What is a Concept Baseline?

For two or more participants to communicate effectively in any context, they must rely on a language grounded in known concepts. This set of essential concepts is what I call a concept baseline.

A concept baseline “represents the ideas and symbols necessary for optimal communication between system participants. In practice, it refers to the documented and readily accessible concepts that a business, organization, or formalized set of participants (human and digital) manages to optimize activities related to insight, strategy, planning, and execution.” The target system represents what is often referred to as a shared information environment.

For additional Information Architecture Terms (DSIA Glossary)

Revision Notes:

10/20/2025 – Added an opening paragraph. “For two or more participants to communicate…”