Retention Policy

To eliminate cruft in the IT office and storage closet, all items and data must be retained or discarded according to a set of rules. Every object in the office or closet adds complexity to work.

Boxes

Keep boxes from new devices such as printers and computers in the clocktower to simplify the return process. All boxes must be labelled with a discard date 90 days from the day the box is stored. Once a semester, clear the clocktower of boxes past the discard date.

Paper documents

Store all paper documents digitally. If a physical copy must be kept, consult with Elizabeth Johnson. Follow the Filing Conventions when naming files.

User manuals

Keep digital copies of user manuals in Box/CES IT/Files in a manufacturer subfolder. Discard paper copies. PDFs of user manuals are almost always available online. If there is no digital copy available online, discard the physical copy without retaining a digital copy.

Warranty

Scan and store warranty documents in Box/CES IT/Files in a manufacturer subfolder.

Phone Directories

Paul Dzus began the habit of keeping phone directories in September, 2006. This habit was not kept between spring 2016 and fall 2018.

Scan and store the directory in Box/CES IT/Files in the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies subfolder. Keep the physical copy with the other phone directories.

Regulatory notices, setup guides, and brochures

Discard all regulatory notices, setup guides, and brochures.

Other

Scan and store all other paper documents in the Box/CES IT/Files in an author subfolder. If a document has multiple authors, store a copy in a subfolder for each author.

Software

Follow the naming convention in each manufacturer or developer folder. If there is no naming convention, follow the generic one in the Installers folder.

Driver disks

Store driver installers in Box/CES IT/Installers in a manufacturer subfolder. Drivers can be copied from the disk or downloaded from the Internet.

System restore disks

Store system restore disk ISOs in Box/CES IT/Installers in a manufacturer subfolder.

Software installers

Store software installers in Box/CES IT/Installers in a developer subfolder.

License keys

There is no retention policy for license keys.

Computer Hardware

Some computer hardware should be kept for easy and inexpensive upgrades to devices.

Memory modules

Keep memory modules 4GB or greater in The Box of Old Memories.

Power supplies

There is no retention policy for power supplies.

Hard drives

Keep empty hard drives with a capacity of 250GB or greater.

Data

Store all data according to Harvard Data Security Policy. If you are unsure about the security level of a storage service, do not use it. It may be in violation of a law or regulation, or Harvard policy.

Presentations

Store presentations sent in preparation for an event in Box/CES IT/Files in an author subfolder. If the presentation has more than one author, store a copy under a folder for each author. If someone other than the author sent the file, store a copy of the file in a folder named for the sender as well as the authors. Use the date the presentation was received. Name the file with the presentation's title, minus anything after the first colon. If the presentation does not have a title, use the title of the event. Always use title case. If more than one version of the presentation is received in the same day, denote the newest version with a number at the end of the file name. For example, "2018-04-19 The Silent Revolution in Reverse 2.ppt". Any ambiguity about which version is the latest can result in a speaker working from an old file during an event.