1

2Source

Part of Digital Project Planning and

Management Basics

Original design: Mary S. Woodley, CSU

Northridge

Revised: Danielle Plummer, TSLAC; Bill

Walker, Amigos Library Services

Partially funded by: IMLS Laura Bush

21st Century Librarians Grant

3What is a project?

A limited endeavor

having specific start and completion dates

undertaken to meet particular goals and

objectives

usually to bring about beneficial change or

added value

"Project Management." Wikipedia. Available from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management. Internet;

accessed 7 July 2009.

2

4People and Projects

Project managers may or may not have

authority over people doing project

Responsibility but no authority

Key project management skills:

Negotiation

Listening and facilitation

Time management

Leadership

Discussion

Why Do Digital Projects?

6Why Plan Digital Projects?

To improve access to resources

To add value to resources

To preserve fragile original materials

To support educational and research

activities

To fulfill the strategic mission and

goals of institution

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7Defining Digital Projects

Why you are undertaking the project?

What you want the project to achieve?

For whom you are undertaking the

project?

When you will achieve it?

How you will achieve it?

Institute of Museum and Library Services.

"NLG Project Planning: A Tutorial." Available from

http://www.imls.gov/project_planning/index1.asp.

Internet; accessed 7 July 2009.

8Defining Projects: Why?

Why do we want to do this?

What are our priorities?

Who decides the priorities?

What do we want to achieve?

How will we know when we’ve succeeded?

9Defining Projects: What?

What are we trying to accomplish?

How does this relate to our organizational

mission?

What strategic goals will this project support?

What have we already accomplished?

What activities of the organization can be

redirected towards the digital project?

Survey digital collections and resources

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10Selection for Digitization

What is the value of the item in terms of the

goals of the project?

What is the physical nature and condition

of the original?

Is the material out of copyright? Does the

institution have a deed of gift that allows

dissemination?

11Defining Projects: Audience

Who is your target audience?

Primary audience

Secondary audience

How are their needs being met?

Where are the gaps in service?

What skill, knowledge, or behavior can be

improved?

12Defining Projects: Constraints

Scope

What is the total amount of work required to complete the project?

TimeWhat is the timeline?

When will the project start? When will it end?

CostWhat resources are available?

To develop the project

To sustain the products

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13Steps in the Planning Process

Identify the key players

Conduct an “environmental scan”

Know your users

Needs and Gap Analysis

Create a planning team who will be

responsible for research, planning and

managing the project

14Stakeholders

Any individual, group, or organization

that influences your project or is

affected by it

External: Partners, boards, funders,

consultants, target audiences or users

Internal: Management, team members,

other staff

15Stakeholder Roles

Project Director

Task Performers

Project Sponsor

Subject Matter Experts

User Representatives

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16Steering Committee

Group composed of key decision

makers

In a partnership project, often

involves one representative from each

of the partners

Collaborative decision-making

Agreements define responsibilities

17Advisory Board

Group composed of influential

outsiders

Provides key skills or knowledge that the

project team may not have

Lend reputation to project

Increases trust in project outcomes

18Communication Strategy

Stakeholders want to know what is

happening in your project

Communication tools:

Meetings

Presentations

Email lists

Blogs

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19The Environmental Scan

Steps in the Environmental Scan

Gather information

Look both inside and outside the organization

Scan for both content and context

Use both formal and informal information

Analyze and interpret this information

Apply this analyzed information in decision making

20Organizational SWOT

Strengths

of the organizationhelpful to achieving the goal

Weaknesses

of the organizationharmful to achieving the

goal

Threats

in the environmentharmful to achieving the

goal

Opportunities

in the environmenthelpful to achieving the goal

21Sample SWOT

Strengths Qualified professional staff

Existing set of print finding aids

Weaknesses IT department controls

website

No budget for software to

create XML

Opportunities Training course in XML

offered in region

Funding available from

collection donor

Threats New version of standard

due to be released

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22Formal Information Sources

US Census statistics

Institutional statistics

Size and scope

Visitation statistics

Customer service statistics

Website analytics and usage logs

Published studies

Surveys and focus groups

23Informal Information Sources

Anecdotes and observations

Email lists and discussions

Popular culture

Television

Movies

Books

Magazines

24Targeting the Audience

Characteristics of the target audience:

