Whether all the above classes, and possibly more, are required, or whether the number may be reduced to two or three, must depend entirely on the size and nature of the business; but too much emphasis cannot be laid on the necessity for deciding this question at the very outset, setting forth the decision in writing and clearly defining the limits of each class. (p. 17)
AKA Johnny Decimal, the Workbook.
Shall we rename this thread to the dull menâs club?
How could rescuing decimal indexing from Melvil Deweyâs terrible behavior be dull?
This one can also be found on IA: Progressive indexing and filing : Various : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
A filing system: An Elaborate Climbing-Desk Filing System from the 1930s - Core77
(a) Like I said, how could this topic be dull?
(b) Why do I feel like this is a peek inside my head?
WHOA! Weâve found some pretty cool images as we search for background material, but Iâve never seen this one.
aaaaah! That is incredible. I want one.
Imagine, though, if a card ended up in the wrong drawer âŚ
Simply put an RFID tag on each index card. Problem solved.
actually, in all seriousness, I want that, but for the opposite reason. I dream of every digital file having a physical representation that I can order with my hands, on a shelf. Not every file, of course, but the entrypoint to each fileset. So when I take a sheet of paper off the shelf and lay it on my desk, an RFID sensor (or overhead camera) identifies it and loads the relevant files on my monitor. Just think, never navigate directory structures with keyboard and mouse ever again. Iâd gladly take a motorized librarianâs ladder over a keyboard and mouse.
This is a really interesting idea ⌠use the JD ID as this anchor. Have it on the paper thing, scan it, computer reconfigures to present that JDex entry and file system and whatever else you last had open.
Thatâd be really cool.
So for labeling the documents, a label printer and QR code generator. This is the easy bit. Maybe pasting the label on the back of each document?
For reading the label a small Raspberry Pi with its camera? If we want it to be cutesy, maybe even itâs all integrated into some kind of desk paper-clipping mechanism? So the document gets anchored to the reading space on the desk and then the QR code is read at the same time?
Finally, the medium difficulty bit, some kind of computer orchestration layer that takes the RPI output and actually sets up the workspace?
@johnnydecimal @clappingcactus My reply got long and off-topic so I put it here: 20-29 Community/Physical and Digital Work Environments.
That sounds like an office version of the idea about stores that get rid of checkout. You scan your mobile payment (card, phone) on your way in and then the store tracks RFIDs on whatever you walk out with. As far as I know, itâs never actually worked - I think Amazonâs physical stores have a version of it that requires human intervention, but I could be remembering that wrong - but itâs an intriguing idea, linking the physical and digital like that.
interesting comparison. There definitely are technical hurdles to implementation. But, a bit of friction is a feature here, because the whole point is to slow data manipulation down to the speed of cognition.
Friction is good. At work we have two separate and parallel software systems*: billing and CRM/calendar. That wasnât really planned, but it turns out that we (my partners, our office manager, and me) like it that way because it requires a moment of thought when setting up a new client or a new project rather than having the electrons move around entirely automatically. And weâve found that work goes better when we occasionally think.
*BigTime and Daylite, if anyone cares.
Nice. Care to share what exactly it is about setting up a client or project that goes better when you have a momentâs pause? Iâm imagining that just having to wait for another application to load, and maybe entering data in duplicate, literally gives you a moment to reflect on the new project and think of things that might be important.
Something very specific to our firm: we often work on apartment renovations in co-op and condo buildings, mostly 1920s and 30s high-rises. We might be working for an apartment owner, the building, the apartment ownerâs architect, the buildingâs architect, a contractor, or sometimes someone else. In some buildings, weâve worked for all of those people on different projects. Taking a moment to say âwhoâs our client this time, how does that affect our admin, how does that affect our workâ is a good idea.
In general, I think nuances get lost in repetition. Not every project in a given class is the same as every other one - for example, identical physical renovation work is quite different if performed in an empty office space or in an occupied hospital - and there has to be a moment when you stop and say âI know this project is a this class, but how is it different?â
