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Project Managing Digitisation
This document was written, and licensed for publication by MDA
The authoritative sources of information on Project Management for Digitisation are:
- the UKOLN Good Practice Guide and
- the Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) website
The content of this section is intended to give you an overview of the main elements of this area, but you should always refer to these sources before beginning your project. You may also wish to refer to the resources in the general Project Management section of Collections Link.
1. Preparation
Preparation is key to the delivery of a successful digitisation project. Refer to the Why Digitise? section for more information.
2. Planning
A good plan will keep you and the stakeholders in your project on track and focussed on deliverables. Refer to the section on Planning a Digitisation Project for further information.
3. Risk Assessment
What are the risks involved in your digitisation project? Keeping a Risk Register as an active part of your project management can help guard against risks.
4. Recruitment
It is vital to be realistic about the amount of time and effort that will need to go into managing the project, as well as producing the Deliverables. This is likely to mean recruiting staff, whether on a temporary, fixed-term or permanent basis.
5. Management & Communications
Management will either make or break your project. To many managers and you run the risk of overburdening the project with administration, too few, or with ineffective communications, and it is more likely that something will go wrong.
6. Budgets
Digitisation, as with any ICT-based project, is prone to slippage and unforseen increases in costs. Good budget management is essential particularly where the work is being funded by an external body or funding stream.
7. Procurement/tendering
Even if you decide to keep the project in-house, it is likely that you will still need to procure services and equipment from outside. Refer to the Procurement and Tendering section for further information.
8. Quality-control
Quality-control is an ongoing requirement throughout the project, whether the work is being done in-house or by a 3rd party provider.
9. Delivery
So you have done all the work and prepared the deliverables. the final delivery can be just as important as the quality of the work. Have you met the initial brief, and how will you present the deliverables in the best possible light?
10. Project Termination
When has your project finished? A project doesn't necessarily end when the deliverables have been submitted.
11. Summative Evaluation
Whether your funder demands it or not, it is always a positive and healthy exercise to carry out a summative evaluation (even if the project hasn't gone terribly well).
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