Setting Expectations for Taxonomy Efforts

Setting good expectations for the outcomes of a taxonomy design effort is often difficult. It can be especially if any of the following are true:

• The goal is to create an initial taxonomy, and no reference exists


• The solution environment the taxonomy will "live in" is in flux (owners, tools, governance...)


• The business scope which the taxonomy will address is not well defined


• Organizational awareness of taxonomy concepts and is low


• Organizational maturity and experience with managing information architectures and metadata is low

When dealing with situations like these, consider changing the emphasis and goals of the effort to a "taxonomy pilot". This will shift the expectations you need to meet from creating a production-ready taxonomy that can stand on its own something more reasonable, such as an interim taxonomy that effectively solves a limited scope problem, while setting in motion a well balanced taxonomy effort likely to be successful in the longer term.

The objectives of a taxonomy pilot effort that balances short and long term business needs in this way could be:

1. Develop an initial taxonomy to solve a specific and preferably small problem


2. Provide a concrete example taxonomy to use in a specific implementation or environment


3. Provide an opportunity to evaluate the impact of a taxonomy on a user experience


4. Serve as a scoping exercise that sheds light on the costs of an ongoing taxonomy system design effort (one that will support) the original expectations and business scope


5. Evaluate and choose techniques, tools, standards, and processes for designing further taxonomies and vocabularies


6. Provide real experience with the organizational impact of supporting a taxonomy effort - taxonomy projects usually imply business change

The project plan for a pilot taxonomy effort aiming to achieve the objectives above should further a culture of learning, rather than scope of accomplishment. This kind of plan would:

• Establish frequent checkpoints that bring all interested parties together to discuss the process itself, in addition to accomplishments and milestones
• Create regular forums where taxonomy designers and business sponsors make decisions on tools and standards with guidance from qualified experts
• Incorporate multiple iterations or cycles of user driven review and revision of in-progress taxonomies
• Include time for the creation of "next time" recommendations for what to do differently or the same as a group

Of course, it's not always possible to change expectations, especially after funding and timelines are set. When expectations are unreasonable and set stone, take shelter in the inevitable "next version" and frame the taxonomy you're designing as an initial effort that will require subsequent revision...

local tags: project_management, taxonomy

3 Conferences In October: BarCampNYC2, UI11, IDEA

Proving that it's good to get out of the house - even if you've just moved in - my schedule for October includes three conferences, covering both coasts.

In order, you can find me at BarCampNYC2, UI11 in Cambridge, and IDEA in Seattle.

I'm not presenting, so I'm hoping to relax and enjoy the sessions, speakers, and inevitable hallway conversations with other members of the IA / UX / design communities. If you're there and you have a minute, say hello!

ps. Did I mention that Bruce Sterling is speaking at IDEA? How cool is that! Seriously, I think this is a good example of convergence bringing fundamentally related ideas and ways of thinking into proximity. It's also evidence that the IA community is in active search of grounding to help us build a point of view on what the future holds - for everyone who inhabits the information environments we help create, not just ourselves.

local tags: barcampnyc2, conferences, idea2006, new_york, sterling, ui11