Naming conventions are a powerful tool to drive organization and efficiencies. However, they only do this if the entire team agrees to use the same standards. Establishing and implementing those standards may seem insignificant but will pay dividends.
Oh, what’s in a name? Actually, a lot. Well, at least for nerdy adventures like the one we are on. Ever find yourself struggling to track down a document? Shoulda named it better. Ever pull your hair out sorting through a mess of documents to find the chronologically appropriate document? Shoulda named it better. Ever do double takes of information to make sure you are referencing the right stuff? Shoulda named it better.
Hansel and Gretel saved themselves with breadcrumbs and you can do the same with naming conventions. But only if you have the same diligence and foresight to create that path at the start.
Your documents, emails, requests, billable hour descriptions, checklists, archives, folders, etc, etc, etc… should all be named with purpose. It will seem trivial at the time and when you easily find what you need it probably won’t register why. It’s a thankless task but also so easy to do that you can’t argue against it. However! Do you really want to be the person that takes 2 hours to answer a dumb question that should have taken 5 minutes? I didn’t think so.
Time break down
30 minutes - Hold a meeting to discuss naming conventions with the team
15 minutes - Enter the naming convention standards into the spreadsheet or LMS
