If you use a computer to do your work, um, yeah, that’s you…then you need to know how to organize your files appropriately. I was recently at another person’s computer doing some GIS work for them and their files needed some help! The first step is to come up with a basic structure that works for you.
The file structure I use goes like this: I have a Projects folder with sub-folders named for each client. I am fortunate in that almost all of my clients are repeat clients so in each of those I have another sub-folder with the name of the project for that client. Within that are the following folders: Projects (mostly .prj files), Data, Invoices, Maps, Contract, Reports, Maps, Research, Documentation, Presentations. Those are the basic ones though not all projects use all the folders and some have other folders like: Metadata, StatementOfWork, Extensions, Exports, MeetingNotes, TimeLog (I don’t use this much anymore as most of my projects are now value-based fees), TempGISFiles, Code, Styles.
I also have a SharedData folder that has sub-folders named for the type of data (not the originating agency) that’s in it. This folder is separate from the Project folder and contains data that are going to or could be used for many projects. So, for example, there’s a Parcels folder with parcels from many counties for which I regularly do work. If I had named the folder for the county it wouldn’t be as intuitive to me.
Your system may differ, and it may differ a lot. But the point is to have a system in the first place. It won’t be perfect and there is no point forcing a system on your employees either, unless it is for shared resources. However, having a system in place does make things very easy as the number of your projects increases. I’m able, for example, to move entire projects elsewhere for archiving after they are a few years old, with ease.
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