This is a mess—I can’t find what I need! I know it is in here somewhere! This doesn’t belong in here!

You might hear this at home, in a workshop, or in a preconstruction department. The topic might be files, drawings, or costs. Marketing does it this way. Project Managers want it that way.  Accounting just tracks the cash.

The Food Pyramid evolved into Choose My Plate, but it still has some similar groupings: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, and Proteins. Most folks can agree on what these are, but there are some exceptions depending on who you ask. A tomato may be considered a fruit by a scientist, but the US Supreme Court decided it is a vegetable. Would you guess that a pumpkin can be considered a fruit? Specifically, a berry?

Maybe you want to start by determining the different plates that your team serves and what typically goes on each plate. Clients, Marketing, project managers, and even Accounting can learn to eat what you serve. Each plate might differ and require different utensils. Some need forks and knives, while chopsticks might work well for others. Some of your plates might actually be bowls for soup or salad.

In keeping with the food theme, consider a menu. Where would you or your customer go to find something on the menu? Could buildings, power plants, refineries, roads, and treatment plants all use concrete? Perhaps. Do they have much else in common? Maybe not. Would sorting by Uses Concrete? Be helpful? Again, maybe not.

Do all buildings have lab space? Probably not, but labs might be present in schools, hospitals, and research facilities. In this example, sorting by Building Use/Type might be better than sorting by Buildings with Labs. Buildings without Labs.