Metadata Muddling

Ever since we installed our Stellent (now Oracle) CMS I have been anxious about our metadata structure. What is the best way to organise and catalogue our stuff?

The Stellent guys were very pleased with themselves about the fact that we could design any structure we wanted - but frankly we had no idea what to do, we needed some pointers, if not some "best practice" at least some common practice. In the end I believe I composed a decent metadata structure but there are holes in its functionality and, more importantly, in the way people use it.

Here's a rundown on my successes and failures:

1. Don't bother with Security Groups and Content Types. These metadata items actually appear in document URLs and changing them invalidates your links. Accounts do too but they are more useful in controlling access. Note that workflows are restricted to a single Security Group which means multiple Security Groups = duplicated workflows.

2. Don't use abstract definitions for Profiles. We use a number of profiles but our users are confused by them. For example, a user wants to put a PDF on our website. Is this "Web Content" or "Documentation" or a "Publication"? Who cares? Unfortunately I was unable to figure out a better approach and we're stuck with it.

3. Don't rely on "Release Date." Using it for news items and other time-sensitive archives is a bad idea. CheckOutAndOpen replaces the date and release dates can't be changed at all except by checking in a new revision. Make sure you have a "Creation Date" or equivalent metadata.

4. Keep a record of the Original Author. Anyone could edit the item and you won't know who really is responsible for it. Make sure you have a "Creator" or equivalent metadata.

Remember that there are only two ways to change metadata on multiple items - using Archiver or propagating folders - neither of which is simple. Make sure you get it right from the start!