Modeling & managing metadata for greater productivity

October 30, 2006 © copyright Jean L. Graef 2006 1

Modeling & managing metadatafor greater productivity

Jean GraefThe Montague InstituteJean.graef at montague.com(413) 367-0245


Agenda

Definitions How to build a metadata model Metadata repository example Two examples Tips


What is metadata?

Content attributes: author, title, subject People attributes: name, title,

affiliation, expertise Data attributes: created, updated,

source Subject attributes: source, meaning,

relationships Object attributes: source, location, cost,

condition

Examples: Recipes

Examples: Reference

Examples: Reference

Examples: Grocery shopping

Examples: MarketResearch

Examples: MarketResearch

Examples: Selling food additives

Examples: Food allergies


Who uses metadata?

Programs Search engines Other applications

Humans Authors Site administrators Indexers Readers/visitors


What is productivity?

Profit generated / employee salary Saving time Generating new insights

Knowledge work activities writing reports buying products solving problems developing new intellectual assets sharing data/information


Why manage metadata?

Accessibility (to humans & programs) Consistency (apples to apples

reports) Understanding (new

insights/perspectives) Time savings (finding, analyzing,

using)


The management problem

Limitations of existing models Print publishing Database publishing Web publishing & search engines


Managing metadata for print

Who benefits, who pays? Consumers of information products Publishers (production, marketing) Taxpayers (taxonomy creation) Individuals (peer review, standards,

authors)


Managing metadata for the Web

Need for speed Immature market mechanism Fragmented & immature support

system “End user” is not the metadata

customer No “governance” system


What’s a model?

High level blueprint for identifying, mapping, & maintaining attributes


How is it used?

Metadata management blueprint Which activities need metadata Who creates & uses metadata Who “owns” and updates metadata Metadata characteristics &

relationships How to transform/normalize


Kinds of models

High level, conceptual map Business process diagram Metadata sources/uses table Detailed metadata characteristics Metadata relationships

Prospec ting Q ualify ing Dem o Contrac t

Lead Qualified Lead Short List

Sales rep

Application & Technology Consultants

Network & Hardware

Telemarketer

Produc t des c ription R FPIndus try analys is

Tec hnical spec sFeature lis tAllianc e polic iesIndus try analys isC om pany bac kground

R eleas e s c hedulesPric ing/c ontrac t polic iesSupport polic ies

us ers

proc es s

c ontent

Pre-Sales Environm ent in a Com puter System s Integration Firm

Re g io nIn d u strySize

Pro d u ct fe atu re sCo mp e tito rs

Pro d u ct fe atu re sPartn e rsCo mp e tito rs

Pro d u ctsPartn e rsCu sto me rs

m etadata

Business process model

Metadata relationships


1. Building a metadata model

users

processcontent

X



Objective Internal domains

External domains

Stakeholders

Food-relatedadvertising

MarketingSalesFinance

ConsumersAdvertisers

InvestorsMedia buyersCooks

Chemical sales

R&DMarketingSalesFinance

FDAFood manufacturers

InvestorsPurchasing agents

Mitigate allergyIllnesses

OutreachFinance

Food manufacturersMedical community

PatientsDoctorsFood marketers



recipe

ingredients instructions

plan menu

Main ingredientCuisinePrep methodSeason/occasionCourse/mealDishSpecial consider.



recipe

ingredients instructions

plan menu Food allergies

appliances

problems

Food shopping

ingredients

Symptom – diagnosis - remedy

Symptom – diagnosis - remedy



Type Example

Metadata

Source Use

Ingredients

Additives & supplements

Food SIC codes Market research

Ingredients

Moon (K) Product Products taxon

Samples form

Ingredients

Milk Ingredients Food taxon Food menus

Ingredients

Arm & Hammer

Brands Brands taxon

Food marketing



Identification

Search & browse

Use management

DocumentManagement

Samples ordering

ID numberDate createdLanguageVersion

Common nameScientific name

Authorized byAccess rightsUse history

Record IDDisposal statusRetention schedule

Customer IDProduct IDOrder dateOrder status



Name Mandatory?

Repeatable?

Entry value

Reference

Default value

Source

ID Yes No System

N/A No System

Product Yes No Select ProductTaxon

No Userinput


8. Where to store metadata?

File system Application Integrated enterprise system Metadata repository


File system

File type

File Access

procedure

DocPDFexe

ProgramWordAcrobatSystem

Double clickSearch

Metadata:

File nameFile pathCreate dateModified dateThumbnail

File system

Application

DefaultDirectory

File Access

procedure

ProgramWordDreamweaverInDesign

OpenEditDeleteBrowse

Metadata(Properties):

File nameThumbnailProgramCreatorLicenseeCustom

Application

Enterprise system

Portal

Search

Content creation

Security

Collaboration

Contentarchives

Application interface

metadata

metadata

metadatametadata

metadata

metadata

Metadata repository

Metadata repository

Rules

SearchSearch

PortalPortal

E-commerceE-commerce

Service KBService KB

RBDMSRBDMS

Web sitesWeb sites

Local archivesLocal archives

ApplicationsContent sources

Metadata repository


Case studies

Montague Institute Triple bottom line reporting


Montague Institute

Two periodicals Montague Institute Review Knowledge Base Editor’s Digest

Membership organization Who’s reading what? What’s happening? Who’s using what? Payments, passwords, renewal status


Montague Institute

Contacts

Billing Messages

Thesaurus

A – Z index

Passwords

DocumentsStatistics

Organizations

Countries

Products

Digest

A – Z index

A – Z index

Search with thesaurus

Related articles


Triple bottom line reporting

Social – environmental – economic Global Reporting Initiative Many stakeholders, many vocabularies

Sweatshops Oil spills

Performance indicators “Thematic models” (diversity,

productivity) “Eco-efficiency” ratings

Tran sp o rtationPo licy

Re d u ceCo n su me r

De man d

M o b ility 2001critiq u e

F o rd 'sTh in k M ob ility

Prog ram

Ele ctr ic carsfo r a irp o rttran sp ort

F u e lco sts o f

M o re o p tio n sfo r th e d isab le d

su itab lemo d e ls

Co rpo rate

marke tin gfo re casts

EPA ratin g sfo r su itab le

v e h icle s

M o b ility 2001re po rt

G M M o b ilityAd v iso r

G M sale sfo r th e

d isab le d

White space map

Mapping terms


Metadata & productivity

Must have (financial reports, catalogs)

Save time (doc archives, indexes) Minimize risk (mapped thesauri,

themes) Increase revenues (expertise

locators)


Tips

Show don’t tell Prototypes Examples Avoid technical terms (i.e. metadata,

taxonomy)


Tips

Use an open architecture Avoid metadata “lockup” in

proprietary systems Use metadata repository Devote resources to integration

» Structural (i.e. databases, XML)» Intellectual (concept mapping)


Tips

Don’t think “user” Buyer Customer Activist Developer Project team member

Cultivate “boundary spanners”


Tips

Set priorities Certify content Service portfolio management

Broaden perspective Risk Business models & trends Interdisciplinary teams Information food chain


Tips

Develop a metadata business model Author incentives Editorial standards Collaboration: standards, integration Metadata as a service Look for “indirect” metadata

customers» Tech support» Market research» Investor relations


More info

Montague Institute Reviewhttp://www.montague.com/review/review.html