Blog

Meet Andrew Davies, Information Architect

Written by Camilla Törnblom | Feb 4, 2025 7:05:07 AM

Andrew Davies brings expertise, creativity, and adaptability to his role as an Information Architect at Dstny. Embracing a dynamic and ever-changing workload, Andrew thrives in an environment where his work ranges from designing information ecosystems and technical documentation to creating training resources and guiding his team. He values collaboration, working closely with colleagues across departments to ensure seamless communication and documentation. 

 

 

Meet Andrew

 

  • Name: Andrew Davies 
  • Age:  40something
  • From:  The North, UK
  • Department: D4SP Product
  • Role: Information Architect   
  • Years at Dstny: 2.5 

 

Four quick questions

  • Morning or evening? Evening 
  • Coffee or tea? Coffee – black, no sugar 
  • LinkedIn or Instagram? Neither 
  • What’s your go-to productivity tool? Miro 
  • What’s your favorite time of year? Halloween/Autumn! 

 

 

Can you describe your role as an Information Architect and what a typical day looks like?

No such thing as a typical day for me – one of the things that I love about working here is that there’s so much variety in what I do; from writing how-to guides to contributing to training courses or reviewing formal documentation; alongside designing our information ecosystem and steering the technical writing process and team! 

 

What excites you most about working in product development? 

I get to be across the whole company and know about what we’re working on in real time.


How do you collaborate with teams like R&D, Product Management or Sales to shape solutions?

The best way to do this is to get to know people; I’ve made good friends in just about every department, which makes collaboration so easy – I just ring someone up and ask questions; and in return I make sure their documents are in order. 

 

What’s one project you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of?

Getting Call2Teams Go to launch – that was an amazing team effort and I’m very proud of what we achieved and how we went about it. 

 

How do you ensure complex systems are easy for teams and users to understand?

This is my job in a nutshell. If you can’t explain a concept to a five year old, go back and try again. Diagrams help, as do training videos. Treat every system as if it were going to be maintained by a very intelligent Martian – no slang, no idioms and watch what assumptions you make. 

 

What trends in information architecture are influencing the way you work? 


AI. AI and Tiktok. Take self organising systems, code that documents itself & interactive language models and give them to users with very short attention spans; this shapes the way we produce and manage content – few people read a manual anymore but lots of us learn via short bursts of information like a tiktok or a tweet.

 

How does your role contribute to bringing a product from concept to delivery?

If it’s not documented, how can we expect people to know how to use it? My job is to ensure that there’s adequate information available to everyone who touches a product, from our partners right the way through to the end users. 

 

What’s unique about collaboration within the product team at Dstny?

We’ve got a great breadth of expertise and we’re geographically diverse – it makes for an interesting bunch of very clever people. 

 

How do you align technical structures with user needs and business goals? 

I don’t, I make them work to what I need!  

 

What skills have you developed as an Information Architect that surprised you?

Good grief, I’ve had to get good at prompt writing for LLMs (AI language interfaces) and do so fast – the machines are here to stay and so we have to start using them as essential tools in our everyday lives. But that doesn’t mean they’re anywhere near perfect or idiot-proof, the responses you get are only ever as good as the data and the request you put in, which means thinking about what you’re telling your robots. 

 

How has your time at Dstny shaped your perspective on digital product development?

'Fail fast and try again' beats aiming for perfect first time round. 

 

What advice would you give someone starting a career in information architecture?

Don’t do it, no one will ever understand what it is you do. My older relatives tell people that I write telephone number directories for a living. 

 

What’s your favorite thing about working at Dstny?

 The people, we’re lucky to have such a nice bunch of people to work alongside. 

 

If you could describe your role in one word, what would it be and why?

Necessary. Information has to be managed and made available to the right people in the right way and someone has to control that. 

 

What’s a surprising fact about working in information architecture that people might not know?

There’s actually a whole guild of us – both internally at Dstny and internationally in the ISTC. That’s right, there’s lots of us. 

 

If you could design your dream product for Dstny, what would it look like?

A real-time speech translator – we’ve got the technology and the processing power to do it now, just need to find a way to bake it into phone calls. 

 

What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone looking to grow their career in product development? 

Be T-shirt shaped – have a good depth of knowledge in your area but be well rounded and familiar with all areas of the business; product is an ecosystem not a singular unit. 

 

Closing Thoughts 

Andrew Davies exemplifies what it means to thrive in a dynamic and collaborative environment. His ability to adapt to ever-changing challenges, coupled with his passion for making complex systems simple and accessible, continues to shape Dstny’s success. Whether it’s launching innovative products, fostering cross-departmental collaboration or harnessing emerging trends like AI, Andrew’s expertise and forward-thinking approach empower teams and users alike through clear, accessible, and well-organized information. Here's to more ground-breaking projects and continued success!