Powerpoint File Observation Paper

Background

I started working as the Executive Officer to the Dean of the Academic Board at West Point in March 2015. The primary method for storing data and files on the Dean’s Staff is through the use of a networked shared drive where multiple users across the staff have access to and can open, create, modify and save files to the shared drive. One of my primary tasks was to create PowerPoint presentations for several different target audiences to include visiting foreign dignitaries, congressional staffers, the USMA Staff and Faculty and the classes of the Corps of Cadets. Depending on the audience, the presentations serve many functions furthering the Dean’s strategic communication goals ranging from briefings about the academic program

I quickly realized that I needed to develop a standardized file saving and naming convention in order to make finding specific files easier for the entire staff. I took on this task under the oversight of the Director of the Dean’s Staff and the Vice Dean for Education.

Goals

1. Develop a common sense file-saving system where the location of files with specific purposes is very intuitive.

2. Develop a common sense file-naming convention where the files are saved with file names that are very intuitive.

Outcomes

There were several different categories of files I used frequently. They included: briefings (with several sub-types of briefings), remarks that included speeches, addresses to civilian and military organizations, promotions and retirements, and letters of recommendations.

Goal 1: I created folders to store the major file categories used most frequently: Briefings, Remarks and Letters of Recommendation. Each folder contained subfolders, when necessary, to store the specific type of briefing (Academic Brief, Brief to Staff and Faculty, Founder’s Day Brief, etc.), remarks (Promotions, Retirements, Opening/Closing Remarks, etc.) or