A Practical Guide to a Taxonomy Remodel

For anyone who has undertaken any form of home remodel or loves to watch television shows featuring them, the general phases of a home renovation are familiar: visualizing the target state of the remodeled home, carrying out structural work, demolition, rebuilding and framing, inspections and approvals, and wrapping up any finishing touches before pivoting to a more manageable level of ongoing maintenance. These same phases of ideation, development, and implementation lend themselves well to carrying out a “remodel” of an organization’s semantic infrastructure — except at a much faster rate. Consider the areas in your organization where taxonomies are represented: product lists, intranet drop-down menus, asset tags, navigation menus, and more. Over time, these areas become outdated and less functional. Pressures to embrace AI-first solutions and accelerated workflows compound this issue further.