Population size

Language skills

Disabilities

Education level

Geographic area

Summarize the similarities and differences between the target audience and the broader population your organization serves

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25Outcomes and Outputs

Outcome:

Changes or gains in knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors, status, or life condition that you would like the target audience to achieve

Output:

A measure of the amount, quality, or volume of use of the service or product that you want the project to achieve

26Identifying Outcomes

Type of Outcome Definition Example

Knowledge What someone knows

Students will increase their knowledge and understanding of Texas history

Skill What someone can do

Students and teachers will be able to search a database of digitized objects

Attitude What someone feels or thinks about something

Students will demonstrate increased interest in history

Behavior How someone acts

High school social studies teachers will find, analyze, and use digitized primary source materials in their lesson plans

Status Someone's social or professional condition

The number of high school graduates in the community will increase

Life Condition Someone's physical condition

The rate of teen pregnancy will decrease among students who have studied history

27Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Self-Actualization

Ego (Esteem)

Social (Belonging)

Safety and Security

Physiological

Opportunities for innovation

and creativity

Recognition from others;

prestige and status

Acceptance as part of a

group or team

Physical safety and economic

security

Physical survival needs: food,

water, air, shelter

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28Needs and Wants

Needs

Gap between the desired results, on the one

hand, and the current condition of the audience,

product or service, on the other

Wants

Wishes or desires of the target audience(s) that

should be taken into consideration in

determining the most appropriate solution or

solutions to meet an identified need

29Needs and Wants

Need Want

To develop a more accurate budget

To hire a budget analyst

To reach an underserved audience

To use social media to promote services

To improve quality control for metadata

To develop a metadata creation tool

30Gap Analysis

Needed Services

– Available Services

= GAP

For a given audience:

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31Gap Analysis

Time

Se

rvic

es

Needed Services

GAP

Available Services

32Gap Analysis Example

Need:• 450 7th grade students need access to

primary sources for Arkansas history

Services:• Museum provides traveling trunk to 2

schools (150 students)• 3 classes visit museum and library

(120 students)

Gap:• 450 – 270 = 180 students need service

33Closing the Gap

Benefits provided by solution

Short & Long-term

Cost of implementing solution

Personnel

Equipment and Supplies

Risks

Of implementing proposed solution

Of doing nothing

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34Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cost of proposed solution

÷

Benefits of proposed solution

35Cost-benefit example 1

Solution:

Digitize 1,000 items

Cost:Equipment: $500 (one-time cost)

Personnel: $1,500 (one-time cost)$200 (annual cost)

Benefit:Immediate: 250 students access sources

Long-term: 400 students/year access sources

36Cost-benefit example 1

Solution:

Digitize 1,000 items

Cost/benefit of solution:

Immediate: $8 per student

Long-term: $0.50 per student

(cost of maintaining service)

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37Cost-benefit example 2

Solution:

Provide 2 more traveling trunks

Cost:

Equipment: $1,000 (one-time cost)

Personnel: $1,500 (annual cost)

Benefit:

Immediate: 300 students access sources

Long-term: 300 students/year access sources

38Cost-benefit example 2

Solution:

Provide 2 more traveling trunks

Cost/benefit of solution:

Immediate: $5 per student

Long-term: $3 per student

(cost of maintaining service)

39Cost-benefit comparison

Solution:

Digitization

Cost/benefit:

Immediate: $8.00

per student

Long-term: $0.50

per student

Solution:

Traveling trunks

Cost/benefit:

Immediate: $5.00

per student

Long-term: $3.00

per student

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40Risk-Benefit Analysis

Proposed solution:

Digitize 1,000 items and put them online

Risks Benefits

High initial cost Low cost (ongoing)

Obsolete formats Items can be reused in

other projects

Copyright concerns Potential revenue from

licensing images

Unproven educational

value

Support from management

and teachers

41Checking the Plan

Will the project achieve the desired result for your target audience(s)?

Are the project goals achievable, given the opportunities and constraints your organization may face in the near future?

Do the key stakeholders support the decisions that have been made?