Firms tend to use the terms taxonomy, classification, glossary and keywords interchangeably when building their knowledge management (KM) systems. It’s understandable – the differences between these terms are nuanced. However, a lack of appreciation of their correct connotation – especially of taxonomy – could hamper the design of the KM system and therefore successful adoption of this business function in the firm.
Foremost, the most common confusion is between the terms classification and taxonomy. It’s true that the terms classification and glossary are components of taxonomy, but the latter is much more. For a start, classification and glossary are static in nature, whilst taxonomy is dynamic. Taxonomy is a layered structure and also works as the filter within the workflow that lawyers use to navigate through content. Let’s illustrate the concept using Amazon search. If you search for “mobile phone”, Amazon will throw up over a thousand results, alongside filters to help refine the search – i.e., by price, brand, customer reviews, camera resolution, internal memory, and so on – and enable the individual to eventually find the exact product he or she is looking for. In the KM system, the taxonomy serves as the filter in this Amazon search scenario.
Likewise, often people substitute “keywords” with taxonomy and vice versa. This leads to duplication in the KM system because the terms used as keywords can and often are also the terms for which taxonomies are built. To illustrate, VAT, real estate, Brexit and Spain could be keywords, but taxonomies could also be developed to address each of these areas.
Therefore, it’s important to recognise the role of keywords and taxonomies within a KM system. Keywords are free-text terms that are best kept as very specific classifications for which a separate taxonomy isn’t required. Take the terms “Contract”, “Madrid” and “M&A”. These can be either keywords or part of a taxonomy, but a particular firm could classify “Contracts” as part of the “Document Type” taxonomy and “M&A” as being part of the “Commercial Law” taxonomy – leaving “Madrid” as a free-text inputted keyword.
