A workshop at the University of Cambridge for researchers intending to create a digital output from their research, either as a product of their research findings, or for public engagement. The workshop explored the ways in which managing such a project differs from producing a traditional print output and raised the issues and decisions which will need to be considered.
2. Facilitators
• Helen Webster, Digital Transferable Skills
project
• Chris Martin, CARET
• Jen Pollard, Computer Officer, English
• (with input from Anna Collins,
DSpace@Cambridge)
3. Aims
• to highlight the differences between project
managing traditional print-based outputs
and digital artefacts.
• to raise the questions and issues that arise
at each stage
4. What kind of Digital Project are you
interested in creating?
Timeline: stick a post-it with
• Your name
•Type of project
•Title of your project
to indicate where on the timeline you feel you currently
are:
5. Taxonomy
Types of digital project:
Primary (original sources)
• online databases
• digitised materials
• digital editions
Secondary (academic output)
6. Designing
Why Digital?
If you’re applying for funding to create a digital
artefact, you will need to make a solid case
justifying why it needs to be digital.
Thinking about your proposed project, how would
you answer the questions on the handout in a
proposal?
7. Designing
Who is your user?
• Swap project descriptions (page one of
handout).
• Read the new project description and
analyse who the user might be.
• Return the project to its owner and discuss
their own intended audience for it.
8. Finishing
When is a digital project
‘finished’?
On a Post-it:
your definition of the point at which a
digital project is ‘finished’
10. Making
Job Spec
• What skills, knowledge and experience are
needed to complete your project?
• Which of these do you have?
• Which could you acquire?
• Which might you outsource to
collaborators?
11. Making
Collaborators
• At what points do you need to bring
collaborators in, and to do what?
• Who might your collaborators be?
• What information and motivation will they
need to work with you?
12. You
Digital Humanities and
your Career
• What skills will you gain from working on this
project?
• How limited or transferable are they? Will they
date? How will you continue to develop them?
• Where might you seek work, with this skill set?
What might that career progression look like?
13. Further links
• Digital Humanities Network, Cambridge
• CARET
• DSpace@Cambridge
• Faculty Computer Officer
• #Alt-Ac
Notas do Editor
why we’re running this session- requests to the DH network and colleagues in their roles about digital projects-especially from ECRS who are likely to be working alone rather than as part of big projects with infrastructure already scoped and in place. Differences with traditional print-based project management - doesn’t really translate.
- ask them to fill in the handout with a short description of their project (for later). - ask them to jot down the above details again on a post-it and fix it to the wall (might want to describe it aloud as they do so)
for those who don’t have a very fixed project in mind, or who only came along to see what sorts of thing are possible, it might be useful to give them this at the start by way of defining what sorts of things we mean. any thoughts on what else this might include?
We agreed (I think) that we would get them to swap projects, and give each other an outline of who the intended user might be, rather than use a case study of a real project (although it might be nice to have a real (non-Cambridge) project ready to illustrate with. Any links you can suggest?
Panel discussion response to each definition. Maybe get them to pool their definitions and negotiate in pairs/fours before doing so?
I will make handout based on HR templates
Followed by a panel discussion - how would you persuade collaborators to help? What do you want them to do?
Alt-ac, pigeon-holing, up-skilling, Digital Humanities, publishing, large-scale projects. (case studies of people’s careers?) Who owns your project?