Creating a Database Users Guide
Over the years I’ve created users guides for several clients. If you’re developing a users guide (and you should have one) for your organization’s data management system, here are some tips on what should be included.
- Background. The users guide should explain why you process data the way you do. For example, for one of my clients, everything they process is essentially the same (product sales, royalties, sponsorships, etc.) but each one has some particular nuance that needs to be included in the documentation. Not only do we document what needs to be documented, but we explain why we're capturing the data we're capturing.
- Business rules. This comes out if you're documenting the steps very specifically. For example, if your business rule is that each time a new order is processed in the data management system, the first step is to check the individual's record and update any contact information, then you're capturing business rules along with process. I've found this is invaluable when staff gets together to discuss how we do something, because having the documentation available provides a starting point for the discussion (and a record of what decisions were made).
Organization-specific examples. Beyond just showing users how to do something, provide them with a real-life example of the given process. For example, if your users guide outlines how to process an individual membership, show the process in its general form, and then provide a specific example using a real member of your association, in a realistic scenario. Real examples that staff can relate to help to solidify learning and long-term retention of processes.
Creating a users guide is a painstaking and tedious process. But I can attest that those organizations that are most successful with their databases are those that have taken the time to develop and agree on business rules and processes, and have documented these decisions in a users guide.
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