39. Shared Drive Zoo
Taxonomy
X:
Production
Sales &
Marketing
Sales
Web Design
Marketing
Commercial
Industrial
Government
Labs
Healthcare
Hospitals
Clinics
Private
Medium
Mobile
Public
Large
Urban
Not
Associated
Newsletter
Rural
University
Small
Social
42. Shared Drive Zoo
X:
Production
Marketing
Major
Hospitals
Sales
Web Design
Industrial
Government
Healthcare
Labs
Commercial
Sales &
Marketing
Hospitals
Clinics
Private
Medium
Urban
Not
Associated
Rural
University
Social
Mobile
Public
Large
Newsletter
Colleges
Big
Small
Small
53. A SharePoint Taxonomy (Metadata)
Customer Type
• Lab
• Hospital
• Clinic
• Mobile
Sector
• Private
• Public
Size
• Large
• Medium
• Small
Location
• Urban
• Rural
University
• Yes
• No
60. Vacation Request
Drug
Reimbursement
Name _________
Emp. # _________
Date _________
Name _________
Emp. # _________
Date _________
Dates Requested:
From __________
To: __________
Drug Used:
Name __________
Cost: $ _________
Manager ________
Approved Y/N
Manager ________
Approved Y/N
69. Increasing the likelihood of metadata success
Compliance
Search & Discover
Search
Magic Metadata
Intersection
Records
Management
Business
Process
Day-to-day workflow
73. To Sum Up…
• Do you have a better understanding of metadata
and content types?
• Do you think you’ll be able to explain these
concepts more easily to your stakeholders?
• Did you get value out of this presentation?
It’s “Data about Data” as Einstein proved all those years ago
This answer helps exactly no-one.
I won’t tell you yet but…It is an iterative process – you won’t understand it right away, but you will circle in towards understanding over time[ANIMATED]
Metadata is a new concept for manyUse of metaphors to explain the concepts
Metadata is a new concept for manyUse of metaphors to explain the concepts
If you were to ask a child: What does a cow say? How would they answer?
Ok, so that was goofing around – now let’s get serious.
The music is the contentYou can know a lot of facts about the album:PrincePop/Rock1984You can know all the facts, but it doesn’t substitute for the content (the music)(Purple Rain example originally suggested by Yoav Lurie)
How do you sort CD’sArtist?Title?Year?Genre?Colour?You have to decide up-front – and stick to it –because the objects are physical
What if the store was full of unlabeled tin cans?You would need to open every can to see if had what you wanted(Tin can example originally suggested by Serge Tremblay)
Now we don’t need to open each can, but they are all in a jumble and you have to pick up each can to check if has what you want.
Items are grouped by area (canned fruit, canned sauce, canned vegetables)Signs point you to the correct area so that you can quickly find what you need.BUT: Because the objects are physical, you need to pick a method and stick to it
This uses the base metaphor that we live with every day.The concept of a “file” and a “file folder” as a way of storing digital data is a metaphor taken from the world of paper managementIt has become so ingrained, that we think of it as natural, but it’s not: It was invented in 1983 by Apple (wikipedia)
Old apple interface from the 80’s
All your files are stored in one folder and their names are completely meaninglessThis is like the unlabeled cans: You have to open each file to see what it contains
You have a bit of a better situationThe naming convention lets you find the file you need (but there’s no way to sort by year)Rely on users to follow the naming convention (religiously)
A ha!Now we’re in great shape. We’re like the supermarketStructured and LabelledBUT...
... then, you hire a summer internWho doesn’t know the folder hierarchy and makes up their own
Findability is challengingPutability is the real problemThis is Bill English’s word for knowing where to save a documentWhat if we could make putability easier while also improving findability?This is the promise of metadata
Data about dataYes, but not enough info Seth Maislin of Earley & Assoc. says it's the "Is-ness" of something:This 'is' a contract. That 'is' a pop album.For us it enables findability, policy and processFindability for locating the right documentsPolicy – records managementProcess – Status of a business process (e.g. Not started, In process, Complete, Approved, Archived)
So, let’s create an alternative structure that is logically equivalent, but that makes putability much easier while preserving findabilityBy the way: One way to start to figure out an organization’s metadata is to look at the folder names.You will probably not want to simply copy this, but it can be a good guide/starting point
It’s not this… (visual joke)[ANIMATED]
It’s not this… (visual joke)[ANIMATED]
It’s this…Not really this, but let’s use these creatures to understand.
Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy
This works because it’s really about governance – this is a stable structure that can’t be changed by just anybody:Changing this structure requires a world-wide meeting of the top scientists in the field, usually involving name-calling and fist-fights (or so I’ve heard)[ANIMATED]
Did you catch the subtle change here.The taxonomy is now of your ‘X’ drive.
And this is a common result
The asymmetry is that you’ll spend less time looking for a place to save something then you will looking for something after the fact.
Problem here is lack of governance – anyone can add any folder anywhere anytimeThis boils down to the ‘putability’ problem – I’ll search for a long time to find a doc, but not for long to see where to put it.[ANIMATED]
Once you’ve migrated your x drive to SharePoint, and all the promised benefits fail to emerge, The reaction is: (next slide)
Never, ever, use folders!Except when it makes sense to do so.[ANIMATED]
Never, ever, use folders!Except when it makes sense to do so.[ANIMATED]
[ANIMATED] Here is one reason to use folders: Application of security and then simplifying it for the user by using the ‘no folders’ view.
I’m not Carl, but let’s talk about why this works.After all, it’s the same as a directory treeThe difference is governance
Is this too many to ask for?Do we force users to answer all these questions/enter all this data?
Instead of confusing people with the SharePoint interface, I use a familiar tool: ExcelUsing some simple macros, I am able to illustrate the power of filters and views.There’s no free lunch however: People now have to enter metadata.We can simplify this by defaulting values like “Date” to today and “Year” to current year.We can leverage content types as well
Explain metadata and then use this worksheet for ‘homework’
Think of them as different forms with slots to fill in.Two documents may have overlapping slots (or, metadata).It may make sense to store these two types of docs in the same library (HR Requests), but use content types to drive workflow, policy and prompt users only for the metadata that applies.[ANIMATED]
Think of them as different forms with slots to fill in.Two documents may have overlapping slots (or, metadata).It may make sense to store these two types of docs in the same library (HR Requests), but use content types to drive workflow, policy and prompt users only for the metadata that applies.[ANIMATED]
[ANIMATED]
Using mind-mapping tools to build the taxonomy from the homeworkI use MindJet MindManager – and I like and highly recommend it.There are other tools that are less expensive.
There’s an issue with tagging
Not this kind of tagging…
Search – Find docs: eg. Subject, Status, Pub type, Author, YearRM – manage compliance: Retention period, confidentiality status, FOI rulesProcess – Day to Day: Status, assigned to, Due Date, etc.
Pragmatic & Outcomes focused
The answers are not clear-cut, everyone has to be on the same page.These decisions are not made by the consultants, or even IT – it has to involve the business
Find the common denominatorShoot for the magic subset