Preliminary Findings on Deck Version Names

Subject: A Folder Containing the Following Files Status: Preliminary. Investigation ongoing.

File Inventory

Q3_Review_deck.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_v2.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_edits.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_v2.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_v2_Anjali.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_v2_Anjali_updated.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_v3.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_USE_THIS.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_USE_THIS_new.pptx
Q3_Review_deck_FINAL_v7_REAL.pptx

Analysis

The folder documents a breakdown in trust.

Specifically: trust in shared document systems, trust in version labels, trust in the people who named the files, and, at the final stage, trust in the word "final" itself.

The word "final" appears in seven of eleven file names. It has been modified, versioned, and qualified in each subsequent use. By the seventh iteration, "final" has been paired with a number and the word "real," suggesting that previous finals were either unreal or preliminary.

The Anjali Files

Files six and seven carry a person's name. This indicates one of two things: Anjali made changes to the presentation and saved a new copy rather than modifying the shared file, or Anjali was told to leave her own copy for reference. Both create the same problem.

The Anjali files represent a branched version history that was never resolved back into a main branch. The main branch continued without them. The Anjali files contain edits. Some edits may have been incorporated. Which edits are in the final file is unclear.

"USE_THIS" Files

The "USE_THIS" designation was applied at a point when the naming system had failed and directness became the only available communication tool.

"USE_THIS" was then followed by "USE_THIS_new," indicating that even direct instruction lost authority.

How the System Became Onboarding

A new team member was walked through the folder. They were told: "when you have a final version, always add your initials and the date." This instruction was created in response to the Anjali incident.

The Anjali incident is now part of how new team members learn version management. The team considers this institutional knowledge.

The workaround is in onboarding. The underlying problem has not changed.