Sunday, July 31, 2016

#1521 once

I have written several dots about the need to repurpose content and encouraged readers to use material over and over. It seems that this applies in the information technology area as well.

A colleague described the OHIO method that they use as a guiding principle in their database design: Only Handle Information Once. 

If you enter a name once, it should be able to be retrieved in all the other ways that the information is desired. A content update in one area should automatically refresh the material in all the pages on the website. A database should track fields across users rather than requiring multiple entries.

I think the OHIO principles apply in settings beyond technology infrastructure. It has been a long-held belief that you can best manage the paper beast by only handling mail once before deciding to act, file or recycle. Reading emails could follow the same process. Taking notes allows you have ready-made documentation rather than having to look facts up again. Instantly entering comments into a database allows automatic sharing of notes rather than having clients repeat the same information in the future.

Think about OHIO the next time you find yourself touching information twice. It's a long drive across the Buckeye State and you don't want to do it over and over again.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Thanks to Coby and Mike.

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