Centrelink Thesaurus - a case study - Kathleen Lazzari Manager, Resource Discovery Centrelink Abbreviated version of a paper given at the Information Architecture & Taxonomies Conference 6-7 November 2003, Sydney actKM Meeting 3 February 2004

2 Topics Definitions Centrelink – the organisation and I&T context Centrelink Thesaurus –The taxonomy : content and technology –Steps in development –Search, navigation and other benefits –Current enhancements –Future opportunities Training and promotion

3 Definitions Controlled vocabulary –Managed set/list of words or phrases Taxonomy –Classification tool, pre-defined system –Defines groups and subgroups –Framework for discussion, analysis, information retrieval –Provides terms of a domain – in context –Represents a structured relationship

4 Definitions Thesaurus –Reference tool which groups synonyms, defines relationships –Controlled vocabulary –Taxonomy –Examples: help.html

5 Centrelink - the organisation Australia’s largest supplier of Commonwealth govt products, services Australian govt’s one stop shop for services I &T Network – World’s ninth largest staff, more than 450 sites Australia’s largest single purpose call centre network Client departments – partners

6 Centrelink – the organisation (cont.) Facts and figures: – –6.4 million customers –12 million online transactions daily –Per annum: $53.4 billion paid Almost 100 million letters to customers 5.3 million new claims Over 23 million phone calls

7 Centrelink – the organisation (cont.) ‘Government and community sensitive’, often rapid change –Policy, legislation, budget initiatives etc –Ansett collapse, Bali bombings, drought, ACT fires Need to ‘get it right’ Major assets: people, information

8 Centrelink – I&T context Constant, often rapid, change Substantial costs to change tools, platforms Lotus investment –Desktop tools –Internet platform, search engine, approx pages Intranet –Over pages –Unix, flat HTML, Cold Fusion applications, Verity search engine

9 Centrelink – I&T context Business intelligence – growing importance Government injection of funds for I&T refresh Web content management system implementation –Sun/divine’s content server Distributed authors, publishers Dissemination of / reliance on data and information Exhaustive, specific info retrieval required

10 Centrelink – I&T context (cont.) AGLS metadata standard : good practice to policy Content and records management Record keeping metadata standard Organisation taxonomy – Centrelink Thesaurus

11 Centrelink Thesaurus: the taxonomy Large, hierarchical list of terms and names –groups, subgroups, synonyms –thirty ‘top’ terms –to approx 3 levels Defines relationships –broad, narrow, related Defines preferred terms (approx 3000) –maps ‘non-preferred’ terms, abbreviations, acronyms

12 Centrelink Thesaurus: the taxonomy (cont.) Tracks changes over time –former name, later name –scope and history Centrelink business coverage –subject focus –includes payments, teams, programs, govt. bodies, organisations

13 Centrelink Thesaurus: the technology DB2 database Corporate standards and processes From Cold Fusion to API with Java (J2EE) Constructed in accordance with ISO 2788

14 Steps in development 1.Identification of need, benefits 2.Prioritisation of objectives

15 Steps in development (cont.) 3.Environmental scan –standards and manuals ISO 2788 Aitchison, J. Thesaurus construction and use. –existing taxonomies –online information –stakeholders 4.Acquisition of expertise 5.Identification, specification of tools, database, methodology

16 Steps in development (cont.) 6.Population of taxonomy base taxonomy (APAIS) : National Library of Australia 7.Documentation of processes, procedures, policy 8.Initial launch and implementation (July 2001) 9.Database redesign (API, Java) Planned re-launch late 2003

17 Search, navigation and other benefits  Discovery of resources in web environments  Support of indexing for information retrieval controlled values for metadata  Searching: high recall, precision, more options, consistency  Navigation: enhanced, consistent index generation browse

18 Search, navigation and other benefits Examples of what can be managed Youth / Teenagers / Adolescents / Young people Aurally disabled / Deaf Website / Web site ATO / Australian Taxation Office/ Tax Office DFaCS? / FaCS? / DFCS?

19 Search, navigation and other benefits New language created/adopted Language standardised in Thesaurus Thesaurus used a language authority Corporate language appears in content Content indexed with Thesaurus terms Easier, consistent search, navigation and retrieval

20 Other benefits  Information management efficiencies in content management  Support internal and external sites intranet, staff portal development cross agency consistency, compatibility online services & information for customers, clients eg: fed.gov.au, customer themed portals  Support govt initiatives, eg Government Online Strategy

21 Current enhancements  Database tables redesigned to enable –taxonomy subsets create once, use many –efficient management of vocabularies –accommodation of definitions (glossary function) –integration with web content management system (authoring, indexing, harvesting) –integration with other applications

22 Future opportunities Browse and search tool –big picture of enterprise information Facilitate end user 'always right' Positioning for advances in 'auto categorisation' software Increasingly consistent, correct language Integration with ‘structured’ info tools, products, search, navigation Supply of business definitions

23 Other info stores Future opportunities (cont.) Function Thesaurus Subject Thesaurus Data dictionary End user search/browse/view

24 Training and promotion Staff who maintain the taxonomy must be appropriately qualified and trained be advanced in the language of the taxonomy have advanced communication skills Authors, publishers will require training

25 Training and promotion (cont.) Management needs to understand commitment, opportunities, efficiencies Particularly need to educate, promote with –content managers –records managers –knowledge managers –CIO –I&T staff managing above tools

26 Thank you Kathleen Lazzari Manager, Resource Discovery Data Shop, Centrelink Ph © Commonwealth of Australia