Post-acquisition IA framework: start with user goals across all product lines before touching navigation, labels, or rebrand decisions.
Key Takeaways
Begin with user goals, not product discussions; cross-company goal-writing builds empathy and surfaces unmet needs fast.
Group homepage and nav content by user goal, not by which acquired company owns the product.
Apply taxonomy (location, role, discipline, risk level) as orientation shortcuts, not rigid silos, to reduce cognitive load.
Distinguish vertical content (single-page) from horizontal content (repeated across touchpoints like visiting hours in nav, footer, location pages) to improve discoverability.
Test low-fidelity designs with real users early; validate that labels match user language and groupings match mental models.
