Operationalizing a taxonomy

A number of clients and prospects have come to me with the same dilemma. They have been engaged in varying levels of taxonomy programs and have arrived at a point where they need to overcome a certain sticking point in their projects. They are wrestling with challenges around getting real benefit from their taxonomy projects. While on the surface, taxonomy as a concept is straightforward, getting the organization to embrace standardized terminology and consistent classifications is incredibly complex. It impacts so many aspects of the organization on many different levels: many classes and instances of technology, work processes and practices, change management and governance. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when trying to move the organization to the next level:

1. Focus on implementation issues that will solve problems of a business unit: Fast moving organizations on the front lines usually don’t have the time to learn about things like best practices in taxonomy development. They need to solve customer problems and meet their short term objectives. So the taxonomy issues need to address this and not be theoretical