Guidelines for Creating and Managing Custom Fields

Overview

This article provides guidelines for creating and managing custom fields within TIEIT to avoid duplicate entries, ensure consistency, and maintain clean data. Following these guidelines will help you maximize the effectiveness of reports and facilitate the retrieval of insights.

Steps for Creating and Managing Custom Fields

1. Check Existing Fields Before Creating New Ones

• Before creating a new custom field, thoroughly check if a similar field already exists.
• Use the search function or field management interface to find existing fields that may serve the same purpose.

2. Use Appropriate Fields

• Ensure the selected custom field aligns with the type of data being collected (e.g., text, number, date, etc.).
• Reuse existing fields whenever possible to maintain consistency and reduce redundancy.

3. Customizing Field Labels and Requirements

• If an existing custom field needs a different label for clarity at the form level, customize the field label directly in the form settings.
• If a field needs to be required for a specific form, adjust the field’s required status within the form settings rather than creating a new field.

4. Field Management Best Practices

• Regularly review and audit custom fields to ensure they are still relevant and not duplicated.
• Archive or delete obsolete fields that are no longer in use to keep the database clean.
• Document all custom fields, their purposes, and usage guidelines to provide a clear reference for all users.

5. Consistent Naming Conventions

• Use consistent naming conventions for custom fields to make them easily identifiable and searchable.
• Include descriptive names that clearly indicate the purpose and type of data the field is intended to collect.

6. Training and Communication

• Train your team on the importance of avoiding duplicate fields and how to customize fields at the form level.
• Set best practices within your organization and communicate these guidelines clearly to all users involved in creating or managing custom fields.

Action Steps

• Review existing custom fields and identify duplicates or unused fields.
• Standardize field names and ensure consistency across the account.
• Customize field labels and required status at the form level instead of creating new fields.
• Document the custom fields and share these guidelines with all relevant users.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that the data remains clean, consistent, and useful for generating accurate reports and insights.