Building a solid taxonomy takes time, lots of time. However, a well-constructed and systematically applied taxonomy can unify all of the various assets, and in the process can itself become a valuable repository of institutional knowledge and a source of competitive advantage for the organization.
A taxonomy which includes all of the major terms and concepts of the disciplines addressed by the organization, one that is robust enough to include rules for disambiguating similar or closely related terms, with a systematic mechanism for acquiring, evaluating, and adding new terms, offers a number of potential applications.
However, remember that any comprehensive taxonomy is never finished. The best taxonomies are carefully managed, updated, and improved over time. This topic was inspired by the article, “Plant conservation now a passion for ‘dorky kid’“, found in Science Network. New plant species are being discovered in Western Australia at a rate greater than anywhere else in the world.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in taxonomies, metadata, and semantic enrichment to make your content findable.
