Posts

One big danger for IT in small organisations is that the son of a trustee will be a wizard and do it all then walk off leaving them unsupported. Nothing worse than being stuck with data you can't update or reports you can't modify. Although we're all getting a bit more confident with IT but we still don't want to spend much money on it. Some advice I was given by an expert many years ago still holds good for me. He said:

1. Think about the information you really need and can really maintain before you set up anything that will keep records. Don't just include data because it seems like a good idea, include it because you will use it.

2. Have good documentation. If you've made decisions about the values of a data field, or what bits of data go into a report, etc, write them down. You don't need lots of paper but a soft copy on the computer and stored offsite can save hours when you need to make changes.

3. Back up regularly to a different computer and take a copy of your files off site on a regular basis. If your office goes up in smoke you need to be able to getthe data from somewhere else.

Anyone else got some tips?