Module 3/4 28 min
Keeping knowledge from going stale
Step 1 / 2·Organise by question, not by department
0/2 steps done
Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Organise the repository the way people search
- Set a review cycle and name an owner
- Spot and deal with dead documents
Learn ~12 min
Organise by question, not by department
Whoever is looking must find it within two minutes.
Two ways to organise a repository
By the org chart
“Production Dept > Line 1 > 2024 Documents > Final update.”
People do not search by department, they search by the task in front of them. And when the structure changes, the whole hierarchy goes out of date.
By work situation
“When a machine stops unexpectedly > How to recognise the cause > Three common cases.”
It matches the question already in the user's head, and it survives every reorganisation.
Four rules for naming and structure
- Name things after a question or a situation, not after a document code
- One source per topic — never two versions that are both current
- Put the last-reviewed date and the owner at the top of the document
- Flag anything unreviewed for more than 18 months