Taxonomy Governance Checklist

Transcription

1 Author and Manage a SharePoint Taxonomy Taxonomy Governance Checklist v.1.0

2 Table of Content Introduction Methodology Phase 1: Planning Phase 2: Taxonomy Authoring Phase 3: Maintenance Appendix 1: Non-functional Taxonomy Specifications Appendix 2: Defining Taxonomy Success Criteria

3 Introduction Authoring and managing a SharePoint Taxonomy or any taxonomy with long-term success, requires a few core governance components. Due to the nature of evolving businesses and the dynamic of human language, a taxonomy need to change over time in order to remain relevant for the users. From years of experience building SharePoint Taxonomies, we found that the following core governance components are essential in the authoring and management processes: Organizational structure and responsibility Processes and procedures Standards and measures Governance tools

4 Introduction cont'd This Taxonomy Governance Checklist document will address the high-level steps recommended in order to maintain a SharePoint Taxonomy and secure a return on your taxonomy investment.

5 Methodology The Taxonomy Governance Checklist is organized across two domains: 1. Phase of implementation (planning, taxonomy authoring, maintenance) 2. Role (executive, taxonomy team) Using the responsibility assignment matrix, more commonly known as the RACI matrix, you should be able to locate the information salient to your position based upon the phase of your taxonomy implementation and your role in the organization.

6 Phase 1: Planning Governance Checklist for the taxonomy planning phase: Identify stakeholders Work with stakeholders to create a proposal that addresses the following bullet points: Brief vision statement Current problem that will be addressed by the taxonomy Baseline metrics for the current situation Ways the taxonomy should address this problem Metrics of success Communication plan RACI analysis for taxonomy authoring Stakeholders sign-off on final proposal

7 Executive Domain Stakeholder 1 Stakeholder 2 Stakeholder 3 Stakeholder 4 Stakeholder 5 Stakeholder 6 Stakeholder 7 Phase 1: Planning RACI analysis Responsible: Executive, Taxonomy Manager Task Funding Metrics / ROI Stakeholder communication R = Responsible (for work) A = Accountable (for ownership) C = Consulted (provides input) I = Informed (told after the fact)

8 Phase 2: Taxonomy Authoring Governance checklist for the taxonomy authoring phase: Organizational structure Complete RACI model for the development phase Update the list of current stakeholders created during project proposal phase Update signature page with new stakeholders Processes and procedures Determine the way your organization will update terms in the taxonomy

9 Phase 2: Taxonomy Authoring cont'd Standards, measures & practices Record the rules used to make the taxonomy model Document the sources of the controlled vocabularies Choose the techniques you will use for quality assurance Develop a training program Tools and solutions Identify governance tools that could be used for taxonomy governance

10 Executive Domain Stakeholder 1 Stakeholder 2 Stakeholder 3 Stakeholder 4 Stakeholder 5 Stakeholder 6 Stakeholder 7 Phase 2: Taxonomy Authoring RACI analysis Responsible: Taxonomy Team Task Executive advocate Stakeholder communication R = Responsible (for work) A = Accountable (for ownership) C = Consulted (provides input) I = Informed (told after the fact)

11 Taxonomy Team Domain Stakeholder 1 Stakeholder 2 Stakeholder 3 Stakeholder 4 Stakeholder 5 Stakeholder 6 Stakeholder 7 Phase 2: Taxonomy Authoring RACI analysis cont'd Task Create governance document Term update policy Create taxonomy model rules Collecting and analyzing metrics Training program Coordination with related systems

12 Phase 3: Maintenance Governance checklist for the taxonomy maintenance phase: Organizational structure Create and then update the RACI analysis for the maintenance phase Update the list of current stakeholders created during planning phase Update signature page with all new stakeholders Processes and procedures Assess the term update process

13 Phase 3: Maintenance cont'd Standards, measures & practices Document the sources of the controlled vocabularies Continue to collect quality assurance, feedback and performance metrics for each component of the initiative Taxonomy Tags Maintain the training materials Taxonomy model rules Tools and solutions Look for new tools and software

14 Executive Domain Stakeholder 1 Stakeholder 2 Stakeholder 3 Stakeholder 4 Stakeholder 5 Stakeholder 6 Stakeholder 7 Phase 3: Maintenance RACI analysis Responsible: Executive, Taxonomy Team Task Funding Metrics / ROI Executive advocate User communication Stakeholder communication R = Responsible (for work) A = Accountable (for ownership) C = Consulted (provides input) I = Informed (told after the fact)

15 Taxonomy Team Domain Stakeholder 1 Stakeholder 2 Stakeholder 3 Stakeholder 4 Stakeholder 5 Stakeholder 6 Stakeholder 7 Phase 3: Maintenance RACI analysis cont'd Task Maintain taxonomy model Manage change requests Tag content Identify new taxonomy applications Coordination with related systems Collect metrics Improve search quality Maintain governance document

16 Appendix 1: Non-functional Taxonomy Specs The following list can be used as inspiration for specifying non-functional Taxonomy requirements. 1. Version release frequency (annual update, daily edits, etc.) 2. Depth limit of taxonomy 3. Included Content Types 4. Authoring requirements: Sources of Terms Abbreviations Capitalization Ampersands Duplicate Terms Languages and Character Sets Length Limits Plural vs. Singular Forms Relation Types and Limits Scope Notes Synonyms and Acronyms Term Order Term Label Order Spaces

17 Appendix 2: Defining Taxonomy Success Criterias The following techniques can be used to ensure the quality - and define criteria to measure the success of a Taxonomy. 1. Examine SharePoint Search Query logs: Top search queries Queries with no results Most requested documents Query trend analysis 2. Usability testing 3. Contextual inquiry interview 4. User satisfaction survey 5. Walk-through samples with subject matter expert

18 We d love to hear all about your SharePoint taxonomy needs. Get in touch with us