Classification

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Content classification is a system of categorizing content with a set of common topics or terms. The classification process starts by taking large groupings of content and logically subdividing them into smaller groupings.

ISO 15489 defines classification as the “systematic identification and arrangement of business activities, and/or records into categories, according to logically structured conventions, methods, and procedural rules represented in a classification system.” Although ISO’s definition explicitly refers to records, the same definition of classification can apply to all content and not just records.

The purpose of classification is to have a uniform information schema that both people and applications can use for saving, organizing, sharing, and retrieving information. Taxonomies and folksonomies are two examples of classification structures.

Content Classification in SharePoint
In SharePoint, taxonomies are ultimately structured with content types, metadata, and containers such as sites, libraries, and folders. The hierarchical nature of taxonomy can be implemented in SharePoint by taking advantage of the inheritance features of content types, as described in the previous module on Content Types and Metadata.

Consistent Metadata Assignment
A basic capability available in SharePoint is designating what type of information is permitted for a given column. By choosing certain column types, you can enforce consistency of metadata values and therefore encourage more accurate classification. By choosing a column type of choice or lookup, for instance, you can restrict entered values for a given column to a predefined list from which users select. Limiting metadata entry to specified list values helps to enforce consistency with how content is described.

In earlier versions of SharePoint you can specify a default value for a column or site column and SharePoint assigns that default value to any new item or document that uses the column. SharePoint 2010 offers new, additional functionality that allows you to specify default values for columns at the list, library, or folder level.

SharePoint 2010 also includes new functionality called Managed Metadata that can greatly improve the quality of content classification. Managed Metadata is a hierarchical collection of centrally managed terms that you can define and then use as attributes for items in SharePoint 2010. The Term Store Management Tool allows you to manage in a central location the terms and term sets (Managed Metadata) to be used across sites and throughout the SharePoint farm. The tool allows you to add, modify, and delete terms. For each term you can specify whether the term is available for tagging, the language to use for the term labels, and descriptive text that helps users know when and how to use the term. A term’s properties also include a Default Label (for the preferred term) and Other Labels (synonyms of the term). You can designate columns as a Managed Metadata type, which binds the columns to specified term sets.

The various features available in support of consistent metadata assignment facilitate the automation of processes that act on the content, such as using the Content Organizer. Drop-off Libraries and Content Organizer Rules can be configured to automate the classification of records into a Records Center.

Social Tagging
Social tagging is user-defined tagging of information, performed by the information’s consumer. A folksonomy is generated as a result of social tagging. Contrasted with managed metadata, a folksonomy’s term set grows organically, rather than being predefined. SharePoint 2010 includes many new pieces of functionality to support social tagging. Three in particular are: social tags, Enterprise Keywords, and tag clouds.

Social tags are user-generated words or phrases that describe pieces of information. By default, all authenticated users can add social tags to documents and other SharePoint items. In addition to being stored in the social tagging database, user-entered tags are also added to the Enterprise Keywords term set called the Keywords set. Enterprise keywords are simply words or phrases that have been added to SharePoint Server 2010 items from social tagging or from use of a new, predefined site column named Enterprise Keywords. The Enterprise Keywords column can be added to your content types to provide users a semi-structured way of describing content.

Tags are typically presented in a tag cloud, which is a visual representation of tags in a folksonomy. In SharePoint 2010, tag clouds are displayed via a tag cloud web part, which aggregates the tags that a group of users has applied to information.

Social tags and Enterprise Keywords are exciting new functionality, but they are offered with certain limitations and cautions. Without active management, you could find that tags and keywords are being abused or misused. Despite the limitations and cautions though, social tags and Enterprise Keywords in SharePoint 2010 offer many benefits. Primarily, social tagging encourages collaboration among users.