Quick answer: Tag taxonomies for bug reports balloon as teams grow. A small core set (severity, system, platform) with extension tags by team prevents tag bloat.

Tag taxonomy is design work. Without design, the taxonomy degrades; bug findability drops.

Core: severity, system, platform

Three required tags. Apply to every report. These three are stable across team growth.

Team-owned extensions

Per-team extension tags. Combat team adds 'AI', 'damage'. Audio team adds 'music', 'SFX'. Each team owns their tag list.

Audit quarterly

Per-quarter: drop tags with zero use; split tags with overuse. Taxonomy stays useful.

Document the schema

One-pager: core tags, per-team extensions, examples. New hires read; consistency results.

“Tag taxonomies are governance. Govern them.”

Tag taxonomy is best designed early. Retrofitting at scale is painful; design at team size 5 lasts.

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