organization.md

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.

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