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Organising Knowledge: Taxonomies, knowledge and organisational effectiveness

Patrick Lambe, Straits Knowledge, Singapore

Full of insights and useful tips. You really must read it.
Inside Knowledge

…this book would be undoubtedly a very useful asset. …introduces some interesting new perspectives on the importance of taxonomies within organisations.
The Electronic Library

…well-illustrated and supported by a rich collection of relevant case studies.
The Electronic Library

 - written in a clear, accessible style, demystifying the jargon surrounding taxonomies
 - case studies give real world examples of taxonomies in use
 - step-by-step guides take the reader through the key stages in a taxonomy project
 - decision-making frameworks and example questionnaires
 - clear description of how taxonomies relate to technology applications

Taxonomies are often thought to play a niche role within content-oriented knowledge management projects. They are thought to be ‘nice to have’ but not essential. In this ground-breaking book, Patrick Lambe shows how they play an integral role in helping organizations coordinate and communicate effectively. Through a series of case studies, he demonstrates the range of ways in which taxonomies can help organizations to leverage and articulate their knowledge. A step-by-step guide in the book to running a taxonomy project is full of practical advice for knowledge managers and business owners alike.

ISBN 1 84334 227 8
ISBN-13: 978 1 84334 227 4
February 2007
300 pages  234 x 156mm  paperback  
£42.50 / US$70.00 / €50.00

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£62.50 / US$105.00 / €75.00

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About the author

Patrick Lambe is a widely respected knowledge management consultant based in Singapore. His Master’s degree from University College London is in Information Studies and Librarianship, and he has worked as a professional librarian, as a trainer and instructional designer, and as a business manager in operational and strategic roles. He has been active in the field of knowledge management and e-learning since 1998, and in 2002 founded his own consulting and research firm, Straits Knowledge, with a partner. He is former President of the Information and Knowledge Society, and is Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Patrick speaks and writes internationally on knowledge management, and has conducted a number of taxonomy projects, usually as an integral part of larger knowledge management initiatives. He is the author of The Blind Tour Guide: Surviving and Prospering in the New Economy (Times, 2002). His knowledge management writings are posted at www.greenchameleon.com.

Titles which may also be of interest:
Knowledge Management for Services, Operations and Manufacturing
The Challenges of Knowledge Sharing in Practice
Knowledge Management
Knowledge, Information and the Business Process
The Impact of Organisational Culture on Knowledge Management

Contents

Defining our terms
 - Can we organise knowledge?
 - What are taxonomies?
 - Taxonomy as artificial memory
 - Taxonomy work

Taxonomies can take many forms
 - Lists
 - Tree structures
 - Hierarchies
 - Polyhierarchies
 - Matrices
 - Facets
 - System maps
 - Practical implications of different taxonomy forms

Taxonomies and infrastructure for organisational effectiveness
 - Organisational ineffectiveness
 - The problem of Babel
 - Taxonomies as boundary objects
 - Information and knowledge structure

Taxonomies and activities for organisational effectiveness
 - Risk
 - Case study 4.1 Department of Homeland Security digital library
 - Costs
 - Case study 4.2 Unilever’s brand simplification exercise
 - Customers and markets
 - Case study 4.3 Club Med, storytelling and archetypes
 - Innovation
 - Case study 4.4 Unilever Research and disposable taxonomies

Taxonomies and knowledge management
 - Taxonomies and findability
 - Taxonomies and content management
 - Taxonomies and knowledge management
 - Logos/Information
 - Sophos/Expertise and learning
 - Case study 5.1 The British Council maps its competencies
 - Pathos/Collaboration
 - Case study 5.2 Cabot Corporation builds a taxonomy to coordinate global quality
 - Ethos/Culture
 - Case study 5.3 The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore uses a typology to structure and communicate its knowledge management strategy

What do we want our taxonomies to do?
 - What taxonomies do
 - Making sense of taxonomy work
 - When taxonomies go bad

Preparing for a taxonomy project
 - Step 1: Meet project sponsor
 - Step 2: Engage stakeholders
 - Step 3: Refine project purpose
 - Case study 7.1 The structure-and-organise taxonomy
 - Case study 7.2 Losing clarity of purpose
 - Case study 7.3 Evolving purpose
 - Step 4: Design the approach
 - Step 5: Build the communication plan
 - Step 6: Start the governance process

Designing your taxonomy
 - The cognitive constraints on taxonomy design
 - Step 7: Collect vocabularies and organising principles
 - Step 8: Facet analysis
 - Step 9: Test and observe
 - Case study 8.1 Facet analysis for a sports organisation

Implementing your taxonomy
 - Step 10: Plan the instantiation of your taxonomy
 - Case study 9.1 Metadata strategies and vocabulary control at the BBC
 - Step 11: Integrate your taxonomy into the infrastructure
 - Step 12: Secure the governance process

The future of taxonomy work
 - Ontologies and machine intelligence
 - Folksonomies and rich serendipity
 - Enhancing usefulness in folksonomies
 - Taxonomies vs folksonomies?
 - Towards an array of knowledge infrastructure tools
 - The benefits of diversity in knowledge and information infrastructure
 - Spimes and the future of taxonomies

Bibliography