By: Yoyo Rita
Picture this: as an investigator, you’ve just finished a lengthy interview. You drop your notes into a Dropbox folder. Only later, weeks later, do you come to find that the notes are missing from the Interviews folder! You could reference the transcript, but that is tedious to weed through, and you don’t need verbatim quotes yet. You could try to recover the document, but that is also a hassle. Maybe your analyst knows where the file went? You ask them, and sure enough, there it was—hiding in a new subfolder you didn’t even think to check.
These (and many other clerical misunderstandings) are common in investigations. This is especially the case when collaborating on a file with a team of investigators and analysts.
As a Senior Data Analyst, one aspect of my role is to ensure the organization of an investigation folder. While unglamorous to some, I find this task both satisfying and effective in reducing unnecessary workload on an investigation—in many cases, good file management reduces accidental duplicated efforts and unnecessary confusion. Whether you are a data analyst or workplace investigator, these straightforward tips will help you to streamline your file hygiene. These tips should also be effective regardless of your individual style when creating/organizing/referencing files.
- Develop a file-naming system that is legible to others. While it can be difficult to decide on one universal system for all team members in an investigation firm, there are some common formats for naming files (e.g., working notes, interview notes, report drafts, and data analysis documents) that are easily comprehensible to most. Doing so will reduce time checking ambiguously-named files. For example, if multiple investigators/analysts attend an interview, try naming your notes as follows: “Witness Name Investigator Initials.” Or, you could organize your witness notes by date as follows: “M-D-Y Witness Name.” Using dates, last names, and your own initials helps others easily decipher your work and its context to the investigation.
- Communicate with team members to avoid file duplication. It’s probably happened to you—you work for hours in a document, only to find out that another team member has also done so simultaneously, created two conflicted copies of the same document. While file sharing systems like Dropbox will often warn you when multiple individuals are viewing/editing a file, you can try to prevent this from happening by blocking off time in your calendar and sharing the appointment with your team so they know you are working on a given document (e.g., a verbal report) during that time frame. Teams/Google Chat/Slack also works perfectly well to advise your team members when you are entering a document.
- Color code your data analysis! I love using color-coding for data analysis documents, most often in Excel Spreadsheets and Word Documents. It undoubtedly simplifies data analysis for multiple team members to easily understand and dig into the nuances of witness statements and documents alike. Providing a simple legend for reference (e.g., green means positive feedback on a leader, red means negative feedback, and yellow means mixed feedback) will allow anyone to access your document and understand your thought process.
- Separate your personal documents from the team documents. It is extremely helpful to maintain your own personal to-do lists and off-the-cuff analysis/brainstorms on a case. However, leaving these documents strewn around the file clutters the digital space for others. Try creating a subfolder for these documents, so others can easily avoid them.
- Update, update, update. An investigation file is only as good as the most recent data it contains. Update your data analysis spreadsheet (either as investigator or data analyst) as soon as you reasonably can as interview and documentary data comes in. Keep your working notes such as witness lists and document logs up to date. I believe it proves easiest to do so right as you receive documents or finish an interview. You may forget afterwards, after all.
Developing these organizational practices—and finding what works for you and your team—is a much-overlooked aspect of promptly and thoroughly finishing an investigation. Take advantage of the many digital tools at your disposal to do so!