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.

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

No phase should finish until the previous phase is finished

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Timeline for Project

Strategy

Scope

Content

Design

Front-End Dev

Back-End Dev

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Areas of Responsibility

Design

DevelopmentContent

BrandingAestheticHow users interact with content

Data StructureProgrammingFront-end and Back-end

Text, Images, VideoInformation ArchitectureWhat users will interact with

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Strategy and scope encompass content, design, and development

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Strategy

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Strategy

• Usually comes in the form of a grant

• What you’re building, broadly.

• Why???

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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.

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Scope

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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!!!

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Content

• Information Architecture

• Content Inventories

• Site Maps

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Content Inventory

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Site Map

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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.

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Design

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Design = Communication

• What do you want to communicate?

• What do you want users to remember?

• How do you want users to respond?

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Wireframes

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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...

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Color Mockups

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Pre-Mockups

• Talk to stakeholders about look and feel

• Create mood boards, color palettes

• Help people make informed design decisions

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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?

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Development

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Front End Development - HTML, CSS

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Back End Development - PHP, MySQL

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Strategies for Success

• Make responsibilities, deadlines clear.

• Efficient communication

• Create a hub for sharing information

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Milestones

Strategy

Scope

Content

Design

Front-End Dev

Back-End Dev

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Milestones

Strategy

Scope

Content

Design

Front-End Dev

Back-End Dev

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Clear communication

• Responsibilities - Assign roles, tasks.

• Expectations, goals - Scope is important to all.

• Meetings

• Have a purpose, agenda, specific timeframe

• Someone leads.

• Evaluate afterwards.

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Project Management Apps - Basecamp

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Project Management Apps - Trac

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Project Management Apps - PB Wiki

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

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

Jeremy BoggsC Digital Dialogues, February 10, 2009

Be a Cheerleader!