# Best practices

> Tips for structuring your ontology and managing terminology effectively.

**Category:** Getting started | **Tab:** getting-started

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Follow these guidelines to get the most out of Black Ice and keep your ontology clean, scalable, and useful.

## Structure your classes thoughtfully

Classes are the backbone of your ontology. Define them early and keep them stable.

- **Use domain-specific names** — "Feature", "Plan", "Platform", "Campaign" are better than "Item" or "Thing"
- **Keep classes mutually exclusive** — A concept should belong to exactly one class
- **Add descriptions** — Future team members will thank you for documenting what each class represents
- **Set translation policies** — Some classes (like "Plan") may use do-not-translate policies, while "Feature" terms need localization

## Name concepts clearly

Concept names are the canonical, language-neutral identifiers for your terms.

- **Use the English source term** as the concept name
- **Be specific** — "MIDI Editor" is better than "Editor"
- **Avoid abbreviations** unless they're the official product name
- **Use title case** consistently

## Manage variants intentionally

Allowed and forbidden variants are powerful governance tools.

- **Allowed variants** — List acceptable alternatives (e.g., "Creator Starter Plan" alongside "Creator Starter")
- **Forbidden variants** — Explicitly block incorrect usage (e.g., "Starter Pack", "Basic Plan")
- **Review variants regularly** — As your product evolves, old variants may become incorrect

## Use market availability strategically

Not every term is ready in every locale at the same time.

- **Set availability early** — Mark source terms as "Available" and target terms as "Planned" during initial setup
- **Track readiness per locale** — Use availability statuses to see at a glance which translations are live, pending, or blocked
- **Review mismatches** — The concept detail page shows availability badges on each term, making it easy to spot gaps

## Keep relationships meaningful

Semantic relationships make your ontology a connected graph, not a flat list.

- **Define relationship types first** — Set up types like "hasFeature", "hasPillar", "isPartOf" before creating concept links
- **Use bidirectional relationships** — They generate inverse labels automatically
- **Don't over-connect** — Only create relationships that provide real navigational or structural value

## Approval workflow tips

- **Write clear messages** for reviewers explaining what they're approving and why
- **Set appropriate expiry dates** — Default is 30 days, but time-sensitive terms may need shorter windows
- **Use role-based filtering** — Configure which approver roles can review specific term types