Developing a metadata standard for multimedia content management: A case study

Metadata is considered crucial for the organization, management and retrieval of data within a content management system. While numerous works exist that define the critical nature and importance of metadata, little practical guidance is available with which organizations looking to develop metadata standards to meet their corporate needs can do so. This article presents a case study in which a metadata standard was developed for an international construction industry-based consultancy for managing content within a proposed multimedia library. Three parallel activities were carried out as part of the research methodology. A desk study was initially conducted to capture the metadata used in the previous library. A review of 11 metadata standards was carried out to obtain a baseline of suitable attributes. A workshop was then conducted with a sample of end users to further capture specific requirements. The outcomes from all three exercises were then analysed to obtain a company-wide metadata standard. A further refinement was carried out to rationalize the list into a core set of attributes. A closeout workshop was then conducted with key participants to identify lessons learnt and review the outcome of the project. Drawing from these, this article further adds to knowledge by proposing a 12-step guide to enable organizations develop similar metadata standards to meet their needs. The research outcome also shows that while existing metadata standards can be used as a starting point, no specific standard is comprehensive enough to meet the needs of an organization without appropriate levels of customization.