Previously, we've written about why taxonomy governance matters. In a new article, we take on the topic of how to establish a taxonomy governance team.
The article discusses putting into place appropriate measures for governance, including defining strategy, establishing standards and procedures, planning for staffing, implementing technical systems, and ongoing monitoring and refinement of the taxonomy.
The size and makeup of a governance team is highly dependent on the size and complexity of the organization and the taxonomy implementation, but the article provides guidance on an ideal set of roles and responsibilities. Key roles include sponsorship and decision making, technical support, taxonomy management, taxonomy consumers, and subject matter experts.
Leaders are tasked with answering key questions about the strategic uses of the taxonomy, setting business priorities, and allocating resources. The technology team provides the expertise to create the supporting systems and make sure that business goals align with technical reality. Given that many taxonomy implementations require integration of multiple consuming systems, the technical representatives play a critical role. The taxonomy developer and administrators create the taxonomies and related vocabularies and maintain them over time. They execute on the policies established by the governance team and communicate status and resource needs. Subject matter experts provide the necessary feedback and advice on the subject areas described by the organizational taxonomies.
All members of a taxonomy governance team share the responsibility of ensuring that the organization's investment in taxonomy is maximized, whether that means enabling effective end-user-facing systems or internal process and management efficiencies.
Read the full article for more in-depth discussion of the value, roles, and responsibilities of a taxonomy governance team.