Senses and SensibilityOr

Jane Austen and the Enterprise

Paul Rosenbergprosenberg@yahoo.com

301-986-3826

Taxonomy Makes the Hidden Visible

Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken. – EMMA

There are many kinds of taxonomies:• Linnaean classifications in biology,• LC or Dewey classifications in libraries,• Subject term hierarchies in taxonomies, thesauri, and

ontologies.

In all of these, we express the structure via a vocabulary.

Enterprises and VocabularyHow much I love every thing that is decided and open! – EMMA

• Each enterprise has a vocabulary all its own.

• Rarely is that vocabulary decided or open.

• Finding that vocabulary, defining it, making it explicit, visible, and open is our challenge.

The Nature of LanguageI will not say that your mulberry trees are dead, but I am afraid

they are not alive – LETTER

• There are many ways to express a concept, some more kind or comprehensible than others.

• Clarity of expression is often obscured by jargon, acronyms, abbreviations, and obfuscation (which we should all eschew).

• Even long term employees don’t always know what the terms mean.

The Problem for the EnterpriseThe pen has been in [many] hands. I will not allow books to prove

anything. – PERSUASION

• Search becomes much harder when vocabulary is inconsistent.

• Employees are baffled.• Meaning is obscured or mistaken.• Some writers seem to strive to be obscure.• Some don’t know how to write (a topic for another time).

Discovering MeaningOne man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our

own best. – PERSUASION

• This is not a recipe for mutual comprehension.

• Dictionaries and glossaries can improve the situation.

• Each enterprise has its own language that needs light shed upon it. There is no such thing as a universal glossary. (I discovered this the hard way when building taxonomies and found a veritable blizzard of acronyms.)

Steps Towards Glossary BuildingI speak what appears to me the general opinion; and where an

opinion is general, it is usually correct. – MANSFIELD PARK

• Collect the enterprise language.• Determine meanings (easier said than done).• Disambiguate (but allow multiple senses).• Enlist subject matter experts to help.• Find sources for non-enterprise specific vocabulary.

Make it EasyThere are people who, the more you do for them, the less they

will do for themselves. – EMMA

• Make the glossary searchable.

• Make its content findable.

• Make it close to the user.

Searching the Glossary

Search Results

Searching From Web Pages

Web Page Search Results

Acronyms and Filters

Keep The Glossary CurrentWhere so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I

am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? – LETTER

• New terms and acronyms sprout like weeds.• Old terms get used in novel ways.• Solicit suggestions from users!• Accept help from subject matter experts.

Glossary Maintenance

One Way to a GlossaryA large [vocabulary] is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard

of. – MANSFIELD PARK

• Like Gaul, there are three parts to the glossary: the specific language of the enterprise, the general language of the industry, and the English language itself.

• The enterprise specific glossary is maintained as a SharePoint list for ease of updating, the latter two are XML files that are rarely altered.

Using XSLT Stylesheets

One man's style must not be the rule of another's. – EMMA • Each of the three sources is converted by an XSL

transform to a single XML glossary format.• The Coveo Enterprise Search system indexes the XML

files for search and retrieval.• A jQuery function enables lookup from web pages on the

company intranet.

XML Storage of Content

INsource Glossary

<term> <name>property</name> <def> <subject>Property Insurance</subject> <definition>Real estate, buildings, objects or articles, intangible

assets, or rights with an exchangeable value of which someone may claim legal ownership.</definition>

<crossRef> <type>See Also</type> <referenceTerm>buildings</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>intangible property</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>intellectual property</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>machinery</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>personal property</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>property insurance</referenceTerm> <referenceTerm>real estate</referenceTerm> </crossRef> </def> </term>

WordNet 3.0 Semantic Network

<entry> <headword>property</headword> <defcode>p09626</defcode> <entrytype>r</entrytype> <senses> <sense> <sno>1</sno> <pos>nou</pos> <defno> </defno> <labno></labno> <uselabel></uselabel> <def>something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is

owned by someone;</def> <unote></unote> <hypers> <hyper> <wsp> <word>possession</word> <sno>300</sno> </wsp> </hyper>

Glossary Search XML Format<EntryTag>

<UIDTag>IDASDX1</UIDTag><TermTag>property</TermTag><TypeTag>term</TypeTag><DefinitionTag>Real estate, buildings, objects or articles, intangible assets, or rights with an exchangeable value of which someone may claim legal ownership.See Also: buildings; intangible property; intellectual property; machinery; personal property; property insurance; real estate</DefinitionTag><SourceTag>INsource Glossary</SourceTag><DomainTag>Property Insurance</DomainTag>

</EntryTag>

In ConclusionVanity and pride are different things, though the words are often

used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us. – PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

• Be prepared for compliments.• Expect to see use of the search system rising.• You will make a difference.

A farewell from Miss Austen:You have delighted us long enough. – PRIDE AND PREJUDICE