layout: post

---
layout: post
title: Information Gathering and Management
date: 2017-09-17 08:01:35 -0500
categories: work
---
Gathering and managing information is one of the most important
responsibilities of an analyst. Without the collection of
information, there can be no analysis. Collecting documentation
and other artifacts is important, but existing documentation may
be incomplete, inaccurate, or simply outdated. Generating new
documentation can be critical to our understanding of a project
and our ability to support our team. Using a process for gathering
and organizing information will help you to be consistent,
thorough, and effective.


Notes form the foundation of the documentation that project teams
use to guide their work. Taking notes is also important because it
helps us process information. Putting our thoughts into words
forces us to apply a certain level of logical scrutiny that our
ideas might otherwise escape. Writing things down not only helps
us solidify what we know, it helps us identify what we don't know.
The following is largely inspired by David Allen's *Getting Things
Done* and Michael Descy's Plaintext Productivity[1]. Establishing
a workflow involves some trial-and-error; expect to change it to
fit your circumstances and working style. This process requires
little more than a basic text editor, and could even be
implemented using paper if needed. Your habitual use of the
process is far more important than the tools you use.

## To-Do List

The cornerstone of any productivity system is a to-do list. I
think it's important to have one place for all your tasks. This
makes it easy to review and prioritize. To-do items should be
actionable, but don't let that prevent you from capturing a to-do
item; just make it a goal to develop vague to-dos into more
specific, actionable tasks as you refine the list. The Todo.txt[2]
method provides a simple set of rules[3] that allow you to
prioritize tasks, add due dates, associate items to projects, and
add other metadata. Archiving completed to-dos can help you track
what you've done and build a sense of forward motion.

## Journal

The oft-overlooked complement to the to-do list is a journal. I
frequently find myself working on something that never hit my
to-do list. I find that keeping a journal helps me quickly answer
questions about what I've been working on. This is very handy, for
example, at daily stand-up meetings. When giving status updates,
it's easier to summarize your journal than to recall from memory.
A journal can also help you stay on task by reminding you of what
you were _just working on_ before you were interrupted. Reviewing
journal entries can help you see if your activities align with
your priorities. A journal is not necessarily a timesheet; it
should record significant events such as setting up a meeting or
sending out a document. You will have to select a level of detail
that works in your circumstances.

## Information Capture (aka Taking Notes)

Capturing information can be very demanding. Taking notes during a
meeting can feel like drinking from a fire hose, especially if you
don't type very fast. (I don't type very fast.) Using some form of
shorthand can help. Most of the people I talk to develop their own
abbreviations. Capturing audio can be helpful, but be sure to
alert attendees that the meeting will be recorded. It can also be
challenging to filter out unimportant information. Revise your
notes immediately and send requests for clarification if needed.
Set an organizational scheme for your notes, such as one topic per
file, and keep it up to date. Keep a list of sources -- like a
bibliography. This will help you answer questions about the origin
of an idea. Your sources could be emails, documents, even
conversations in the hallway.

## Create and Maintain Documentation

As an analyst, you gather information on complex and, often,
time-sensitive topics. The end product of your work is, in part,
documentation that helps other people quickly understand these
topics in a way that is useful to them. I try to keep a high-level
document for each project I'm working on. This is basically a
project charter[4] with some additions. I find it helpful to
review and refine this information on a regular basis. It helps me
keep the project goals in mind over the long term, track important
developments and milestones, and provides a nice resource for
newcomers. Suggested sections include:

* Overview - What is this and why is it important?
* Goals/Objectives - What are specific things we want to achieve?
* Open Questions - What do we need to know and how might we find
out?
* Next Steps - What do we need to do next and who is responsible?
* Who is involved - Team Members, SMEs, Sponsors
* Resources - Project or topic-specific references and bookmarks

I use markdown[5] to format my notes. This helps to keep them
readable and organized. It can also help you out if you ever need
to convert your notes to another format. A utility like pandoc[6]
can turn markdown-formatted documents into HTML or a dozen other
formats. There are a number of other lightweight markup formats
like AsciiDoc[7] and reStructuredText[8]. Also, I use git to track
changes to my notes and to keep them backed up. Keeping a history
helps me, personally, to feel safe keeping my notes up to date
because I'm not "losing" content that I remove.

[1]: http://plaintext-productivity.net
[2]: http://todotxt.org/
[3]: https://github.com/todotxt/todotxt/#todotxt-format-rules
[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_charter
[5]: https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/
[6]: https://pandoc.org
[7]: http://asciidoc.org
[8]: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html