Taxonomy Design Fundamentals
Taxonomies connect users to content by bringing to together the terms of the users with the terms in the content. Thus, taxonomies need to be custom built based on analysis of content and input from the users and from the content.
Following a thorough introduction to taxonomies, their types, and how they relate to other knowledge organization systems, this workshop focuses on methods and best practices for designing and building taxonomies, whether for website/marketing content, technical content, or internal enterprise content. Methods include stakeholder interviews, content analysis, text extraction, and selective use of generative AI in concept research. Best practices include following standards for hierarchical relationships, using suitable labels for concepts, and using the most suitable taxonomy structures. The workshop includes interactive exercises of hierarchical relationship and alternative label creation.
Workshop Outline
- Introduction to Taxonomies
- What taxonomies are and what they are not
- Benefits and uses of taxonomies
- Types of taxonomies and other controlled vocabularies
- Standards for taxonomies
- Taxonomy Planning and Design
- Taxonomy project basics
- Taxonomy design options (hierarchies, facets, etc.)
- Taxonomy research and sources for concepts
- Creating Concepts and Relationships
- Concepts and their labels
- Alternative Labels
- Hierarchical relationships
- Taxonomy Implementation
- Systems for managing and using of Taxonomies
- Tagging with a taxonomy
- Taxonomy governance and maintenance
This workshop is suitable for a wide audience, including those who are interested in getting into taxonomy work/jobs, those who will be managing taxonomy projects or collaborating with a taxonomist or taxonomy consultant, and those who have taxonomy projects they want to do themselves correctly.
Organizer: Taxonomy Boot Camp London, co-located with KMWorld Europe
Date: Monday, 13 April 2026,
Location: One America Square Conference Centre, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB
Price: £216 / $294 by March 13; £234 / $319 after March 13 (separate from the main conference registration, or include it with an All Access Pass to both conferences)
Registration link