A lot of work can be put into designing and creating a
taxonomy, but if it’s not implemented or used properly for tagging or indexing,
then that work can be wasted. As the volume of content has grown, many
organizations have invested in auto-tagging/auto-categorization solutions
utilizing text analytics technologies. However, there remain many situations
where manual tagging is still more practical. So, support for correct and
efficient manual tagging needs to be considered. This is the topic of my
upcoming presentation at the Taxonomy Boot Camp conference, in Washington, DC,
on November 4.
A taxonomy can be designed to support manual tagging by
including alternative labels (synonyms), hierarchical and associative
relationships between terms, and term notes, to guide those doing the tagging
to the most appropriate terms, even if these taxonomy features are not fully
available to end-users in their user interface. It may be easier to have these
features available in a customized manual tagging/indexing tool than it is to
make them available in the end-user application. A taxonomy has more than one
set of users, and the tagging-users need the full benefits a taxonomy can
offer.
It’s very important to develop a customized policy for
tagging with a taxonomy, so that it is used correctly and consistently. Any
policy for tagging or indexing should include both rules and recommended
guidelines. Examples of policy topics include:
- Criteria for determining topic or name relevancy for tagging
- Depth and level of detail of tagging
- Comprehensiveness of aspects (what, who, where, when, how, why, etc.)
- Required term types/facets (and any dependencies)
- Number of terms (of each type) to tag
- Tagging of certain terms in combination (e.g.: a parent/broader term in addition to its narrower/child term)
- Other types of metadata that must be entered
It’s often not enough to just provide people with a policy
document. Some degree of training on proper tagging can be very beneficial. In
a current SharePoint taxonomy project, one of the users who tags uploaded
documents said to me, “The problem is that we have not been trained. We are
guessing.” Policy and guidelines should initially be delivered as a
presentation (live or web meeting) to allow for questions and answers.
With large volume tagging, the initial tagging should be reviewed
and feedback should be provided. This is the case for both new and experienced
indexers. Even experienced indexers need to become familiar with the content and
learn the policies and guidelines that are particular to the organization and
project. In a recent taxonomy project that involved indexing hundreds of
articles by a professional indexer, even the professional indexer’s initial
indexing was reviewed to make sure it was as thorough and accurate as required.
Finally, there needs to me a method of communication and
feedback between those doing the tagging and the person (taxonomist) who is managing
the taxonomy, which is a controlled vocabulary, after all. The taxonomist
should inform those tagging of new terms and changed terms, especially if they
are high-profile terms, and may also provide tips for tagging new and trending
topics. Meanwhile those doing tagging need a method to contact the taxonomist
to request clarifications or the addition of new terms. This could be by email,
but collaboration workspaces may also work well. While I, as a consultant, do not stay on as
tagging continues, I like to be available at the start of tagging with a new
taxonomy, to answer indexing questions, something I did just this past month on
my most recent consulting project.
