MOSS Taxonomy and benefits :An excellent article

The following is an article that i found in an excellent blog detailing the beneifts of developing a strong corporate taxonomy as part of a SharePoint 2007 implementation. Hopefully you will find it useful.
Here is the link to the article of which I too have an extract below:

http://joeshepherd.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!9AE2097A4A610B63!120.entry

The case for a Taxonomy
Understanding the benefits:
Developing a metadata taxonomy is a core step in defining an effective SharePoint 2007 deployment that will be readily accepted by your customer base. This process consists of categorizing the content of your sites and deciding on how users will locate that content. SharePoint offers several key features that make business more flexible and efficient and a solid taxonomy is the foundation that each of these features are built upon. While these features will work without a well formed taxonomy, the existence of even the most simplistic taxonomy can greatly increase their effectiveness. A brief list of features and how they benefit from a taxonomy is detailed below.

• Content Types
  SharePoint 2007 offers a feature known as a Content Type that can be defined by site and site collection administrators. Content Types are wrappers of MetaData that are created around any set of core content types that exist inside the “out – of – box” SharePoint deployment. These core content types are a Word Document and an InfoPath Form. Administrators can extend these core types and use them to create new custom content types within SharePoint. Administrators specify the MetaData that is associated with the new content type along with any workflows or templates that may be required.
  For example, an administrator can create a custom Content Type of Policy that is based on a word document. That content type could then have certain attributes associated with it such as “Association” that specifies weather this policy applies to a specific department or to the entire organization. Custom workflows could also be attached to this Policy that sends out notifications upon changes to everyone who has an interest in the policy.
  These MetaData attributes provide the greatest functionality if they can be tied back to a larger corporate taxonomy that lays the ground work for defining that MetaData. Content types are a powerful feature in SharePoint 2007 but in order to use them to their potential you must first develop a comprehensive plan on how to categorize your information. Doing so allows you to hone in on those attributes that provide the greatest flexibility and power.
  
• Navigation
  Navigation is one benefit of a well thought out taxonomy since it dictates how users navigate the site and its various sub-sites in search of content. Most organizations will opt for a hierarchical taxonomy in this area that closely mimics their organizational structure. This allows for a navigational structure that the user is familiar with.
  For document repositories, such as the document center, navigation based on the taxonomy is important because it allows users to get to the information that they are looking for in a timely manner. If the user is looking for a project request form, the best scenario would be to have that form exist in a Forms library inside the document center. All forms in the organization would exist inside this library that could be further segregated by departments or any other lower level category. A taxonomy will help drive out these requirements up front in the planning stage when changes can me made with little to no cost impact.
  
• Search and Indexing
  By effectively leveraging content types that extend a well formed taxonomy, search results can be tailored to specific audiences within SharePoint. This feature will allow administrators to provide targeted search results based upon MetaData attributes for specific users. For instance if a user in accounting performs a search on Policies SharePoint can serve up a subset of that search result that is targeted only to personnel in the accounting department; thus returning only accounting specific policies. The Search mechanism works in tandem with the Content Types to leverage that MetaData derived from the taxonomy.
  
• Audience Targeting
  Just as search results can be targeted based on audiences so can content within the individual SharePoint sites themselves. This creates the ability to intermingle content in the accounting site and specify that that content only be visible to individuals in the accounting department. This provides an abstract layer of security at the site level that would otherwise have to be configured via roles and access permissions. Once again this capability is largely driven off the effective use of Content Types and those MetaData attributes.
  
• Information Categorization and Retrieval
  Just as you would organize the documents in your filing cabinet so should you take the time to develop a consistent classification system for the content of your SharePoint sites. Going through the work of establishing a solid taxonomy and MetaData system now will allow you to organize your information into categories that afford users the ability to rapidly locate any information or content they need. The taxonomy helps to ensure that everyone thinks about each item of content the same way. It provides a consistent way of classifying and describing content and information. It also allows you to ensure that the content is stored on the correct place, it is made available to the correct people and that it is managed in a manner that is consistent with that type of content.