From the course: Learning Data Analytics Part 2: Extending and Applying Core Knowledge

Documenting data procedures

From the course: Learning Data Analytics Part 2: Extending and Applying Core Knowledge

Documenting data procedures

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- [Instructor] Have you ever been left with no step-by-step or real instruction on how to work with a file? There are several reasons why a process is passed to others. Maybe it's because they've moved up or even moved on. Either way, sometimes we've been left to diagnose and understand what the original owner did with the file to query it or report on it to get to their end states. The other most common scenario is that the process has worked for so long that either the person doesn't remember or again they're not available and sometimes you're that person. My recommendation is don't be the person who leaves a process without being documented. Again, it may very well be you who returns to it years later. And again, we don't fix what isn't broken. So when we do have to fix it, we don't want to re-remember our own work. Let me introduce you to the steps recorder. This is built into Windows. I'll go to my Windows menu. I'll type steps. I'll go to the Steps Recorder. Now, we'll choose to start recording. And every time we click, it will capture a screenshot. So I just click on the label and now I want to change the sort order. I'll go ahead and click there and you'll see the little red dot. I'm going to change this from a four, change this to a three, and then I'll go ahead and save my work. If I wanted to add a comment, I could just simply click Add Comment and highlight my screen and list a comment wherever appropriate. Now that I'm done, I can choose Stop Record. This produces a file and this file will allow me to review those screenshots and list what I've done. Now, it's not the most elegant documentation, but it is definitely documentation. I'll go ahead and choose Save. I'll save this into my exercise files as my custom sorts for my report and then I'll go ahead and choose Save. Also, I've found that people are unaware that you can do some basic documentation just using a Word document and the screenshot tool. Let me show you what I mean. I'll go ahead and bring up a Word document and I'll go ahead and type custom sorts are controlled by the sort file in the reporting data folder. To change the sort, adjust the sort order column to add a new item, add to the list, and add its sort number. Now, what I'll do is I'll go ahead to my Insert tab. I'll go to Screenshot. And then in Available Windows, I see my actual Excel file because I opened it and worked with it earlier. I can also do a screen clipping if I want to screen clip it. All right, so I'll go ahead and click my available window and then this shows me my actual sort. I'll go ahead and save this as how to sort values. It is so simple with the tools readily available that we can easily document information while it's still fresh on our minds. When you combine this with other best practices, you'll not only be considered a data wizard, but the company hero. My personal approach is always leave it better than how you found it.

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