The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 4th Edition

1.6. The Concept of “Organizing Principle”

The arrangements of resources in an Organizing System follow or embody one or more organizing principles that enable the Organizing System to achieve its purposes. Organizing principles are directives for the design or arrangement of a collection of resources that are ideally expressed in a way that does not assume any particular implementation or realization. We call this design philosophy “Architectural Thinking” (§11.5.2.)

Organizing Spices By Cuisine

An alternative to organizing spices alphabetically is to organize them according to cuisines or flavor profiles, which can be defined in terms of ingredients and spices that tend to be used together. Patricia Glushko organizes her spices into three groups: Indian (includes cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric), Mediterranean / Middle Eastern (includes basil, dill, oregano, paprika, thyme), and seeds. Each group of spices is in a separate large container, which makes it convenient when cooking.

(Photo by R. Glushko.)

When we organize a bookshelf, home office, kitchen, or the MP3 files on our music player, the resources themselves might be new and modern but many of the principles that govern their organization are those that have influenced the design of Organizing Systems for thousands of years. For example, we organize many collections of resources using the properties that are easiest ...