# Presentation: 273853

## 
eGovernment Working Group

July 28, 2004

**eGovernment Working Group**
**July 28, 2004**

**  **

## Outline		

** **
**    ****Taxonomy Development Approach**
**    ****Facets and Multiple Taxonomies**
**    ****Metadata Model**
**    ****IV&V Recommendation**

## 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**

##        “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?**

## 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 **

## Approach

## Outline		

** **
**    ****Taxonomy Development Approach**
**    ****Facets and Multiple Taxonomies**
**    ****Metadata Model**
**    ****IV&V Recommendation**

## 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!**

##                              Facets

**Information Resource**

**What is it about? **
**Subject**

**Who is this for?**
**Audience**** **

**Where?**
**Geographical location**

**When?**
**Temporal / Date **

**What is it?**
**Content Type**

## 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*****                                      ***

## 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**

**Program**

**Navigation**

**Content-**** type**

**Affiliated-agency**

**Subject**

**File-format**

**Geographi-cal-location**

**Audience**

**Commodity**

## 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

## 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

## 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.**

## “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***

## Outline		

** **
**    ****Taxonomy Development Approach**
**    ****Facets and Multiple Taxonomies**
**    ****Metadata Model**
**    ****IV&V Recommendation**

## What Is Metadata?	

***What is metadata?***
**Data about the content, such as Title, Author, Publisher, Date of Creation, Subject**
**Dublin Core:  www.dublincore.org**
**DC is the metadata standard **
**(ISO 15836) for describing **
**Internet resources.  **
**Set of 15 basic elements.**

## 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](http://www.egov.usda.gov/)**__** Intranet web site under Taxonomy Team Resources.**_

## Metadata Example

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Title: | The Thermy TM Page |
| Description: | Thermy TM is the messenger of a national.... |
| Identifier: | http://www.fsis.usda.gov/thermy/index.htm |
| Organization: | Food Safety and Inspection Service |
| USDA Subject | food safety; |
| Commodity : | meat products; |
| Geographic/Location: | <none applicable> |
| Content Type: | Educational materials;  |
| Language: | English |

## Outline		

** **
**    ****Taxonomy Development Approach**
**    ****Facets and Multiple Taxonomies**
**    ****Metadata Model**
**    ****IV&V Recommendation**

## 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.**

## 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.**

## 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

**Notes:**
Key points: S

## 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.**

## 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.**

**Notes:**
Facets avoid the redundancy commonly associated with classification schemes, where higher and lower levels could be reversed without any affect on the relationship.

Here’s an example:

Tax
	Assets
		Individuals
		Corporations
	Liabilities
		Individuals
		Corporations

## 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.**

## FirstGov: Facets at Work

## USDA.gov: Facets at Work

- Organization

- Services

- Subject

_**Coming soon**_**: Audience**

## FSIS.gov: Facets at Work

- Organization

- Services

- Subject

- Audience

## 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._**”**

**Notes:**
The WHY part

** “****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**

## Questions?

***Questions****?*
**Lori Finch, National Agricultural Library**
**301-504-6853**
**lfinch@nal.usda.gov**
**Joseph Busch, Taxonomy Strategies**
**415-377-7912**
**jbusch@taxonomystrategies.com**

## 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