Many corporate data strategies fail because they rely on arbitrary, single-tree hierarchies.
These monolithic classification structures attempt to force an entire operational domain into one deep, inflexible tree. They scale poorly, break when new data arrives, and create endless orphan terms.
At Taxonomy Strategies, we build an organized highway that allows data to flow seamlessly.
🏆 My Golden Rule of Design: Four metadata-controlled vocabularies of 10 values each have the exact same discriminatory power as one unmanageable taxonomy of 10,000 values.
Instead of building a single deep tree, structure your information across discrete, independent facets:
- đź“‹ Broad and shallow lists: Keep individual vocabularies lean and focused on single concepts.
- 🔪 Multi-dimensional slicing: Combine independent facets—such as time, physical attributes, geography, and broad topics—to categorize complex assets.
- 🏢 Fit for purpose architecture: Design structures that adapt to specific operational use cases.
Stop forcing complex enterprise logic into arbitrary pyramids.
Keep your taxonomies broad, shallow, and multi-faceted.
– Joseph Busch
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