It is my totally non-scientific observation that many of us have a taxonomy for how we put food into the refrigerator. Maybe it’s me, but I feel like some parts of the refrigerator taxonomy are universal. For example, don’t you put your salad dressing in the refrigerator door?
And some parts of refrigerator organization are defined for us. My fridge has a drawer that says, “vegetables,” complete with a little slider that opens and closes a vent. It also has one that says, “fruits.” My fridge also has this very narrow slot in the door that is the perfect size for tuna cans or maybe kids’ drink boxes.
Enter a Taxonomy
A taxonomy is a system of organization. It is a conscious decision of where to put things or how things are (or are not) kept together.
If I’m hungry and ready to make a sandwich, I expect the things I need to be in their Val-assigned locations. The eggs go on the middle shelf on the right. The yogurts are on the middle shelf on the left. The things I rarely use (take that, kimchee) are on the top shelf in the back.
Not All of Us Are Naturally Organized
If you are an organized person, it is difficult to recognize that not all of us are natural organizers. I know people who just put their groceries anywhere in the fridge. They don’t even think about it. (I don’t know how they live this way, but they manage.)
If organizing is important to you, you need to negotiate a system with the people who are also using the fridge.
READ MORE: Taxonomy vs. Terminology – Do You Understand Their Differences and Function?
We Need to Agree on the Taxonomy
In order for a taxonomy to work, we all need to agree on the categories (called facets in content-speak). For example, for my refrigerator taxonomy to work, my husband has to use the same taxonomy as me. If his taxonomy has the eggs going on the bottom shelf on the left, we have a problem. Lately, he has been putting the lettuce on the bottom shelf in the back. No lettuce in the vegetable drawer. I actually had to ask him where he put the lettuce last time I went looking for it.
What About Content?
Taxonomies are also crucial in the content arena. Most of us store our content on a shared device of some type. It might be a SharePoint server or a content management system. Perhaps it is GitHub or just an old-fashioned file system that uses folders. When we have something to save, we need a place to save it.
The more content you have, the more critical it is to create and agree on a taxonomy. A taxonomy is only as useful as how strictly people follow the rules.
A content taxonomy usually includes:
- Enterprise storage ecosystem
- Server organization
- Folder organization
- Subfolder organization
- File naming conventions
- Metadata tag application to each file
- Subfolder organization
- Folder organization
- Server organization
For example, in a non-structured writing environment, such as one that uses Microsoft Word to create technical documents, you might use the following taxonomy:
- SharePoint Server: Technical Documentation
- Products
- Product A
- Installation Guide
- Chapter 1.docx
- Chapter 2.docx
- …
- Administration Guide
- Chapter 1.docx
- Chapter 2.docx
- …
- Installation Guide
- Product A
- Products
Or you might decide to use this taxonomy for the same content:
- SharePoint Server: Technical Documentation
- Guides
- Installation Guides
- Product A
- Chapter 1.docx
- Chapter 2.docx
- …
- Product B
- Chapter 1. docx
- Chapter 2.docx
- …
- Product A
- Installation Guides
- Guides
And so on…
If half of your department sets up one taxonomy and the other half decides to use the other, it becomes difficult to locate what you need when you need it. The more content, the more exacerbated the problem becomes.
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE EBOOK: What is Structured Content – Making the Case for XML
What About XML?
When you are in an XML environment, such as DITA, rather than saving chapters, you are saving topics. Topics are smaller than chapters. Topics can be combined with other topics to create chapters, if you’d like. Or they can be combined to create other types of outputs, such as an online help system, a webpage, or an app.
As the granularity of the information increases, there are more topics that you need to save. The more files you need to save, the more important it is to agree on the structure of how you save them.
This is particularly true in a reuse environment where one topic is used in more than one output. If you don’t have a designated taxonomy that everyone follows, it can become quite difficult to locate the information you need. Consistent metadata tagging certainly helps. But storing XML files in a logical, organized structure makes your job that much easier.
How Taxonomies Help
Taxonomies are important for many reasons. They help us:
- Find what we need, when we need it
- Know where to save information
- Analyze and determine content that is duplicative
- Avoid creating redundant content
- Focus on writing in components
- Analyze and determine content that is missing
- Retrieve metrics for analysis
Taxonomies Are Everywhere
Once you understand how taxonomies work, you start noticing them everywhere. Here are some common examples:
- Libraries
- Stores
- Closets
- Kitchen cabinets
- Utensil drawers
- Sports clubs
Which leads me back to my refrigerator. Are you one of those people who does not organize your fridge? Do you find it easy to locate what you need? Or do you spend a lot of time looking for the mustard?
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Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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