Taxonomy Expertise

Defining the metadata and taxonomy needs is a crucial step in your project to support your organization’s goals for categorizing and relating both assets and content. Oxcyon provides the expertise necessary to not only help define these needs but also to incorporate a long-term management strategy. Centralpoint offers robust tools for Data Transfer and Transformation, including the ability to automatically apply metadata to both your structured data (Oracle, IBM, SQL, JSON, XML) and unstructured data (PDF, Word, PPT, XLS, images, CAD).

Oxcyon's data scientists can help implement the right taxonomy for your enterprise, even if it needs to be built from scratch. Taxonomy is not only unique to each industry but also to each individual organization. We typically start with a high-level, industry-specific taxonomy and then populate it with your organization’s specific types. From there, it is an evolving process, allowing you to create new taxonomies as new products, services, and regulations are introduced. Centralpoint can apply new taxonomy to newly created records and retroactively update all records with your newly introduced taxonomy.

What is MphC?

Metadata is data about data. Think of metadata as information about an asset beyond the basic filename. Any attribute or element that helps to define or describe a particular image, document, presentation, or spreadsheet would be considered metadata. Beyond basic metadata, there is MphC (Multi Poly Hierarchical Classification). This means that multiple tiers of taxonomy can be nested and are also relevant to certain roles or departments within your organization. 

Our Data Cleaner mining tools automatically manage this taxonomy, security roles, and metadata. These tools scan any record for certain values (or combinations), ensuring that multiple taxonomies are added automatically when those rules match. Centralpoint maintains these complex relationships, providing a comprehensive and dynamic metadata management solution.



What is Taxonomy?

Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing, and classifying organisms, encompassing all plants, animals, and microorganisms worldwide. By using morphological, behavioral, genetic, and biochemical observations, taxonomists identify, describe, and organize species into classifications, including those new to science. This process provides fundamental knowledge essential for the management and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Despite over 250 years of research, taxonomic knowledge remains incomplete. Taxonomists have named about 1.78 million species, but the total number of species is estimated to be between 5 and 30 million.

Derived from the Greek words "taxis" (arrangement or division) and "nomos" (law), taxonomy is the science of classification according to a predetermined system. This classification provides a conceptual framework for discussion, analysis, or information retrieval. In information management, taxonomy enhances traditional metadata by organizing content and assets into hierarchical relationships. This makes it easier to search for or browse a Digital Asset Management or Web Content Management System when the exact search terms are unknown.
Benefits of Using Taxonomy

- Enhanced Organization: Taxonomy helps organize content and assets into hierarchical relationships, making it easier to search and browse.
- Controlled Vocabulary: Users categorize content and assets using a controlled vocabulary, which can serve as an integration reference point between different business systems.
- Improved Searchability: Classifying content and assets within a taxonomy facilitates more efficient search and retrieval.

Best Practices for Defining a Taxonomy

1. Media Independence: Taxonomy should be independent of media types.
2. Specific Use: Taxonomy should be tailored for specific uses.
3. Logical Hierarchy: It should have a clear and logical hierarchy.
4. User-Friendly: It should be easy to understand by users across different divisions or departments.
5. Conformance to Standards: It should conform to published taxonomy standards when possible (see [Taxonomy Warehouse](http://www.taxonomywarehouse.com)).
6. Non-Redundant: It should not be redundant with other defined metadata.
7. Avoid Acronyms: Avoid using acronyms or abbreviations where possible.
8. Nesting Levels: Ideally, it should not nest beyond five levels, though Centralpoint supports N-tiered (beyond five-tier) nesting.

By adhering to these best practices, organizations can effectively manage and leverage their content and assets, enhancing both discoverability and usability within their systems.