Determine the best shorthand for representing that concept Having identified the basic concepts, you need to come up with a unique identifier for each concept. It must be short enough so that someone typing it twice will not have dire thoughts about your future. Then you can use standard or generally accepted terms and abbreviations to identify each concept. The ultimate goal for the taxonomy is to be expressed electronically is so it can be shared and so documents that use the terms can be validated against a master list of the terms. The tools for working with XML are still rudimentary.
Few people have expertise for working directly with XML files.
Document, document, document Documentation of the steps you take in developing your taxonomy is critical. Decisions that seem so obvious today can be forgotten tomorrow, and the benefits of the original decision lost. Document your reasons for decision making. Taxonomies are living and breathing. Underlying rules and practices evolve and change.