Yes, this whitepaper is from a vendor, CaseSoft, but the "best practices" outlined sure sound smart to me! For example:
"Want to filter your chronology down to just those facts about a particular witness, organization or document? Even if you’re using a database program to develop your chronology, you’ve got a big problem if the same thing is referenced by different names. You first have to identify all of the different name permutations. Then you have to create a compound query that will find any fact that contains one of these possibilities. What should be accomplished in an instant becomes an hour-long chore.
[snip]
"The solution: develop a cast of characters list and establish a single alias or nickname to be used for each key player in the case. Typically, it makes sense to pick something short (e.g., for Hyde Memorial Hospital, HMH is probably the best choice). If you do, you save keystrokes in addition to gaining consistency."