What is the first best practice when making saved searches?

Designing the search before starting construction is a fundamental best practice because it ensures that you have a clear understanding of what data you need and how you want to present it. This preparatory step allows you to identify the specific criteria, filters, and columns that will be included in the saved search, helping to streamline the process and avoid unnecessary revisions later.

By outlining the goals and parameters for your search in advance, you can make informed decisions about the structure and complexity of the search. This careful planning leads to more efficient searches that accurately capture the required data without extraneous information. It also helps in anticipating possible issues that may arise during the search creation, which can save time and increase the effectiveness of the output.

While consulting with other users and reviewing past searches can certainly provide valuable input and insights, these actions are typically part of a collaborative process that may occur after some preliminary design work has been done. Constructing the search immediately is likely to result in a less targeted outcome, and reviewing only past searches might limit innovation and adaptability to new requirements.