Getting Started with User-Centered Taxonomy Design

1. Getting Started with User-Centered Taxonomy Design Joseph A. Busch, Senior Principal

2. Project Performance Corporation • 1,300-person (325 in US) multi-disciplinary team of scientific and technical experts • Taxonomy and metadata design experts. • Systems engineers and architects. • Policy and regulatory specialists. • Project management professionals. • Certified information technology experts. • Security professionals. • Behavioral change and knowledge transfer specialists.

3. Commercial and non-governmental clients

4. Government clients Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration

5. Who we are: Joseph Busch • Over 25 years in the business of organized information. • Senior Principal, PPC • Founder, Taxonomy Strategies • Director, Solutions Architecture, Interwoven • VP, Infoware, Metacode Technologies • Program Manager, Getty Foundation • Manager, Pricewaterhouse • Metadata and taxonomies community leadership. • President, American Society for Information Science & Technology • Director, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative • Founder, Networked Knowledge Organization Systems/Services

6. What we do

7. What we do Organize Stuff

8. Who are you? What sectors do you work in? • Your Role • Content Manager • Editor • Information Architect • Usability Expert • Librarian • Records Manager • Knowledge Engineer • Ontologist • Chief Information Officer • Communications • Administration • Sector • Education • Government • Research • Other

9. Like this? Or, like this? How do you organize your sock drawer?

10. Today’s agenda

11. Agenda • Defining business taxonomy • Justification for a business taxonomy • Planning a taxonomy project • How to get started • Case study • Closing

12. Search Browse Metadata Taxonomy and metadata definitions • Primary tools to provide structure to unstructured information. • Depending on system design and use, may be front-end or back-end functionality. • Taxonomy (categorization) is often actualized by applying metadata to documents. • Enable findability.

13. Taxonomy and metadata definitions • Metadata • Data about data. • Taxonomy • The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships. • The science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics. • Division into ordered groups, categories, or hierarchies.

14. Examples of taxonomy used to populate metadata fields Metadata Values (As Taxonomy) • Audience • Internal • Executives • Managers • External • Suppliers • Customers • Partners • Topics • Employee Services • Compensation • Retirement • Insurance • Further Education • Finance & Budget • Products & Services • Support Services • Infrastructure • Supplies Metadata Title Author Department Audience Topic

15. Explaining traditional taxonomies • Biological/Medical/Library Science Taxonomies • An overall organizational system with many branches or sub-branches that organizes their world of information. • Extremely rigid approach • Purely subject-oriented. • Consistent and methodical. • Every item has one and only one correct categorization. • “Instantive” Categorization Approach • Defined by “is a” relationships— each child category is an instance of the parent category. • “Pure” taxonomic approach. Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Family Colubridae Genus Pituophis Species Catenifer

16. Defining the business taxonomy • Categorization structure designed by and for business users • Business users as primary taggers/content contributors • Business users (or their constituents) as primary consumers • Used for both (or either) primary or secondary categorization: • Primary: Navigation, Management • Secondary: Search, Tagging “ When we talk about a taxonomy, we are not only talking about a website navigation scheme. Websites change frequently, we are looking at a more durable way to deal with content so that different navigation schemes can be used over time.” – R. Daniel “Taxonomy FAQs”

17. Characteristics of business taxonomies • Tend to be less rigid and constrained. • Influenced by usability concerns • Minimize number of “clicks” • Often content-driven • Ensure balanced content distribution. • Allow flexibility, redundancy • Items may be organized into multiple categories. • May support multiple taxonomies for disparate audiences. • May use one or more different categorization approaches.

18. Traditional v. business taxonomy: Side-by-side comparison Traditional Taxonomy • Back-end Visibility • Integration & Classification • Absolute Granularity • Ultimate Classification Business Taxonomy • Front-end Visibility/Navigation Structure • Navigation & Integration/Classification • Increased Usability • Simplicity

19. Example of business taxonomy

20. Refine search by: Category Price Brand Color/Finish # Handles Series Name Water Filter? Faucet Spray Handle Shape Soap Dispenser? Business taxonomy problem: How to pick from > 5,000 faucets?

