A short introduction to key issues related to developing and maintaining taxonomies.

1. Introduction to
Taxonomies &
Structured Information
Putting Knowledge Management into Practice
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Knowledge Management | Information Management | Open Knowledge
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Last modified: June 2014

2. Introduction to Taxonomies
Taxonomies, Tags, and Metadata
Metadata:
Data about data – e.g. keywords, descriptions, abstracts, author details, creation date.
Taxonomy:
A structure for organizing and codifying content for a particular organization, company, or body
of knowledge. Taxonomies consist of pre-defined, consistent taxonomic terms which are
arranged either in hierarchical relationships or grouped together in facets of related categories.
Tags:
User-assigned words or phrases. Also referred to as free tags or folksonomies.
Making explicit knowledge findable and discoverable
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3. Planning
Rapid
Development
Long-Term
Support
Taxonomy:
A system for organizing and codifying content for a particular entity
Taxonomy
Development
Cycles
Introduction to Taxonomies
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4. Introduction to Taxonomies
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Types of Taxonomies
- Hierarchical taxonomies
- Faceted classification schema
Example: Grocery store
How foods are organized and presented together
• Various ways to categorize –
• By temperature – freezer vs. refrigeration vs. room temperature
• By types of food – produce, meats, dairy, prepared foods
• By placement – eye level, kid-level

5. Introduction to Taxonomies
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Grocery Store: Hierarchical Example
Dairy
Cheeses
• Cheddar
• Feta
• Gouda
• Havarti
• Muenster
Milk
Produce
Fruits
• Apples
• Braeburn
• Fiji
• Granny Smith
Vegetables
• Carrots
• Celery
• Lettuce

6. Grocery Store: Facets
Produce Dry Foods Frozen Foods Dairy Meat
Apples
Carrots
Celery
Lettuce
Cereal
Pasta
Sauces
Desserts
Ice Cream
Pancakes
Pizza
Vegetables
Waffles
Cheese
Milk
Yogurt
Beef
Chicken
Seafood
Turkey
Facet = Produce
Terms = Apples, carrots, celery, lettuce, etc.
Introduction to Taxonomies
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7. Introduction to Taxonomies
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Folksonomies or “Tags”
User-generated keywords, not tied to a set list of terms
• Twitter: hashtags (ex: #gulfsla2014)
• Content management systems: “other” option
Department: <select from list>
Human Resources
Information Technology
Library
Other: <please specify> ___________
Tags = terms entered
into this space
Taxonomy terms: pick from a pre-defined list
Tags: provide your own terms

8. Introduction to Taxonomies
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Taxonomy Development Principles
1. Keep it simple.
2. Aim to hit 80% of content.
3. Balance between specificity and findability.

9. Introduction to Taxonomies
Twitter: @ClobridgeKMClobridge Consulting | www.clobridgeconsulting.com
Taxonomy Development: Planning
- Inventory
- Use cases
- Scope: content, systems
- Technical parameters
Planning

10. Introduction to Taxonomies
Twitter: @ClobridgeKMClobridge Consulting | www.clobridgeconsulting.com
Taxonomy Development: Planning
Inventory What taxonomies are already in use? How
can/should these be re-purposed? What can we
learn from them? Areas of overlap vs. differences?
Use Cases Examples groups of users and how they will
interact with content described by the taxonomy.
Scope What types of objects will be described by the
taxonomy? What systems will be used?
Technical
parameters
Faceted taxonomy is required. Facets can include
user tags as “other” from drop-down lists.
Planning

11. Introduction to Taxonomies
Twitter: @ClobridgeKMClobridge Consulting | www.clobridgeconsulting.com
Taxonomy Development: Rapid Development
Sticky note exercise:
- Establish initial set of
words & phrases
- Which are categories
(facets)?
- Which are terms?
Rapid
Development
From Scoping & Use
Cases:
- What fields should
be included? How
will they be used?
- For each field:
source of terms

12. Introduction to Taxonomies
Twitter: @ClobridgeKMClobridge Consulting | www.clobridgeconsulting.com
Taxonomy Development: Rapid Development
Establish Terms &
Facets
Test Terms & Facets
Revise
Test
Rapid
Development
Iterative Process:
Continue until ready to freeze the
taxonomy

13. Introduction to Taxonomies
Twitter: @ClobridgeKMClobridge Consulting | www.clobridgeconsulting.com
Taxonomy Development: Long-Term Admin
- Assessment and review
- Maintenance
- Clean-up tags
- Value-added opportunities?
Long-Term
Support

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Knowledge Management | Information Management | Open Knowledge