Taxonomy and Information Architecture for the Semantic Layer

There is a growing interest in implementing a semantic layer as part of a knowledge management strategy as organizations seek to contextualize and connect their business data and information in meaningful ways. A semantic layer is more than a collection of components; they are most effective when logically connected and implemented into a shared user interface or application layer that services the information-seeking needs of its users. That’s where the principles of good information architecture (IA) design come into play. The semantic layer’s feature of connectivity of content and data and content sources requires consistent naming/labeling of concepts and entities and of relationships between concepts and entities. This consistent naming and alignment of resources is what a taxonomy and other controlled vocabularies provide.