organization.md

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Organization of folders

Organizing files in directories is a key task to stay organized and to make sure that everyone is able to find back the files easily.

A key rule is to name the folders with straightforward but explicit names, and to include the decision tree of where to put a given file inside the folder structure. In fact, the directory tree should in some sense reflect the decision tree.

More details on naming files and folders are provided in the dedicated file naming card.

There are a few suggestions to organize a folder structure:

Suggestion 1

Only have a few folders per level (i.e. 5-6 folders per level). That way, the decision of where to include a file is straightforward.

Suggestion 2

The more general the upper levels and the more precise the lower levels are, the easier it is for someone to decide where to include a respective file. The idea is to mirror a real tree.

Suggestion 3

Depending on the setup of the research group, it might be useful to structure the group's overall mission into separate programs, sub-missions, or areas of expertise.

Suggestion 4

Archived folders (or frozen folders) can be named with an _ (underscore) preceding the actual name of the folder.

Example

An example for a folder of research group at LCSB:

LCSB_GRPNAME
├── _alumni
│   ├── firstLast1
│   └── firstLast2
├── grants
│   ├── grant1
│   └── grant2
├── programs
│   ├── program1
│   │   ├── _project0
│   │   ├── project1
│   │   │   ├── papers
│   │   │   │   ├── paper1
│   │   │   │   │   ├── analysis
│   │   │   │   │   ├── figures
│   │   │   │   │   ├── manuscript
│   │   │   │   │   └── rawData
│   │   │   │   └── paper2
│   │   │   │       ├── analysis
│   │   │   │       ├── figures
│   │   │   │       ├── manuscript
│   │   │   │       └── rawData
│   │   │   ├── posters
│   │   │   └── presentations
│   │   └── project2
│   └── program2
├── resources
│   ├── courses
│   ├── hardware
│   ├── literature
│   ├── personnel
│   └── software
├── students
│   ├── firstLast1
│   └── firstLast2
└── team
    ├── achievements
    └── meetingNotes