Wednesday, 5/23/2007
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Level: Business/Strategic

Let’s say your information science experts have painstakingly crafted the optimal taxonomy for your data-driven website or application; your designers know exactly how they want to use and display the information; and your programmers have even confirmed that it can be implemented.

Now the question is - how do you represent this information to your client, subject matter experts, or editorial stakeholders so that they can give feedback and approval? Taxonomies vary in size, stability, and complexity of relationships, and yet you still need confirmation that:
• The terms are grouped in the correct dimensions
• The terms are accurate and complete
• The relationships between terms are correct and sufficient

As taxonomies move further away from straight-forward hierarchies, some things just don’t translate well in a giant spreadsheet and you may find your stakeholders saying “I don’t understand how all this data fits with the designs we approved.”

While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to presenting taxonomy for review, there are different approaches that work for different situations. This presentation will explore a variety of approaches – some involving traditional documentation, and some novel solutions that leverage user experience insight – with a particular focus on communicating to the non-expert.

Rachel Lovinger is a Senior Content Strategist in the User Experience department of Avenue A | Razorfish, a global interactive marketing and technology services firm.