Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 1 Information International Associates, Inc. Susan Fagan, OEI, OIAA September 2006 Web Taxonomy Project

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 2 Information International Associates, Inc. Taxonomy project progress 4/9 4/16 4/23 4/30 5/7 5/14 5/21 5/28 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 1Business Case Business case session (5/8) Interviews Kick-off meetings (4/12) Business case 2Metadata Specification Draft spec Metadata session (5/16) via phone 4Testing & Guidelines EPA testing Draft guidelines Editorial session (6/20) 5Governance Process Governance session (7/6) Draft & test taxonomy 3Vocabulary Development ID & gather Vocabularies session (5/25) Added Metadata & vocabulary review session (6/7)

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 3 Information International Associates, Inc. What was done Defined the value of taxonomy to EPA and its constituencies. Factored out the discrete facets (people, places, organizations, and things) from existing vocabularies. Specified how to maintain them as separate controlled vocabularies. Tagged some content using the facets in combination. Developed editorial & governance guidelines.

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 4 Information International Associates, Inc. Overall Web Taxonomy goals Provide a single methodology for categorizing information across EPA offices, programs, and regions. Reduce the time it takes to successfully target and find cross- Program/Region information Enable and enforce content linking across the agency Build common agency-wide terminology resources Eliminate multiple, ambiguous taxonomies Eliminate multiple glossaries, abbreviations and acronyms Group things differently depending on the context e.g., ground water with drinking water, or ground water with water quality Get the right content to the right people in the right format at the right time.

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 5 Information International Associates, Inc. Metadata goals/recommendations Require metadata. Make it easy to add & change metadata. Incorporate metadata into content workflow. Pre-populate metadata for user approval. Provide incentives for quality user-contributed metadata (search results, more links). Provide almost instantaneous feedback using that metadata. Make it easy to change website organization without having to re-index or re-code pages.

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 6 Information International Associates, Inc. Personalized content delivery requires defining taxonomy facets FacetDefinitionSource FunctionEPA business function or service that is covered by or related to the content. EPA Business Reference Model ( ) Human HealthSpecific disease or health concern referred to or associated with content. EPA Controlled Vocabulary IndustryIndustry sector that is covered by or related to the content. EPA Controlled Vocabulary, NAICS OrganizationEPA or external organizational unit that is covered by or related to the content. EPA Website, EPA Controlled Vocabulary Laws & Regulations Specific regulation that is covered by or related to the content. EPA Controlled Vocabulary, EPA Website, TRS SubstanceChemicals and substances covered by or related to the content. EPA Controlled Vocabulary, EPCRA List of Lists TopicExtensible list of topics that content is about, and/or why the content is important. EPA Controlled Vocabulary Information Types A typology that indicates what type of information this is. Welchman Consulting, Taxonomy interviews, Website Analysis GeographyPlace which the content covers or is related to. EPA Controlled Vocabulary, USPS, ISO

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 7 Information International Associates, Inc. EPA Web Taxonomy: Topics sub-facets Advisory Childrens Health Exposure Food Safety Health Assessment Health Effect Health Risk Occupational Health Pesticide Effects Senior's Health Sun Protection Toxicity Human Health Communities Economics & Financing Global Climate Change International Cooperation Risk Assessment Technical Assistance Technical Cooperation Voluntary Partnerships Economics & Policy Topics Topics Emergencies & Cleanup Topics Cleanup Brownfields Cleanup Technology Corrective Actions Storage Tanks Superfund Emergencies Accidents Contingency Plans Counter-Terrorism Disasters Emergency Preparedness Oil Spills Poisoning Radiation Emergencies Storage Tank Spills Environmental Media Topics Air Ecosystems Waste Water Industrial Industrial Ecology Industrial processes Large Buildings Orphaned Sources Pesticide Topics Radiation & Radioactivity Small Business Storage Tanks Research, Prevention & Control Pollution Prevention Physical Aspects Research Treatment & Control

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 8 Information International Associates, Inc. Using the EPA Web Taxonomy is different No longer parking content in just one place. Tag content with as many terms as necessary to describe What the content is about & Why it is important. Anticipate how the content will be searched for in the future, & how to make it easy to find.

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 9 Information International Associates, Inc. Taxonomy tagging example 1 Title: Roles of Federal Agencies URL: FacetsValues Info TypesBasic Information & Facts FunctionsManage Radiation; Provide Public Information, Education & Outreach Industriesn/a Laws & RegsEnergy Policy Act OrganizationsOffice of Air and Radiation; Department of Energy; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Department of Transportation; Mine Safety and Health Administration SubstancesSpent Fuels, High-Level Waste TopicsWaste Disposal, Radioactive Waste, Radiation Protection AudiencesAll GeographyYucca Mountain

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 10 Information International Associates, Inc. EPA Web Taxonomy Editorial Rules There are 24 rules covering issues such as Capitalization, Abbreviations, Plural noun forms, Spaces, Synonyms, Acronyms, Alphabetic ordering, etc RuleTitle Case Capitalization shall be used. ExampleTerm: Air Pollution Monitoring NOT: AIR POLLUTION MONITORING NOT: Air pollution monitoring NOT: air pollution monitoring

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 11 Information International Associates, Inc. Recommended governance outlook Measure & improve mindset Gather & evaluate suggestions. Detect & correct errors. Examine user activity, such as query logs. Integrated handling of Taxonomy, Metadata, UI, & Search To be most effective, these must work together. Governance structure can help that happen. Form Taxonomy Committee which reports to the Web Council and is responsible for taxonomy maintenance (Gather changes, Review and prioritize changes, Approve changes)

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 12 Information International Associates, Inc. Recommended governance structure EPA Web Council Taxonomy Committee Chair Taxonomy Editor Content Coordinators Infrastructure Coordinators

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 13 Information International Associates, Inc. Workgroup Members Ann-Marie Bramer, ASRC Contractors, WWG Sam Boltik, ASRC Contractors, WWG Serenety Hanley, OPA, CC Cy Kidd, OW, IC Lisa Jenkins, OSWER, IC Margo Palmer, Region 01, IC Dennis Schulte, Contractor, WWG Glenna Shields, OAR, WWG Shhonn Taylor, OECA, IC Susan Woestman, Region 05, IC

Taxonomy Strategies LLC The business of organized information 14 Information International Associates, Inc. Questions? Susan Fagan, OEI , Two Sessions Wed Sept 13 3:00-3:45 or 3:45-4:30 EPA Web Taxonomy wiki