The information we received in order to design a software solution to Boeing's need was minimal. We were given a very basic information architecture and a list of functions. We had no access to users, only a few high-level stakeholders, and I suspected that there was more to the IA than met the eye.
With the information I had available to me, I created a basic layout for the R&D project page, as projects were the fundamental unit of information, and the most data dense objects. The focus at this stage was communicating all the required information clearly and demonstrating domain expertise. As such our "user" was not actually the end user, and this presented a long-term challenge to the product design.
I then expanded the designs into a basic folder-style navigation system that essentially served as a decision tree to get to the desired projects. It had to be something we could build quickly, something that the client could get their hands on and play around with, which would further increase the likelihood of getting the contract.