Faceted Classification Design

Faceted classification design is the constructive engineering of a complete analytico-synthetic scheme for a subject field, turning the conceptual technique of facet analysis into a working classification with facets, ordered arrays, a citation order, and notation. The methodology was codified by Brian Vickery for the British Classification Research Group in his 1960 guide to constructing special schemes, building on S. R. Ranganathan's theory of analytico-synthetic classification. Where facet analysis decomposes subjects into fundamental dimensions, faceted classification design assembles those dimensions into a usable, hospitable, and notation-bearing system, and then tests it against real documents. The result is a scheme that classifies compound subjects by synthesis, grows gracefully as a field expands, and underpins both shelf classification and modern faceted navigation.