Taxonomy Design, the Key First Step to a Successful Item Master Data Project

Your taxonomy is the organizational structure of categories and attributes that define how you classify, describe, and manage your data. Whether you realize it or not, you have a taxonomy in place today. A good taxonomy will assist with sourcing metrics (how much is being spent where and with whom), enable easy searching in your parts catalogs, and allow quick identification of obsolete and duplicate parts. It also serves as a model to maintain part classification accuracy as new parts are added.

This workshop helps companies who are in the beginning stages of an item master data quality initiative understand how to get started. It also helps companies in the midst of a project validate their project against industry best practices.

Workshop objectives:

• Educate participants on the fundamentals of classification theory and taxonomy design, with a discussion of the pros and cons of popular alternatives
• Illustrate, by example, the impact of a well planned taxonomy
• Learn about the key phases of every item master data project
  • Definition Phase, in which the taxonomy and data quality standards necessary to support the project's business goals are defined. During this phase, processes and team organizations and roles are determined
  • Implementation Phase, in which the taxonomy is developed or completed; actual item data is cleansed, classified, and enriched to the corporate standards
  • Maintenance Phase, in which new data is added only after meeting the standards set in the first two phases. The data is then subject to Continuous Data Improvement™ (CDI™) techniques while under management
• Provide an estimate of the scope and timeline for your project

Whether driven by an ERP migration or upgrade, a merger or acquisition or an IT infrastructure consolidation effort, classifying, cleansing and enriching your item master will help you get the most business value from your data quality effort.