Re: Advice on document folder structure in ClearCase?

[lorraine -at- lorraineflynn -dot- com]

Hi Geoff

Undoubtedly my boss thinks I am crazy and this is why he sees fit to have
me try to define a structure for document categorization. Seriously though
- thanks for the tips, I will definitely try to get some consensus on my
suggestions before making them concrete.

L.

> Lorraine Flynn wondered: <<I just got a new job as a (sole) writer
> for a large city software project. Their documents are scattered all
> over the place. They want to use RUP although the only RUP tool they
> are using is ClearCase. Can anyone suggest a good folder structure
> for documentation within ClearCase.>>
>
> The people who will be using the structure should be your first and
> only source of information on what structure you should implement. In
> many years spent working in offices, it's become clear to me that my
> perfectly logical filing system is your disorganization nightmare,
> and vice versa--plus, our mutual boss undoubtedly thinks we're both
> crazy. <g> This means that if you want to create something effective,
> you should not impose your vision of reality on everyone else.
>
> Since the users of the system are likely to vary in their opinions,
> you'll have two goals. First, look for similarities and recurring
> themes. These are areas where everyone agrees on the need for a
> category and the title for that category and the logic for what goes
> into each container. Use this as the core of your organizational
> pattern. Ideally, if you can analyze the work flow at your office,
> you'll see that it falls into clear groups of steps and tasks, and
> these groups will provide additional inspiration. If the structure
> matches how everyone works and how they think of their tasks, it will
> be understood and used. If not...
>
> Note that the titles must be clear and distinct. You proposed the
> following headings: Business, Requirements, Project Management,
> Development, Testing and Quality, Deployment, End User, and Vendor
> Documents. Personally, not knowing the organizational context, I see
> considerable overlap among these categories. For example, is
> "requirements" part of "business" or part of "project management"? Is
> "development" really separate from "testing"? This kind of
> imprecision increases the proportion of documents that will be
> misfiled. Don't take this as harsh criticism: we can never make the
> categories perfectly clear, but we can make them clearer with a
> little help from the users.
>
> Second, think "synonym". I don't know anything about ClearCase, but
> if it permits the use of synonyms, it may make very good sense to
> create two tiers of folder structure. Tier 1 is the structure you
> developed (above) based on the consensus about what subject areas and
> titles to use. This tier forms the actual physical directory
> structure on the server, and it represents consensus reality for
> _everyone_. Tier 2 should be customizable by the user, like using
> aliases on the Mac or shortcuts on Windows. If your "business"
> directory title makes no sense to a user, and they think of this
> container as "capitalist dogma" <g>, allowing them to use that title
> increases the likelihood that they'll file the documents in the right
> place.
>
> Note that in practice, everyone is still using the identical Tier 1
> structure (i.e., the names on the server) or their own Tier 2
> structure (i.e., shortcuts on their own computer) to gain access to
> the files. This means you won't have to worry that allowing all these
> bizarre synonyms will lead to any filing problems. Moreover, it
> provides enormous flexibility: people can use whichever approach
> makes it easier for them to understand where to find and put things.
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
>
> Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
>
> (try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
>
> www.geoff-hart.com
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
>
>

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