21. How business taxonomy translates into front-end interface • Metadata Field: Size • Taxonomy Values: • 4.5 • 5.5 • 6 • 6.5 • 7 • 8 • … • Metadata Field: Type • Taxonomy Values: • Athletic Inspired • Boots • Loafers and Slip-ons • Oxfords and More • Sandals • Metadata Field: Color • Taxonomy Values: • Black • Blue • Brown • Green • Grey • Ivory • … • Metadata Field: Brand • Taxonomy Values: • Antonio Maurizi • Bacco Bucci • Ben Sherman • Bruno Magli • …

22. How business taxonomy translates into front-end interface…for YOUR ORGANIZATION • Metadata Field: Topic • Taxonomy Values: • Manufacturing • Benefits • Infrastructure • Quality • Safety • … • Metadata Field: Locale • Taxonomy Values: • North America • Europe • Asia • South America • … ? • Metadata Field: Document Type • Taxonomy Values: • Forms • Policies • Procedures • Reports • News • … • Metadata Field: Department • Taxonomy Values: • HR • Sales and Marketing • Communications • Shipping • …

23. Noun exercise: Most popular flickr tags http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/

24. Noun exercise: Facet grouping Sort flickr categories into 5 or fewer groups. Then label each group.

25. Agenda • Defining business taxonomy • Justification for a business taxonomy • Planning a taxonomy project • How to get started • Case study • Closing

26. Justification for business taxonomy • Easier information management. • Flexibility to respond to changing needs. • Foundation for findability and usability.

27. Main Ingredients Meal Type Cuisines Cooking Methods • Chocolate • Dairy • Fruits • Grains • Meat & Seafood • Nuts • Olives • Pasta • Spices & Seasonings • Vegetables • Breakfast • Brunch • Lunch • Supper • Dinner • Snack • African • American • Asian • Caribbean • Continental • Eclectic/ Fusion/ International • Jewish • Latin American • Mediterranean • Middle Eastern • Vegetarian • Advanced • Bake • Broil • Fry • Grill • Marinade • Microwave • No Cooking • Poach • Quick • Roast • Sauté • Slow Cooking • Steam • Stir-fry Effectiveness of business taxonomies • Categorize in multiple, independent, categories. • Allow combinations of categories to narrow the choice of items. • 4 independent categories of 10 nodes each have the same discriminatory power as one hierarchy of 10,000 nodes (104) • Easier to maintain • Easier to reusue existing material • Can be easier to navigate, if software supports it 42 values to maintain (10+6+11+15) 9900 combinations (10x6x11x15)

28. Easier management – Greater consistency:Overall enterprise taxonomy goals for the EPA • Provide a single methodology for categorizing information across offices, programs, and regions. • Reduce the time it takes to successfully target and find cross-Program/Region information • Enable and enforce content linking across the agency • Build common agency-wide terminology resources • Eliminate multiple, ambiguous taxonomies • Eliminate multiple glossaries, abbreviations and acronyms • Group things differently depending on the context • e.g., ground water with drinking water, or ground water with water quality • Get the right content to the right people in the right format at the right time.

29. Flexibility to respond to changing needs Steve • Respond to innovation • New product or service launch • Respond to disruption • The boss wants something done now • Target / personalize content • RSS feeds • Tailored portals • Assemble new site quickly • Unfunded mandates Michael

30. Foundation for findability and usability • For a product catalog, e.g., HomeDepot.com • Conversion rate increases • 20% increase. Petersen • Lift in average order size. • 20% increase. Petersen • For knowledge workers, e.g., call center support staff • Time saved • 36% faster than search. Chen & Dumais. • For knowledge workers, e.g., analysts • Increase in productivity • 25% productivity increase from not re-creating content . Taylor. • Estimated productivity loss exceeded $10M per year—about $500 per employee per year. Nielsen.

31. Common categorization schemes – Strive for topical taxonomy Hardest Easiest

32. Taxonomy governance self-assessment Basic • Is there a process in place to examine search query logs? Yes No • Is there an organization-wide metadata standard, such as the “Dublin Core”, for use by search tools? Yes No Intermediate • Is there an ongoing data cleansing procedure to look for any redundant, obsolete or trivial content (ROT)? Yes No If there is a process, describe it briefly. • Does the search engine index more than 4 repositories around the organization? • Are system features and metadata fields added based on cost/benefit analysis, or because they are easy to do with the current applications and tools? Cost/Benefit Easy • Are applications and tools acquired after requirements have been analyzed, or are major purchases sometimes made to use up year-end money? Requirements Year-End • Are there hiring and training practices for metadata and taxonomy positions? Yes No If there is training, describe it briefly. Advanced • Are there established qualitative and quantitative measures of metadata quality? Yes No If there are measures, describe them briefly. • Can the CEO explain the return on investment (ROI) for content management, search and metadata? Yes No

33. Agenda • Defining business taxonomy • Justification for a business taxonomy • Planning a taxonomy project • How to get started • Case study • Closing

34. Top down v. bottom up approach – We’re focusing on top down Top down approach • Keep it broad and shallow • 6-12 top-level categories. • 2-3 levels deep. • Focus mainly on the primary, top-level concepts • Keep it simple (elegant) • Be inspired by schemes that already exist and are being used • Industry standards. • Local practices. • When appropriate, use universally applicable divisions • Business activities. • Focus on the names of people, places, organizations and things—Save the true topics for last. Bottom up approach • Essentially boiling the ocean. • Identify frequently occurring noun phrases in text—thousands and thousands of them. • Identify every possible category, and then try to sort them into meaningful groups. • Obsess over the naming of each taxonomy node.

