How to Optimize Your Metadata & Taxonomy

Jason OwenDITA specialist

Metadata helps you find what you need to know

2Oh Metadata!

Overview

• Content strategy • Key metrics• Metadata for metrics• Communicate results

Key steps1. Create your content

strategy plan2. Determine the

metrics that will be used to measure those goals

3. Apply metadata to content

4. Communicate results to stakeholders

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Communicate results

Metadata

Key metrics

Content strategy

CONTENT STRATEGY

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Key steps Communicate results

Metadata

Key metrics

Content strategy

1. Create your content strategy plan

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What makes a content strategy?

• Content strategy defines the your content business goals in a succinct, substantive statement Info model Content reuse strategy Metadata strategy User experience Workflows, processes Tools Other standards, etc.

Why do we need metrics for content strategy?• Credibility

Credible professions require to show that goals are met Credibility helps build trust

• Trust Use metrics to build trust with stakeholders Provide the value of our work to stakeholders, whom we may never

meet face-to-face Metrics become our face and are the foundation for establishing

trust• Reputation

Earned by showing the capabilities and values in our past work We have to be able to show that we have met the goals of our

content strategy plan

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Benchmarking

• Benchmarking is a comparison of your content strategy with your competitors Performance benchmarking – How does our

performance compare with our competitors performance?

Process benchmarking – How can we learn from the business processes of our competitors?

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How technical publications add value

Data Information

Informing knowledge Action

What do you need to do?

• Put together your content strategy plan: What content? What products and services?

What do your customers need to know? What content will benefit your business for your customers to

know? What audiences? What do your customers need?

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KEY METRICS

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Key steps Communicate results

Metadata

Key metrics

Content strategy

1. Create your content strategy plan

2. Determine the metrics that will be used to measure those goals

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Reasons for measuring

• Douglas Hubbard, in How to Measure Anything, says that we need effective measurements to make better decisions Diagnosis – Determine how a specific part of the content

strategy is performing Justification – Justify continuing a part of the content

strategy Orientation – Use to make decisions about the direction

of the content strategy Rewards – Assess the improvements made as part of

the content strategy and how to reward individuals or groups

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Measurement

• Measurement relies on the collection and analysis of data, which are then compared to standards, goals, objectives, etc.

• Assessment questions: How many? How economical? How accurate? How reliable? How prompt? How satisfied?

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Examples of criteria for assessing value

User criteria Value added examplesEase of use • Indexing

• Glossary• Linking• Access (subject description, short descriptions)• Ordering/sequencing

Quality • Item identification• Currency• Reliability• Validity• Conciseness

Adaptability • Response speed• Precision

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Analysis Tools

• Satisfaction surveys• Search log analysis• Database analysis• Usability testing

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Categories of measurement

• Process measures Focused on the activities to transform data and

information into content Can be measured by quantifying the cost or time to

perform a specific task or process• Output measures

Indicate the degree to which content is used by users Indicate satisfaction of users

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METADATA FOR METRICS

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Key steps Communicate results

Metadata

Key metrics

Content strategy

1. Create your content strategy plan

2. Determine the metrics that will be used to measure those goals

3. Apply metadata to content

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Metadata is….

• Correct, but ambiguous Data about data Information about data

• A little more descriptive Structured information that describes, explains, locates,

or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information object (Zeng and Qin)

Data provided in machine processable forms and communicated via protocols

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DITA is metadata and requires metadata• DITA, as XML, is a veritable sea of metadata for

information development groups• You can’t use DITA without having metadata

solutions to help solve problems and help with use cases

• A strong metadata strategy will give users mechanisms to access the information they need for common search and retrieval use cases

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Principles of metadata

• Good metadata… Supports interoperability Supports organizational needs Is appropriate to the materials in the collection Uses standard controlled vocabularies Includes a clear statement on the conditions and terms

of use Supports the long-term management of objects

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Why is metadata important?

• Metadata is critical for finding information in the CMS Searching can be enhanced by rich, consistent,

descriptive metadata• Metadata is critical for enabling dynamic publishing

Publishing for different audiences, customers, and so on Faceted searching

• Metadata classifies information to make it more findable on the Web

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Metadata supports…

• Increased accessibility• Retention of context• Expanding use• System development and enhancement• Multi-versioning• System improvements and economics

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Metadata Typologies in the DITA CMS• Embedded metadata

Stored as part of the DITA objects Stored in prologs of maps and topics

• Associated metadata Stored separately with linkages in the CMS Stored in CMS properties files

Embedded metadata

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Embedded

Map and topic

prologs

Taxonomy Elements

and attributes

Associated metadata

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Associated

CMS propertie

sLabels

Embedded or associated?

• Use embedded metadata Searching in the CMS Needs to be used in output Needs to travel with the object for localization or

interchange• Use associated metadata

Searching in a portal Metadata is manifested when objects are in locked

states

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Types of metadata

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Type Descriptive Structural AdministrativeDescription Describes an object

for purposes such as findability and identification

Indicates how the type of objects

Provides information to help manage objects

Examples topic IDs, index terms and keywords, conditional attribute values

root elements (topic types)

rights, states, dependencies

Common Quality Issues

• Missing metadata• Incorrect metadata• Confusing metadata• Insufficient metadata

All impact issues impact discovery, interoperability, and reusability.

Quality Indicators

• Completeness Discovery, Use, Authentication, Administration

• Correctness Content, format, input, browser interpretation,

mapping/integration• Consistency

Data recording, source links, identifiers, description, representation, syntax

Existing Metadata

• Industry standards Check with the standards bodies for your organization to

see if there are existing metadata schemes• Channel/format standards

Dublin Core SCORM

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What do you need to do?

Develop your metadata strategy:1. Determine the metadata to measure the success

of your content strategy And to help CMS users find files in CMS

2. Decide where to apply metadata Document the schema Produce guidelines for using the schema

3. Apply metadata to content4. Test metadata for creating reports

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COMMUNICATE RESULTS

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Key steps Communicate results

Metadata

Key metrics

Content strategy

1. Create your content strategy plan

2. Determine the metrics that will be used to measure those goals

3. Apply metadata to content

4. Communicate results to stakeholders

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Graphical and tabular information

• CMS Reports• TSV from Search Results• BIRT: Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools

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What do you need to do?

Communicate the progress on the content strategy plan:1. Build a report template2. Create queries to measure your key metrics3. Create report and insert query results into report

Identify the objectives of your content strategy Definition of a metric or score for each objective A target value A target date A periodic measurement cycle

4. Meet with stakeholders

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Resources

• Rockley, Ann & Cooper, Charles. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy (2nd ed.).

• Baca, Murtha (ed.). Introduction to Metadata, 2nd ed.

• Peh, Diana, et al. BIRT: A Field Guide. • Weinberger, David. Everything is Miscellaneous:

The Power of the New Digital Disorder.• Zeng, Marcia L & Qin, Jian. Metadata.

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Resources

• Baca, Murtha (ed.). Introduction to Metadata, 2nd ed.

• DITA 1.2 specification. • Hedden, Heather. The Accidental Taxonomist (The

Accidental Library Series).• Morville, Peter. Ambient Findability: What We Find

Changes Who We Become.• Weinberger, David. Everything is Miscellaneous:

The Power of the New Digital Disorder.• Zeng, Marcia L & Qin, Jian. Metadata.

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