SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Managed Metadata in SharePoint 2010

G. Scott Singleton – Principal Architecti3solutions, Inc. – Sterling, VAwww.gscottsingleton.com@scottsingleton

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Set Yourself Apart and Ahead

• Understand the ‘Why?’• Develop the plan before

the ‘How?’• The ‘How?’ is just

mechanics; soon to be a commodity.

True Leadership is understanding the ‘why’, determining a purpose, and developing a plan

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Focusing on the ‘Why?’

• Understanding the business need• Look at past and current solutions in both

SharePoint and other real world scenarios• A look at Managed Metadata as a “How?”; a

tool in the big box of tools provided to solve your purpose.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

What is Metadata?

• Loosely defined as data about data.

• A data element that is used to describe the properties of the data but is not necessarily related to the original intent of the data.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

We’ve been using Metadata for Decades!

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Real World, non-SharePoint Examples of electronic Metadata

• EXIF data associated with picture files• Closed Captioning on Movies• Web Page properties used by Search Engine

crawlers.

These are all examples of data about data. Data that describes the properties of the data yet is not really considered part of the primary reason the data exists.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Is a picture worth 1000 words?

Perhaps. But a picture doesn’t contain 1000 words. However if it had metadata it would most certainly contain some other information and you wouldn’t be left to guess.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Using Managed Metadata in SharePoint

• Applies structured data to unstructured data• Allows for consistency• Standardization• Fosters Organic Growth

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Keys to successful metadata usage

• Delegate Ownership out of IT

• Standardize• Simplify

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

The evolution of Metadata in SharePoint

Windows Team Services (aka WSS 1.0 if you will) – NOTHING, Nada Etc.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

The evolution of Metadata in SharePoint

• Create metadata at the list level• Cannot enforce policies• Cannot govern or maintain at any level except at

the list level

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Finally – Some semblance of control

• reusability and management • Inheritance Model• Single Use• Maintenance Difficulty• Versioning • Depreciation• Scope Issues

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Evolution Baby!

• Same Content Type Scenario• Scalability enhanced with the Concept of

Content Type Hubs via the MMS SSA• Managed Metadata to enhance enforcement.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Understanding

Design

Implementation

Adoption

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Taxonomy, Tax on Who?tax·on·o·mynoun \tak-ˈsä-nə-mē\Definition of TAXONOMY

1: the study of the general principles of scientific classification : systematics

2: classification; especially : orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

A simplistic Taxonomy

Anyone know who this dude is?

Hint: His first name is Melvin and his last name starts with a ‘D’.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Dewey Decimal System – finally structure to the

madness!

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

I am the very model of a modern Major-GeneralI've information vegetable, animal, and mineral

I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historicalFrom Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical

• Been.Around.For.EVAR!

• Originally conceptualized by Aristotle, refactored by Rivinus then again by Linnaeus.

• This dude name Charles Darwin comes along and takes us to iTaxonomy 4.0

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Cladistics

• Ancesteral Descent, yada yada yada• Think of it like Object Oriented inheritance

Folk taxonomy – Folksonomy, non scientific taxonomy or classification.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

So how can Managed Metadata Help?

• Distributable• Organic, but Manageable• Supports full lifecycle• With Content Type Hub Scale it out!

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

The Managed Metadata Service

A SharePoint 2010 Shared Service Application that provides a centrally

managed term store and content type syndication

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Service Hierarchy

Service Application Instance

Term Group

Term Set

Term

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Managing the Term Store• Setup Managers and

Contributors• Creating or Importing

Term Sets

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Creating and Managing The Taxonomy

• Full Create/Delete• Reuse of terms in

different branches• Merging of terms • Creating Synonyms • Deprecating Terms

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Importing TermsSample CSV File Link

7 Levels of Terms Created in Excel

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Term Set Properties

Define Owner, Contact Email Address, Stakeholders, Submission Policy and if the term set is available to normal users.

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Term Properties

• Language, Default Label, and Synonyms

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Using Your Taxonomy

New ‘Managed Metadata’ field type

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Selecting the Term Store or Term

Pick the Term Store or Term

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Live Example

SharePoint Saturday Richmond– Understanding and Using Managed Metadata

Summary

• Concepts and Benefits of Metadata and a well defined taxonomy

• Configuration and usage of the Managed Metadata Shared Service Application

• Usage of Term stores in Metadata and Content Types