As Constance pointed out taxonomies are part of a larger content management or knowledge management policy and therefore the goals for implementing a taxonomy should be in line with a company’s existing informational goals. However, there are some specific goals that an organization can strive to meet when putting a taxonomy in place. These are:
- Increased efficiency – This can be seen as a decrease in time employees send searching for information, as stated before professionals can send anywhere form 25-50% of their time looking for information.
- Re-Purposing – Items are easier to find and therefore will not have to be recreated
- Competitiveness – Being able to find and retrieve accurate information will create better customer service and reduce cost
- Risk Reduction – This can range from being able to find and retrieve information in case of litigation during the e-discovery process to reduction in loss of business opportunity due to not being able to find need information in a timely manner.
There are no hard and fast rules for businesses developing a taxonomy. So, it is important to first identify the stakeholder, develop a communication plan, gather data and then decide on a format. It is also important to keep the goals of the taxonomy in line with any existing knowledge management policies goals.
By Miller Montague
