At which stages of a project should I create a dated record of my work?

Q: At which stages of a project should I create a dated record of my work?

Create a dated record when you first have something concrete to preserve, when the work changes significantly, and before sharing a version with someone outside the project. Capture handovers and the final state when work ends or pauses. Keep routine working history between these milestones, and add independently verifiable timestamps where the timing of a particular version matters.

Start before the work looks finished

An early sketch, technical note, design brief or experimental plan can establish a useful starting point. Preserve it while its context is fresh: what were you trying to achieve, who was involved, and what material did you already have?

If a collaboration is beginning, record what each participant brings to it. This helps distinguish existing work from later contributions, although the record alone does not determine ownership.

Capture changes that explain the development

Create a new record when a change would matter to someone trying to understand how the project evolved. Examples include:

A design revision that changes how a product works or looks.
An experiment that supports a new approach or explains why another was abandoned.
A working prototype or software release.
A contribution that changes the direction of the work.

Preserve the relevant version with a short explanation of what changed and why. Keep earlier versions so the development remains traceable.

Before sending drawings to a manufacturer, giving a research partner access to results or delivering work to a client, preserve the exact version involved. Afterwards, retain the correspondence or delivery record showing what was sent, to whom and under which terms. A timestamp on a file does not itself show that someone received it.

When a contributor leaves, or a project pauses or ends, capture the current state and any unfinished work. This is also a useful moment to check that someone remains responsible for the files and can retrieve them.

For confidential material, keep the records under appropriate access controls. WIPO’s guidance on document management measures recommends simple procedures for handling and tracing such documents.

Choose a rhythm that fits the work

Continue keeping ordinary working records between milestones. In a fast-moving project, useful changes may happen every day; in another, several weeks may pass between them. A regular review can help catch gaps, but important changes and disclosures should trigger a record when they happen.

Where timing matters, add an independently verifiable timestamp to the relevant files. As explained in RFC 3161, a timestamp provides evidence that particular data existed at a particular time. Retain the exact files and the certificate together.

If the project is already underway, start now

Preserve the existing material and write an accurate account of its history, linking to earlier emails, drafts or other supporting records. Distinguish the dates of those activities from the date you prepared the account.

A timestamp obtained today cannot establish that the same file existed six months ago. Earlier records may help support that chronology; today’s timestamp provides a dated reference for the material you preserve now.