The development of metadata and taxonomies is a human endeavor. It is people who will use this information, either directly or indirectly. This is true of many human activities. The method for developing a system of metadata and taxonomies described here is a specific implementation of the general principles that can be applied to many endeavors. An effective metadata system can be established with the participation of multiple teams each with a different perspective, the subject matter expert (SME) teams. Each SME team is comprised of multiple members. The SME teams are given a carefully chosen concrete (real) task that spans their different perspectives. As they work on the task in facilitated joint meetings, a taxonomy team records the comments of SME teams. The taxonomy team is comprised of multiple, independently tasked recorders. The intent is to define and capture metadata and taxonomy definitions from each of several different vantage points. Each recorder provides separate reports that are consolidated into a single report with resulting recommendations for metadata and taxonomies. These recommendations are then validated by an independent set of SME participants. A case study using this method is presented. The results are compliant with SCORM, IEEE-LOM and IMS-MD specifications. This method can be applied to many other areas. The method is semi-ethnographic.
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in English.
