Copy Paste Folder Structure

That’s exactly what I have to do, keep legacy windows folder structure…

I try always to influence people to keep it simple, and I create so many saved searches and work with the table searches, etc, that after some time the users tend to avoid folders, the problem is that people don’t adopt to that idea in a blink of an eye, people want to feel safe and confident before they open themselves to change.

Every time I tried to start an implementation or even the first meets with a new customer saying that they should simplify their folder structure or change their process radically I hear something like "who are you to say that I’m working wrong?", then we start the Project with the left foot and people tend to avoid new ideas.

So I prefer to take one step at time and first make sure they feel comfortable and confident, reproducing their freaking folder structure that they love so much and things like that, meantime I research with the users what are the saved searches they could use and I create AND make sure everybody knows how to use and create them. From there they tend to care less about folders but until they get the idea I can’t force them...

A small part of my customers adopted the radical way, changing everything before the go live, and that was The more stressful projects because I had to manage angry users and too much drama and resistance...

When you are in the other side of the process, I mean, when you are selling and implementing a system you realize that angry, drama and resistance are very bad to the business, you have to manage each customer as they respond to your provocations, some will accept your advices, some won’t…

It’s easy to sell this to IT people, I see their eyes bright and the heavy breathing when I show all the functions, but the engineering people are a very different story, usually they are older people, very experienced, very accomplished in their fields but very limited when you talk about systems and the benefits of changes in the way they work, some of them have worked successfully for 20+ years that way so they resist to change, that’s changing fast nowadays but in the construction area that I’m involved with right now is still like that.

I have a lot of customers with The same story you told me, haha

Guilherme Rocha

Hi Guilherme.

the joy of being an external consultant (I assume). Your customer has surely already told you that you do not understand how they work and therefore should do what they tell you because only they know best 🙂

I bet in a couple of years the same will complain why you did not advice them to have a lot less folders ?

I take you told them already that you can also automate folder location based on context and file type and this is an increase of productivity (with simple WS configuration) and having to browse and select through so many folders will slow down their productivity ? Have they developed a comprehensive attribute structure which make then their folder structure redundant ? (same thing with speaking/meaningfull/intelligent numbers)

Anyway. good luck !!!!