1. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program eGovernment Working Group July 28, 2004

2. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 2 Outline  Taxonomy Development Approach  Facets and Multiple Taxonomies  Metadata Model  IV&V Recommendation

3. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 3 Goal Goal: Comply with eGovernment Act of 2002 “…enhance the access to and delivery of Government information and services to the public.” Make it easy for USDA audiences to find relevant information and resources

4. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 4 “Rumination” Moment “We may be Government, but Let’s start thinking like eCommerce…..”  What does eCommerce do for success of connecting customers to services and products?  What is your experience in finding services or products on the web?  What about those stiff hierarchical structures for browsing? Is information one-dimensional?

5. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 5 Taxonomies Defined Taxonomies:  A method of organizing information and resources so that they can later be found or discovered.  A vocabulary whose terms are organized into a structure. The terms might be the names of people, organizations, things, or concepts. http://agclass.nal.usda.gov/usda/usda.htm

6. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 6 Approach Phase 1  Content Area Discovery by classifying content  Content Practices Noted Phase 2  Aggregate Agency Content  Expand Detail Phase 3  Facet Classification  Metadata Model  Controlled Vocabularies Phase 4…  Evaluate taxonomy and metadata model  Integrate into applications

7. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 7 Outline  Taxonomy Development Approach  Facets and Multiple Taxonomies  Metadata Model  IV&V Recommendation

8. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 8 Facets Facet classification – a classification system developed through the analysis of the fundamental characteristics of information. Acknowledging that information is multi-dimensional….and people may want to search by more than just subject!

9. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 9 Facets Information Resource What is it about? Subject Who is this for? Audience Where? Geographical location When? Temporal / Date What is it? Content Type

10. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 10 Facets Audience: Policy makers and influencers Need: “I want to find data on how many acres of cotton are grown in Georgia.” Content Type: data and statistics Subject: crop acreage Commodity: cotton Geographic Location: Georgia

11. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 11 USDA Faceted Taxonomy  Many facets shared by all content and all subject areas.  Each facet has a discrete controlled vocabulary Some are simple, flat lists Some are simple hierarchies, 1-3 levels deep USDA Language ProgramNavigation Content- type Affiliated- agency Subject File-format Geographi- cal-location Audience Commodity

12. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 12 Facets with Example Values Audience  Producers  Agribusiness and cooperatives  Low-income families and individuals  Children and caregivers  Rural communities and businesses  Researchers and the academic community  Landowners and conservationists  Policymakers and influencers  National and local media  The general public, and  USDA employees Content Types  Maps  Directories and contact information  Databases  Models  Frequently Asked Questions  Laws  Legislative testimony  Software  Technical standards / specifications  Promotional materials

13. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 13 Facets with Example Values Subject / Service  Food and Nutrition  Dietary guidelines  Food safety  Education and Outreach  Consumer information  Distance learning  Marketing and Trade  Agricultural prices  Marketing  Natural Resources and Environment  Forestry  Energy  Rural and Community Development  Business development  Infrastructure and utilities Commodity  Animal Products  Dairy products  Milk  Meat products  Beef  Pork  Poultry products  Eggs  Animals  Cattle  Hogs and pigs  Plant Products  Cotton and plant fibers  Vegetables  Rubber and rubber products

14. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 14 Facets Using Standards Language – ISO 639 http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/englangn.html Geographical Locations Countries – ISO 3166 http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-codes- lists/list-en1.html States – Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 5-2 http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip5-2.htm Format – RFC 2045, RFC 2046 http://www.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/media-types/media-types See “source of controlled vocabulary” in the metadata model.

15. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 15 “Rumination Moment” Does e-commerce use facets to organize content? Does this help you find products or services? See Advanced Search: nordstrom.com Facets Value Category …………………………..Women’s Apparel Subcategory ……………………...Sweaters Subcategory ……………………...Cardigans Size …………………………………Reg M (8-10) Brand ………………………………Tommy Hilfiger Price ………………………………..$50-$75 Color ……………………………….Red

16. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 16 Outline  Taxonomy Development Approach  Facets and Multiple Taxonomies  Metadata Model  IV&V Recommendation

17. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 17 What Is Metadata? What is metadata? Data about the content, such as Title, Author, Publisher, Date of Creation, Subject Dublin Core: www.dublincore.orgwww.dublincore.org DC is the metadata standard (ISO 15836) for describing Internet resources. Set of 15 basic elements. Identifier Title Creator Contributor Publisher Subject Description Coverage Date Source Relation Rights Format Type Language

18. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 18 Metadata  Development of USDA metadata specification for use in the content management system for USDA content publishers  “Map facets to metadata elements”  Latest version is located at www.egov.usda.gov Intranet web site under Taxonomy Team Resources.www.egov.usda.gov

19. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 19 Metadata Example LabelValue Title:The Thermy ™ Page Description:Thermy ™ is the messenger of a national…. Identifier:http://www.fsis.usda.gov/thermy/index.htm Organization:Food Safety and Inspection Service USDA Subjectfood safety; Commodity :meat products; Geographic/Location: Content Type:Educational materials; Language:English

20. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 20 Outline  Taxonomy Development Approach  Facets and Multiple Taxonomies  Metadata Model  IV&V Recommendation

21. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 21 Overall Recommendations Overall recommendations:  Use a common metadata model to consistently label content.  Use multiple taxonomies to categorize content.  Use computer-assisted methods to tag content.

22. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 22 Recommendation 1 Recommendation 1: Use a common metadata model to consistently label content Use Dublin Core as the starting point, with USDA extensions. Benefits  Change the search experience from guessing what to search on, to using agreed upon data fields.  Create a more predictable search experience.  Enable people outside your work group, or expertise to consistently search your content.  Comply with OMB guidelines by using standards.

23. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 23 What is Dublin Core?  Dublin Core (DC) is the Metadata Standard for describing Internet resources so they are easy to find.  DC is being used as the starting point for many metadata specifications including USDA.  DC is a set of 15 basic elements. All are optional and repeatable. For more information: http://www.dublincore.org http://www.dublincore.org Dublin Core approved as ISO 15836. 03 04 Original workshop held in Dublin, Ohio. Shanghai meeting. 95 Identifier Title Creator Contributor Publisher Subject Description Coverage Date Source Relation Rights Format Type Language

24. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 24 Recommendation 2 Recommendation 2: Use multiple taxonomies to categorize content Do not use a single monolithic taxonomy to organize content. Benefits  Support multiple audiences & applications with the same content.  Provide many ways to find the same content.  Expose implicit links across subject areas & repositories to discover information you didn’t know you had.  Smaller number of categories are needed, so it is easier to build & maintain.

25. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 25 The Power of Taxonomy Facets 4 independent categories of 10 nodes each have the same discriminatory power as one hierarchy of 10,000 nodes (10 x 10 x 10 x 10)  Easier to create – only 40 nodes  Easier to maintain – changes are confined  More durable – easy to add new facets over time  Can be easier to navigate - with more sophisticated software.

26. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 26 Recommendation 3 Recommendation 3: Use computer-assisted methods to tag content Change the tagging experience from filling in a blank form to editing a form that’s already been filled in. Examine search activity & content use to identify & suggest taxonomy changes. Benefits  More complete & consistent tagging to power applications such as search, portals, & personalization.  Up-to-date categories for labeling content.  Methods to enable agency subject matter experts to keep categories current.

27. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 27 FirstGov: Facets at Work Organization Content Type Topic Audience

28. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 28 USDA.gov: Facets at Work Organization Services Subject Coming soon: Audience

29. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 29 FSIS.gov: Facets at Work Organization Services Subject Audience

30. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 30 Technology Analysts “Lack of organization of information is in fact the number one problem in information management and retrieval” “Adding metadata to unstructured content allows it to be managed like structured content. Applications that use structured content work better.” “Enriching content with structured metadata is critical for supporting search and personalized content delivery.” “Content that has been adequately tagged with metadata can be leveraged in usage tracking, personalization and improved searching.”

31. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 31 “Make it easy for USDA audiences to find relevant information and resources” Taxonomy development using faceted classification and a metadata specification for use in the content management system for USDA content publishers

32. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 32 Questions? Lori Finch, National Agricultural Library 301-504-6853 lfinch@nal.usda.gov Joseph Busch, Taxonomy Strategies 415-377-7912 jbusch@taxonomystrategies.com

33. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program – Taxonomy Initiative United States Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 33 Next Steps EGWG Schedule  2 nd and 4 th Wednesday of every month Next EGWG Session Date: August 11th, 2004 Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00PM EST Location: S107