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Centrelink Thesaurus - a case study -
Kathleen LazzariManager, 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
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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
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Definitions• Thesaurus
– Reference tool which groups synonyms, defines relationships
– Controlled vocabulary– Taxonomy– Examples: www.lub.lu.se/metadata/subject-
help.html
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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• 27 000 staff, more than 450 sites• Australia’s largest single purpose call centre
network• Client departments – partners
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Centrelink – the organisation (cont.)
• Facts and figures:– www.centrelink.gov.au– 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
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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
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Centrelink – I&T context
• Constant, often rapid, change
• Substantial costs to change tools, platforms
• Lotus investment– Desktop tools– Internet platform, search engine, approx 2000+ pages
• Intranet– Over 45 000 pages– Unix, flat HTML, Cold Fusion applications, Verity search
engine
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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
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Centrelink – I&T context (cont.)
• AGLS metadata standard : good practice to policy
• Content and records management
• Record keeping metadata standard
• Organisation taxonomy – Centrelink Thesaurus
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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
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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
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Centrelink Thesaurus:the technology
• DB2 database
• Corporate standards and processes
• From Cold Fusion to API with Java (J2EE)
• Constructed in accordance with ISO 2788
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Steps in development
1. Identification of need, benefits
2. Prioritisation of objectives
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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
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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) 2002-03
10. Planned re-launch late 2003
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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
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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?
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Search, navigation and other benefits
New language created/adopted
Language standardised in Thesaurus
Thesaurus useda language authority
Corporate language appears in content
Content indexed with Thesaurus terms
Easier, consistent search, navigation
and retrieval
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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
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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
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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
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Other info stores
Future opportunities (cont.)
FunctionThesaurus
Subject Thesaurus
Data dictionary
End user search/browse/view
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Training and promotion
• Staff who maintain the taxonomy mustbe appropriately qualified and trainedbe advanced in the language of the taxonomyhave advanced communication skills
• Authors, publishers will require training
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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
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Thank you
Kathleen Lazzari
Manager, Resource Discovery
Data Shop, Centrelink
Ph 02 6244 1438
© Commonwealth of Australia
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