Structured record
- Standard term
A structured record stores information in named fields, such as name, date, and status, following a set layout, so software and assistants can filter, sort, and connect records directly.
When every record names its facts the same way, a question such as “which renewals fall this month?” becomes a check of one field. In paragraphs, the same fact can sit anywhere, worded many ways, so an assistant has to read and interpret each one, and it can miss a few.
Where you’ll meet it
Your job applications live in one long document of notes on where you applied, when, who you talked to, and what happened. You ask your assistant which companies haven't replied in two weeks, and it leaves out two you applied to a month ago.
What to do
Have the assistant rewrite the notes as a table with one row per application and columns for company, date applied, last contact, and status, with your original notes in a last column. Compare a few rows with the document, then ask your question again.
Easy to mix up
| Structured record | Structured output |
|---|---|
| It stays saved for later questions | It is one reply, written in a layout you set |
Check yourself
Each of your client records has a status field set to active, paused, or ended. A client says they'll pause for the summer and come back in September. How should you record it?
Go deeperThe field list is a design decision that changes over time
In database terms, a structured record is a row under a schema, the agreed list of fields with a type and rules for each. Typed fields let software reject a bad value, such as a date entered as “next Tuesday,” and an ID on each record lets one record point to another, so a contact can link to its applications.
When an assistant fills fields from notes, it can misfile a fact or pick one of two dates without saying so, and a field marking uncertain values lets you review just those. The first field list is rarely final, and changing it later is a migration, a planned update that carries existing records into the new layout.