The development of taxonomies can never be over and done with. Industry analysts introduce new terms, new concepts emerge, terminology and usage changes, and some terms simply become obsolete. Similarly, the information described in a taxonomy, users, and their use-cases change over time. Hence, it is not an exaggeration to regard taxonomies as living systems. It follows that taxonomies have to be designed in a way that common maintenance tasks, that help to keep it relevant at all times, are easy to perform.
The goals of taxonomy maintenance are similar across organizations. At the same time, there are no universal guidelines for taxonomy maintenance. A successful guideline works within the context of the organization. So, while doing common maintenance tasks such as adding new terms, deletion of redundant or obsolete terms, splitting terms, merging different terms, and re-indexing, it is necessary to have a defined review process.
Some of the best practices and guidelines for maintaining a healthy taxonomy involve maintaining history notes to ensure that the reasons for making changes to the taxonomy are not forgotten. Furthermore, a formal process to review the entire taxonomy, at a minimum, once a year should be established. This annual review is in addition to the review process of individual changes. A formal process to communicate the taxonomy changes to all the users should also be defined. Rather than sharing the changes in an ad-hoc manner, it is important to have a regular rhythm of sharing the updates.
The key learning here is that taxonomies fail, not because they are not designed well, but because they are not maintained over time. In general, users find it easy to follow a quick and dirty method instead of a professional approach to maintaining taxonomies. In sum, the processes that are institutionalized for taxonomy maintenance are critical for the long-term health and utility of taxonomy.
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