managing projects in digital humanities

Jeremy BoggsCreative Lead, Center for History and New Media

Managing Projectsin the Digital Humanities

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Five Phases

• Strategy - The big picture

• Scope - Specific requires and goals

• Content - The Stuff.

• Design - How the Stuff looks and works

• Development - How to get the Stuff to the user.


No phase should finish until the previous phase is finished


Timeline for Project

Strategy

Scope

Content

Design

Front-End Dev

Back-End Dev


Areas of Responsibility

Design

DevelopmentContent

BrandingAestheticHow users interact with content

Data StructureProgrammingFront-end and Back-end

Text, Images, VideoInformation ArchitectureWhat users will interact with


Strategy and scope encompass content, design, and development


Strategy


Strategy

• Usually comes in the form of a grant

• What you’re building, broadly.

• Why???


Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives


Strategy - Gulag

• Create resource for teachers and students to learn more about the Soviet Gulag

• Archive hard-to-access sources

• Provide ways for the public to share stories.


Scope


Scope

• Tangible components to realize Strategy

• Outlines responsibilities for each person

• Translates user needs and objective into specific requirements to build.

• Make a Scope Document!!!


Scope - Gulag

• Upload ~300 primary sources, with Russian translation

• Create exhibit with ~20 pages, organized by theme

• Create plugin to let users follow a prisoner through exhibit

• Create a form to allow for public contributions


Content

• Information Architecture

• Content Inventories

• Site Maps


Content Inventory


Site Map


Content Outcomes

• Sitemap with overall structure of the site, relationships among pages

• Inventory of content; what gos on each page or “state” in your project.


Design


Design = Communication

• What do you want to communicate?

• What do you want users to remember?

• How do you want users to respond?


Wireframes


Point of Wireframes

• Make sure all content is accounted for on each page; A visual content inventory.

• Display relative importance of content

• Serve as basis for...


Color Mockups


Pre-Mockups

• Talk to stakeholders about look and feel

• Create mood boards, color palettes

• Help people make informed design decisions


Design Critique

• Designers: Explain WHY you made specific decisions

• Avoid talking about likes: “I like green,” or “I don’t like Garamond.”

• Do the design choices work for the message you want to convey, the experience you want to provide?


Development


Front End Development - HTML, CSS


Back End Development - PHP, MySQL


Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

• Create a starter kit.

• Use a CMS: Drupal, Omeka, WordPress

• Use Frameworks: Zend, CodeIgniter, CakePHP

• Use Libraries: Yahoo UI, Prototype, jQuery


Strategies for Success

• Make responsibilities, deadlines clear.

• Efficient communication

• Create a hub for sharing information


Milestones

Strategy

Scope

Content

Design

Front-End Dev

Back-End Dev


Clear communication

• Responsibilities - Assign roles, tasks.

• Expectations, goals - Scope is important to all.

• Meetings

• Have a purpose, agenda, specific timeframe

• Someone leads.

• Evaluate afterwards.


Project Management Apps - Basecamp


Project Management Apps - Trac


Project Management Apps - PB Wiki


Provide a central place for project team to share info, keep track of progress.


Be a Cheerleader!

managing projects in digital humanities

Education

goals content

pages inventory of content

strategy gulag

visual content inventory

end development html

end development php

goals scope

design choices