Presented by Corey Vilhauer at the September 2011 Sioux Falls Content Strategy Meet-up.

1. Monday, September 19, 11

2. Taxonomy:
WTF is it,
and why should we care?
Monday, September 19, 11

3. Taxonomy
tax·on·o·my [tak-son-uh-mee]
noun, plural tax·on·o·mies.
1. The science or technique of classification.
2. A classification into ordered categories: a proposed
taxonomy of educational objectives.
3. Biology - The science dealing with the description,
identification, naming, and classification of organisms.
Monday, September 19, 11

4. Taxonomy
On the web:
A hierarchical arrangement of categories
within the user interface of a web site or
intranet.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition,
Peter Morville/Louis Rosenfeld
Monday, September 19, 11

5. Great.
Who cares?
Monday, September 19, 11

6. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
There is a constant need to harmonize.
Monday, September 19, 11

7. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Paris
Monday, September 19, 11

8. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Paris
Monday, September 19, 11

9. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Paris
or
Monday, September 19, 11

10. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Monday, September 19, 11

11. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Northeast United States
Monday, September 19, 11

12. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Northeast United States
New England
Monday, September 19, 11

13. Language is imprecise;
meaning is vague.
Northeast United States
New England
Maine, Vermont, etc.
Monday, September 19, 11

14. The solution:
A standardized, common
vocabulary.
A taxonomy.
Monday, September 19, 11

15. Awesome Reason #1
Consistency
Monday, September 19, 11

16. Consistent Terms
One person’s automobile
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17. Consistent Terms
One person’s automobile
is another person’s vehicle
Monday, September 19, 11

18. Consistent Terms
One person’s automobile
is another person’s vehicle
is another person’s car.
Monday, September 19, 11

19. Consistent Terms
One person’s automobile
is another person’s vehicle automobile
is another person’s car automobile.
Monday, September 19, 11

20. Organizational Change
One department’s automobile
Monday, September 19, 11

21. Organizational Change
One department’s automobile
becomes
every department’s automobile.
Monday, September 19, 11

22. Thesaurus
One person’s automobile
Monday, September 19, 11

23. Thesaurus
One person’s automobile
can mean vehicle
Monday, September 19, 11

24. Thesaurus
One person’s automobile
can mean vehicle
which can mean car.
Monday, September 19, 11

25. Thesaurus
One person’s automobile
can mean vehicle
which can mean car.
BUT: we define the standard term as
automobile.
Monday, September 19, 11

26. Thesaurus
Monday, September 19, 11

27. Awesome Reason #2
Improved Findability
Monday, September 19, 11

28. Awesome Reason #3
Better Efficiency
Monday, September 19, 11

29. Content Reuse
Streamline process
Simplify updating
Provide greater control
Monday, September 19, 11

30. Taxonomy and a Small Site?
Taxonomy will be smaller/more obvious
Easier to keep track of
Monday, September 19, 11

31. Taxonomy and Social Media?
Tracking common terms
Using common terms - Style Guide
Monday, September 19, 11

32. The Most Basic Taxonomy Methodology
Ever Created In the History of Earth
Monday, September 19, 11

33. Step One:
Create Terms
Monday, September 19, 11

34. The basic building blocks of a taxonomy
are terms.
Monday, September 19, 11

35. Terms come from everywhere:
Titles and headings Web navigation menus
Section headings Table of contents
Abstracts or summaries Directory listings
Image captions Existing metadata
User search terms
The Accidental Taxonomist, Heather Hedden
Monday, September 19, 11

36. Step Two:
Choose a Preferred Term
Monday, September 19, 11

37. Taxonomy thesauri are FANTASTIC.
But what is the official term?
Monday, September 19, 11

38. 1. What will people look up?
Monday, September 19, 11

39. 1. What will people look up?
Example:
When people go to a camera site,
do users search for:
“Point and shoot camera” or
“Compact camera?”
Monday, September 19, 11

40. 1. What will people look up?
2. What term is industry standard?
Monday, September 19, 11

41. 1. What will people look up?
2. What term is industry standard?
Example:
For a scientific site, do scientists use
scientific name: (“Canis lupus lupus”)
or
common name: (“Eurasian wolf”)
Monday, September 19, 11

42. 1. What will people look up?
2. What term is industry standard?
3. What term matches a current style?
Monday, September 19, 11

43. 1. What will people look up?
2. What term is industry standard?
3. What term matches a current style?
Formal: Casual:
physician doctor
attorney lawyer
law enforcement officer police officer
Monday, September 19, 11

44. Step Three:
Categorize Terms
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45. Categorization depends on user needs.
Monday, September 19, 11

46. Example:
Will people look under “venue”
or will they look under “product type?”
Monday, September 19, 11

47. Example:
Will people look under “venue”
or will they look under “product type?”
ANSWER: BOTH
Monday, September 19, 11

48. Then what?
Monday, September 19, 11

49. The Hard Parts:
1. Implementation
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50. The Hard Parts:
1. Implementation
2. Organizational Change
Monday, September 19, 11

51. FIN
Monday, September 19, 11