35. Primary risks and challenges • Lack of understanding • Complexity • Compliance • Resistance to change • Delay and avoidance

36. Lack of understanding • Why are we building this taxonomy • What is the business problem that we are trying to solve • Who are the end users • Are they being involved in building the taxonomy • Observe what end users do and how they are do it • Review query logs and web analytics • Sales conversion and order size statistics • Business not consumer (or end user) perspective • Org chart thinking • Combining apples with oranges • Confusing Document types and Department names with Topics

37. Complexity • Perception that complexity validates your worth (knowledge) • The tendency is to make the taxonomy more complex than it needs to be • Every possible category is described instead of just the ones needed today. • Adding categories, but not removing any. • Focus on categories that relate to what the most important content is about, or the most common user tasks.

38. Compliance • Compliance is a key driver for taxonomy projects • eDiscovery – records management. • SOX / FDIC – transparency in corporate decision-making. • HIPPA – medical records security (and communication) • Avoiding penalties for breaching regulations • EPA-regulated industries. • FDA-regulated products (food and drugs) • USDA-approved labels. • CMS quality improvements. • Following required procedures. • Insurance claims. • Telecommunication service rates. • Customer support and complaints.

39. Awareness Reinforce-ment Desire Ability Knowledge Resistance to change Lack of:

40. Delay and avoidance • Not invented here – We’ve been working on our taxonomy for the past 5 years. • Inertia – We’ve always done it this way. • Unfunded mandate – We don’t have the resources to do this. • Insubordination – I don’t want to do this.

41. What do you need to get started? • Understand your Audience. • Understand your Publishers/ Content Managers. • Understand your Technology platform. • Understand your Content. • How much content. • How it is tagged. • Understand the Scope of the project. Taxonomy design projects seldom do (and never should) exist in a vacuum. Unless the project managers and designers recognize and adapt to the project constraints, the project is doomed to failure or obscurity.

42. Understand your audience • End users drive the language and complexity of the structure. • Who are they? • Who is the lowest common denominator? • Define the “spectrum of experience: New Employee Tenured Employee Technophobe Technophile Young Old Native Speaker Foreign Language

43. Understand your publishers • Publisher determine the reasonable complexity of a taxonomy/metadata strategy: • Acceptable amount of time per document • Number of metadata fields • Complexity of taxonomy Business Users Information Professional Part-time (Volunteer) Dedicated Position Few Publishers Many Publishers Diverse Publisher Homogenous Publishers

44. Understand your platform: CM, DM, RM, Portal, Enterprise • Taxonomy design seldom works outside the context of a business mission, typically tied to a technology: Web Content Management Portal Document Management Records Management Looser Tighter Less Complex More Complex

45. Understand your content: How much? • More content typically equals more time to re-tag with new taxonomy and metadata design • Explore iterative approaches to re-tagging • Take advantage of effort to clean out old or obsolete content • Consider alternatives: • Auto-categorization tools • Tagging services

46. Understand your content: How is it tagged? • Typically, content does not have “salvageable” metadata • Metadata mappings often don’t work. • But working with existing metadata can provide quick wins. • Be willing to reduce fields to improve quality. • Use business rules to automate content tagging. • Tag top-level content first • Tag landing pages for major sections • Lower-level pages inherit tags from top-level pages • If content originated in this department, then tag it with pre-defined values.

47. Understand your limitations • Many, if not most taxonomy project fit within the context of a large project and are driven by artificial limitations: • Schedule • Budget • Personnel Relax: you’re not alone. Few taxonomy design project are perfectly resources and funded. The most important thing is to START the process. Recognize you can make due with given resources as long as you begin the process correctly and build from there.

48. Define your use cases • Understand how/why you will be using taxonomy and metadata. • Define who your content managers are in order to understand their capabilities: • Willingness to manually enter fields. • Ability to properly tag content. • Define your audience to understand their needs: • Sorting needs. • Communicate benefits to all users

49. Key components to a successful taxonomy project: Project best practices • Incremental, extensible process that identifies and enables users, and engages stakeholders. • Keep your audience in mind. • Strive for subject-based categorization. • Be consistent. • Control depth and breadth. • Make a long-term investment. • A means to an end, and not the end in itself . • Not perfect, but it does the job it is supposed to do—such as improving search and navigation. • Improved over time, and maintained.

50. Common roles and responsibilities: Committees • Governance Board – Review overall strategy of taxonomy and define the type of appropriate content. • Taxonomy Team – Approve requests for new folders and ensure the value of content placement and metadata. • Content Managers – Approve and edit content. • Content Owners – Publish content and apply metadata.