![]() But perhaps your Project Management Office and all your company’s project managers think about projects in terms of the year they are carried out. For example, perhaps your marketing team think about work they carry out in terms of clients or industry sectors. Secondly, if different parts of your folder structure serve different needs and functions you may well have to adopt slightly different approaches. ![]() Sometimes a great folder structure has an element of compromise in it. Everybody thinks differently and will have a view on what should go where and how to organize your information. Firstly, no directory structure is perfect. How do you work out a strong folder structure?īefore you start out trying to work out a robust folder structure, there are two things to remember. You’ll want to make you have the right security permissions in place, that somebody is tasked with keeping the integrity of the original structure, and perhaps different owners of parts of the structure. Has a structure that is sustainable and is flexible enough to evolve with your needs, for example where you can add further categories and more documents without breaking the original folder structure.This is the case where you are working across a wider folder structure serving a number of different audiences and purposes. A consistent approach helps employees navigate a folder structure through an inherent logic however, there may be different elements of your folder structure that may have to be organised differently. How many levels does a person need to go down to find what they need? You probably don’t want a hierarchy that goes to 12 levels, but at the same time, you don’t want too few levels as this may not be deep enough to contain all your content. For example, you don’t want to create hundreds of folders with just one document in each, but you don’t want to create a few folders with hundreds of documents in each one. You want the right number of folders and an appropriate number of items within them. Has the right balance between granularity and findability.If your folder structure lacks clarity because you’re using confusing labels then it won’t succeed. Intuitive labeling so folders are easy to understand, reflect the subject of the files within them and guides the user to what is below it in the hierarchy.To achieve all three aims a digital folder structure usually must have the following attributes: It is sustainable, so the folder structure can evolve and grow without having to be reorganized, or without the folder turning into a dumping ground.It guides employees to store files inside the directory structure in the right place, again with confidence.It helps employees find what they need quickly and with confidence.support future structured approaches to managing content, such as content or SharePoint migrations, or introducing new search capabilities.Īt a high level, a good folder structure has three major aims:.make your overall digital workspace easier to manage and more sustainable.encourage people to think about where they place their documents rather than using the folder structure as a digital dumping ground.contribute to an overall good employee experience.reduce the risk of people using the wrong document.save people time finding the items they need, sometimes at short notice.It is well worth spending some time considering a good digital folder structure that will: One of the reasons folder structures can end up being a nightmare is that not much thought was given to the folder structure in the first place. This means they end up being a dumping ground for files and can even be a “black hole” where documents get dumped, never to be found again! Whether in your file network or in individual SharePoint libraries, there has usually been no governance applied and multiple people involved. Unfortunately, folder structures are often a huge mess. In this article we hope we can start to redress the balance by covering some tips for deriving a good folder structure. ![]() ![]() Of these, digital folder structures do not always get the love and attention they deserve, even though they are an important way that employees discover and find content. There are various elements of the digital workspace that contribute to good findability including an intuitive navigation, a powerful search tool, tagging and filters that allow employees to hone their search, and a well-organized folder structure to find documents. Employees have to be able to find what they need quickly and effortlessly when findability is poor, it is not only a drain on productivity with time wasted but it can also be very frustrating. Everybody knows that a good folder structure is important, good findability has always been a key component of a strong digital employee experience.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |