Business Classification Scheme

Classification, in relation to the Business Classification Scheme (BCS) is the systematic identification and arrangement of business activities and/or records into categories according to a logical structure or model.

A Business Classification Scheme is a conceptual model of an organization.

The five main ways of arranging groups of items in business classification schemes are:

• Organizational – Whilst a familiar structure it is subject to frequent change.  It is therefore high maintenance and difficult to manage continuity and understand business context over time.
• Subject – Is easily recognised and understood by users but is open to interpretation and the understanding of terms may vary considerably between different user groups. The subject based approach can also lead to many micro-systems.
• Functional – Is more stable as the functions of an organization change less frequently than organizational structure.  It is therefore easier to maintain. A functional arrangement enables records and filing systems to be managed more easily.
• Spatial – Enables records relating to areas, locations or specific sites to be brought together. A spatial arrangement does not enable records management requirements to be easily implemented.
• Temporal – A record-keeping system based on chronological arrangement relies on knowledge of when a record was created or received. It does not enable timely retrieval of specific records where this information is not known. A temporal arrangement does not enable all records management requirements to be easily implemented.

Business Classification Schemes can be modeled in Semaphore Ontology Manager.