> got to be more a matter of good judgement than of perfect methodology.

Far enough, but can you define methodology, please!
Those who first took it upon themselves to compile the first dictionaries (e.g. the Grimms) certainly had the prerogative to structure the book how they chose. This made their work artistic, I think. Some of the new projects for referencing language being developed online warrant similar merit as well.
If you work for a dictionary that already has a strict methodology(sic) for the introduction of new words and their uses though, then most of the time, surely all you are doing is feeding information through the parsing and standardising system of your company. Right? That's hardly artistic, is it?