CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
Contents |
Introduction
Classification systems, also often referred to as Taxonomies, are used to provide contextual reference information that helps us understand how different objects or entities are related to each other and to the world we operate in.
Classification systems are often used in Records Management as a mechanism for grouping and identifying documents. Two common methods for creating classification systems exist
Multi Dimensional Taxonomies
These taxonomies have been used by records managers for many years to classify documents. Typically, they contain many taxonomic levels, each of which deals with a different dimension of the business. For example, an individual level may be based on the organizational hierarchy of a company, geographic area, stratigraphy, phase of a life cycle, business process, or status.
In a mulitdimensional taxonomy, the relationships between each level is often artificial, and enforced by a system. A significant weakness of these systems is their inflexibility when a level of the taxonomy changes. For example, the organizational hierarchy may change over time; when this happens, the entire taxonomy may have to be re-built.
For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomies
Faceted Classification Systems
This method allows multiple types of classification to be defined seperately; each subject area is a facet of the system. For example, organizational hierarchies, geographic relations, life cycle, processes, methods are all created as seperate facets. If the contents of one facet changes, the remaining facets are unaffected. New facets can be created easily and integrated into the system at will.
Typically, the connections between levels in a faceted classification system are "is a part of" or "is a kind of". Terms such as "general", "misc", and "other" can usually be avoided with a well designed faceted system.
For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faceted_taxonomy
PPDM Faceted Taxonomy Dimensions
A PPDM workgroup has developed a set of recommended facets for Taxonomy Dimensions.
Use of the Classification Systems module
- Use when classifying documents or other records
- Use to classify or group objects in the PPDM data base (group wells etc. Note that this function should not be used instead of the REPORTING HIERARCHIES in PPDM.
- Use to create complex hierarchical relationships between values in a reference entity, so that the hierarchy can be used for query purposes. In this case, the function of the R_% table is mainly to provide validation for incoming values.
This module includes tables in the PPDM 3.8 Roadmaps, section Classification Systems (Taxonomies)
