How Can I Use Naming Conventions and Standard Coding In Virtuous?

Naming Conventions and Standard Coding Practices can be instrumental in streamlining data management and reporting. When considering how your organization will structure these practices there are a few tips to guide you. 

In filters, queries, and reports you have a few specific "Operators" to lean on and maximize a naming convention. For a detailed guide on using Operators, check out this Support Article. 

• "Starts With" 
• "Ends With" 
• "Contains" 
• "Does Not Contain" 

Below is a list of Virtuous data points that could benefit from a standardized Naming Convention. 

• Query Names 
• Project Names 
• Project Codes 
• Segments 
• Campaigns 
• Communications 
• Batch Codes

As an example, I may have five different Campaigns and even more Communications, all with a Major Donor Segment. That leaves me with a lot of Segment Codes to consider when reporting on the success of all fundraising efforts targeted at Major Donors. I can use the prefix "MD" for all Segment Codes targeting Major Donors. When building the necessary Gift Query, it can look something like the below example. Rather than listing out all 32 different Segment Codes for the full selection of fundraising efforts targeted to Major Donors, I can just use one line of criteria to target that same selection. 

This is just one simple example of how Naming Conventions and Standard Coding in Virtuous can simplify and streamline your data entry process and reporting. Approaching your data in a standardized format means you'll have increased confidence in the resulting reports and widgets.