Taxonomies in action at Unilever Research

February, 2001

In this point-counterpoint article, Adrian Dale (formerly of Unilever) describes this approach -- its tools, techniques, rationale, and results -- while Jean Graef of the Montague Institute offers her insights and comments.

Unilever operates in a diverse range of fast moving consumer goods markets. Its products span ice cream to tomato sauces and shampoo to washing powder. Its scientists work in diverse fields from anthropology to mathematics with every physical and life science in between. Building durable company taxonomies across these ranges has been impossible and will probably always be so. Instead, Unilever Research has taken a pragmatic "just-in-time" approach -- creating taxonomies quickly and dynamically for a specific task and then throwing them away. To do this, mind mapping and creativity tools have been deployed in facilitated sessions to develop a shared language for the worlds in which research teams operate.

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