Project Organization Best Practices

Structure your Knowledge AI projects for maximum efficiency, discoverability, and team collaboration.

Project Structure Philosophy

The key to good project organization is progressive disclosure - start broad and get more specific as needed, while maintaining clear pathways between related concepts.

Project Sizing Guidelines

One Project Per Domain

Create separate projects for distinct knowledge domains:

✅ Good Project Boundaries:

• Product Documentation - User guides, feature specs, release notes
• Engineering Docs - Architecture, APIs, deployment guides
• Team Wiki - Processes, meeting notes, team information
• Research Notes - Market analysis, user research, experiments

❌ Poor Project Boundaries:

• Everything Company - Mixing HR policies with technical docs
• John's Notes - Personal scope without clear domain focus
• Temporary Project - No long-term organizational strategy

Size Guidelines

• Small projects (< 50 notes): Single team or feature area
• Medium projects (50-500 notes): Department or product line
• Large projects (500+ notes): Organization-wide knowledge base

Folder Organization Patterns

The Topic Hierarchy Pattern

Organize by subject matter, not document type:

Engineering Documentation/
├── Architecture/
│   ├── System Overview
│   ├── Service Architecture  
│   └── Data Flow Diagrams
├── Development/
│   ├── Coding Standards
│   ├── Development Setup
│   └── Testing Guidelines
├── Operations/
│   ├── Deployment Processes
│   ├── Monitoring & Alerts
│   └── Incident Response
└── Security/
    ├── Authentication Systems
    ├── Security Policies
    └── Compliance Requirements

The Lifecycle Pattern

Organize by project or product lifecycle stages:

Product Alpha Documentation/
├── Planning/
│   ├── Requirements Analysis
│   ├── User Research
│   └── Technical Specifications
├── Development/
│   ├── Architecture Decisions
│   ├── Implementation Notes
│   └── Testing Results  
├── Launch/
│   ├── Release Planning
│   ├── Go-Live Checklist
│   └── Launch Retrospective
└── Maintenance/
    ├── Bug Reports
    ├── Feature Requests
    └── Performance Analytics

The Audience Pattern

Organize by who needs the information:

Team Knowledge Base/
├── For Developers/
│   ├── Code Standards
│   ├── API Documentation
│   └── Development Tools
├── For Designers/
│   ├── Design Systems
│   ├── User Research
│   └── Accessibility Guidelines
├── For Product Managers/
│   ├── Feature Specifications
│   ├── User Stories
│   └── Metrics & Analytics
└── For Everyone/
    ├── Team Processes
    ├── Communication Guidelines
    └── Company Information

Naming Conventions

Document Naming

Use clear, searchable names:

✅ Good Names:

• User Authentication System
• API Rate Limiting Implementation
• Database Migration Process
• Sprint Planning Meeting Template

❌ Poor Names:

• Doc1, Notes_v2, temp_document
• Meeting 01-15-25 (use Sprint Planning - Jan 15 2025)
• John's Thoughts (use API Design Considerations)

Consistent Terminology

Create and maintain a project glossary:

# Project Terminology

**API Gateway** (not API Proxy, API Router, Gateway Service)
**User Service** (not User Management, User API, User System)  
**Database Migration** (not DB Update, Schema Change, Migration Process)
**Sprint Planning** (not Sprint Plan Meeting, Sprint Prep, Planning Session)

Content Templates

Meeting Notes Template

# [Meeting Type] - [Date]

**Attendees**: [[Person 1]], [[Person 2]], [[Person 3]]
**Project**: [[Project Name]]
**Duration**: X hours

## Agenda
1. [[Topic 1]] - Discussion of [[Related Concept]]
2. [[Topic 2]] - Updates on [[Ongoing Initiative]]

## Decisions Made
- [[Decision 1]] with rationale linking to [[Requirements]]
- [[Decision 2]] affecting [[System Component]]

## Action Items
- [ ] [[Person]] will [[Action]] by [[Date]]
- [ ] Follow up on [[Previous Decision]]

## Next Meeting
**Date**: [Next meeting date]  
**Focus**: [[Next Topics]]

**Related**: [[Previous Meeting]], [[Project Documentation]]

Architecture Document Template

# [System/Component Name]

## Overview
Brief description of what this system does and why it exists.

## Context  
- **Problem**: What problem does this solve?
- **Stakeholders**: Who cares about this system?
- **Constraints**: What limitations exist?

