Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Citation preview
Douglas HegleyDirector of Technology
Minneapolis Institute of [email protected]
@dhegley
Technology Roundtable and Symposium
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of ArtJanuary 12-13, 2012
Why I work in a museum
“… [a] gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life … ”
– Rachel Carson
Well, how did I get here?
… it’s safe to say it wasn’t exactly planned …
5
The Ideal Characteristicsof a Museum Technology Leader?
Conclusion:
There is no perfect set of skills or experiences
(Sorry)
• There ARE some basic building blocks:
– Techie mindset, but people orientation
– Proven leadership and decision-making
– Commitment to current knowledge
– Passion that is contagious
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• 1883: Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts
• 1915: Museum opens its doors
• Currently:• ~ 450 to 500k visitors per year• Free admission (except Special Exhibitions)
MIA Collection• 84,000 objects• Spanning 5000
years
11
Technology at MIA
• 1990s• 2000s• 2010s
Technology at MIA
• 1990s: The Era of New Toys– Creation of “Interactive Media Group”– Interactive Learning Stations– Just make it work
• 2000s• 2010s
Technology at MIA
• 1990s: The Era of New Toys
• 2000s: Sharing What We Know– www.artsmia.org– www.artsconnected.com– Stamp of authority
• 2010s
Technology at MIA
• 1990s: The Era of New Toys
• 2000s: The Era of Sharing What We Know
• 2010s: New Strategic Direction– Engaging and interacting (dialog)– Audience-generated content– Content separated from technology– Unified customer experience
Roles for Technology in modern museum experience
digital content, that is …
• Production, archiving, access, presentation
• Multiple formats and media
• Change: living, ever-changing, multiple “authors”
• Levels: rich, deep, narrative/contextual
• “Born-digital” works of art = ?
Roles for Technology in modern museum experience
UnifiedCustomer
Experience Filtering &Recommending
Convenience
Integration
Automation
Dialog &Participation
Revenue
Data
Communication
Collaboration
Content
The Great Enabler
Roles for Technology in modern museum experience
• Strategic!• Technology is:
– Central (not peripheral)– Essential (not preferable)– Vital to the sustainability of the organization
Biggest tactical challenges
• Costs, and annual variability– Expectation of sustained budget savings through
technology
• Staffing– Numbers: minimum?– Evolving skill sets - the pace of change– Staff drain: Top-dollar wages lie elsewhere
Strategic Challenges
• Assumptions• Getting the right message to the right ears• Everyone rowing in the same direction
vs.
Significant technology-related trendsof the past decade for museums
• Databases• Internet• Moore’s Law (processing doubles every 2 years)
• Law of rising expectations (new norms)
• Mobile• Cloud (scalability, on-demand)
• Demise of the desktop computer• Audience sophistication & expectations
Challenges to success in technology leadership role
• Defining the role– Is it understood by the entire organization?
• Leadership v. Management– Inspiration v. Details– