question-driven move later formalized in DITA topics as concept, task and reference.
Write in blocks, not paragraphs. Each block covers one idea and carries a label in the left margin or as a run-in heading; related blocks form a map with a map title. In machinery documentation this typically yields one map per task, with blocks for purpose, prerequisites, warnings, steps and results.
Use type-specific presentation. Procedures are presented as step/action or if/then tables, processes as stage/description tables, structures as part/description tables. Consistent presentation per type is what makes the style instantly recognizable — and what makes it reviewable.
Label everything. Labeling is the method's main retrieval mechanism: readers scan labels, not sentences. For software documentation this maps cleanly onto anchored headings and search snippets.
Keep units small. The chunking principle limits a unit to a small number of items, with longer material split into subordinate blocks and maps (hierarchy of chunking and labeling).
Reuse and publishing. Because blocks are self-contained and typed, they can be moved, reordered and reused across documents; this is the practical bridge to single-sourcing and to a component content management system. The method itself, however, defines no exchange format, so reuse depends on the tooling around it.
Compliance work. Information Mapping can make required content such as instructions for use easier to check against a content checklist, because each required item sits in its own labeled block. Using the method does not by itself satisfy any legal or standards requirement, and it does not make a product safe — the content still has to be assessed against the applicable regulation or standard.
Terminology and trademark. "Information Mapping" is a registered trademark; the name, the certification ("Information Mapping Professional") and the training materials belong to Information Mapping, Inc. Teams that apply only parts of the method usually describe their house style as structured writing rather than as Information Mapping.

Information Mapping vs. topic-based documentation

Both break documentation into self-contained, typed units, but they operate at different levels. Information Mapping is a writing and presentation method: it prescribes how to analyze content, how to label blocks and how to lay out each information type, and it was developed for print and word processing. Topic-based documentation is an architectural approach: topics are files or components, types are enforced by a schema and validated by schema validation, and assembly is handled by a map such as a DITA map, with metadata driving filtering and delivery. A team can write Information Mapping–style blocks inside DITA topics; conversely, a DITA repository says nothing about whether the prose inside the topics follows any writing method.

Keep in mind

Information Mapping, Inc. also sells authoring software (the FS Pro add-in family for Microsoft Word and Outlook) and, more recently, AI-assisted structuring features. Product names, editions, feature sets and availability change; check the vendor's current documentation before relying on any specific capability. The method as described above is independent of those products.