## Solution
- **Approach**: How we're solving the problem
- **Alternatives Considered**: What else we looked at
- **Trade-offs**: What we gave up and why

## Architecture
- [[System Diagram]] - High-level component view
- [[Data Flow]] - How information moves through the system
- [[Integration Points]] - Connections to other systems

## Implementation
- [[Technical Specifications]]
- [[API Documentation]]  
- [[Database Schema]]

## Operations
- [[Deployment Guide]]
- [[Monitoring Strategy]]
- [[Troubleshooting Guide]]

**Related**: [[Overall Architecture]], [[Related Systems]]

Feature Specification Template

# [Feature Name]

## Summary
One-sentence description of what this feature does.

## Background
- **User Problem**: What user need does this address?
- **Business Value**: Why is this important?
- **Success Metrics**: How will we measure success?

## Requirements
- **Functional**: What the feature must do
- **Non-Functional**: Performance, security, usability requirements
- **Out of Scope**: What this feature explicitly doesn't include

## Design
- [[User Experience Design]]
- [[Technical Architecture]]
- [[Data Requirements]]

## Implementation  
- [[Development Plan]]
- [[Testing Strategy]]
- [[Rollout Plan]]

## Related
- [[User Stories]]
- [[Similar Features]]
- [[Technical Dependencies]]

Maintenance Strategies

Regular Organization Review

Monthly organization audit:

# Project Organization Health Check

## Structure Review
- [ ] Are folders logically organized?
- [ ] Do naming conventions make sense?
- [ ] Are there orphaned or misplaced documents?
- [ ] Is the project getting too large/complex?

## Content Review  
- [ ] Are templates being used consistently?
- [ ] Do wikilinks create logical pathways?
- [ ] Is there duplicate or outdated content?
- [ ] Are important topics missing documentation?

## User Experience
- [ ] Can new team members find what they need?
- [ ] Are common search queries returning good results?
- [ ] Do document titles clearly indicate content?
- [ ] Is related content easy to discover?

Content Lifecycle Management

Establish clear processes for content evolution:

# Content Lifecycle

## Creation
- Use appropriate template
- Follow naming conventions  
- Create meaningful wikilinks
- Add relevant tags

## Maintenance
- Update when related systems change
- Review accuracy quarterly
- Add new wikilinks as concepts evolve
- Archive outdated information

## Retirement
- Mark deprecated content clearly
- Redirect to replacement content
- Preserve historical context when needed
- Remove only when truly obsolete

Scaling Strategies

When to Split Projects

Consider splitting when:

• Project has > 500 documents and clear domain boundaries exist
• Multiple teams with distinct needs and workflows
• Performance issues due to project size
• Access control requirements for different content areas

Cross-Project Connections

Maintain connections across project boundaries:

# In Engineering Project:
See [[User Research Project::Usability Study]] for user feedback on this feature.

# In Product Project:  
Technical implementation details in [[Engineering Project::API Documentation]].

Project Templates

Create template projects for common scenarios:

Software Team Template:

• Architecture folder with standard documents
• Meeting notes templates
• Process documentation starters
• Common wikilink patterns established

Product Team Template:

• Feature specification templates
• User research organization
• Roadmap and planning structure
• Metrics and analytics framework

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Remember: Good organization is invisible - users should find what they need without thinking about how it's structured. Start simple and evolve based on actual usage patterns, not theoretical ideal structures.