Information Leadership - Compliance consulting and training services

Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch offices

Taxonomies & metadata

Taxonomies and metadata

Future proof your implementation
with consistent ways of filing, finding & managing all content

For any ECM, intranet, document management or compliance project, a well thought through and practical taxonomy is a must. This usually consists of:

One of more hierarchies that are used to determine how content is organised
Additional metadata to allow people to find, group and sort information quickly
Forming these in ways that translate well to your system - so it is easy on users

Proven methodology
We use a proven methodology to engage with teams to get the "file and find" simplicity they need, as well as organisation-wide consistency. This includes:


	Make-over existing or fresh start	We can review your existing taxonomy and recommend changes, or start afresh. This can include coverage for any ECM, EDRMS, SharePoint, file shares, intranet/internet and also paper records.

	Process and Tools	We usually run workshops with teams to determine what information they interact with. The sessions tend to be lively and engaging as we use tablet PC's and mindmaps to build the taxonomy live. Following this, the taxonomy gets tightened up and then tested against real content.

	System ready	A common mistake is engaging consultants who may be great at taxonomies but don't have in depth knowledge and experience of how to translate these into a particular EDRMS, ECM or SharePoint. Our approach takes into account the system's strengths and weaknesses, to get the best fit.

	FASC modelling	Our consistent approach for functional classifications simplifies filing and finding for users. We use the Function-Activity-SubActivity-Case model. This includes identifying and explicitly building in important case files.

	Other hierarchies	Other hierarchies are also catered for, depending on the organisation. This can include: geographic location, teams, subject matter expertise, assets.

	Backing into recordkeeping and compliance	While it would be great to be able to park determining retention and disposal to "later", it is much better to understand and build this into the taxonomy up front. This is because the taxonomy will be used to drive the rules and actions that determine when content is disposed.

	Many sectors, many taxonomies	Our model taxonomies speed up the process and reduce the risk and cost. Sectors include: Product and services directories Health Education Science Utility Local Government Professional Services Engineering Corporate Services (for all organisations)

	Self sufficiency options	Our partnership approach also allows you to do the bulk of the taxonomy development, using our tools, processes and peer review/mentoring from our experts. We also have a range of training events that can help you avoid common traps and build confidence.

Want to learn
to DIY?

Attend our "Building your
Metadata Framework"
workshop - public or in-house

Engage us to build your
taxonomy alongside you,
so you pick up our skills,
thinking and tools

“Whether print or online, Yellow pages® utilises headings and categories to enable a user to search for the most relevant advertiser to help with the problem they are trying to solve. Earlier this year, we undertook a full taxonomy review; reviewing all of the many thousand categories, the hierarchical relationships between them, and the associated descriptions for each.The resultant work published as an ontology map of category based online search at Yellow. The work was challenging, with tight timeframes, yet Information Leaderships’ phenomenally innovative and intelligent approach, utilising extensive use of visual mindmaps and proprietary database tools enabled a successful and satisfying outcome for all stakeholders”. Rob Cooke, Head of Digital Properties, Yellow Pages Group® NZ
	Many taxonomies developed that are tuned for your electronic and paper systems
	Engagement methodology based on using tablet PCs and mindmaps to facilitate sessions and then formalise the results - you get it done quicker and with better staff buy-in
	Knowledge Transfer is a priority, so you can maintain and extend your taxonomy over time
	Record keeping and findability built in to our approach