Taxomomy development

Taxonomies are all the lists of categories and labels that we use in websites and computer systems.

We put taxonomies to many uses:

• group content on a website
• display a set of products to a user
• allow a seller to classify their products
• make recommendations and suggestions
• drive algorithms
• show relationships between items

Taxonomy development is hard! Even seemingly-simple taxonomies need to be carefully designed so they achieve what they need, and don’t accidentally disadvantage people. Complex taxonomies take detailed, deliberate work to set up, and need clear principles for maintenance over time.

I can help with many taxonomy projects, such as:

• creating a website structure
• creating a taxonomy for e-commerce products
• developing principles for taxonomy maintenance
• mapping one taxonomy to another

Bias and consequences

All taxonomies contain bias, caused when we group things or people into categories. I can help you understand the biases in a taxonomy, understand the consequences, and determine what to do to reduce bias.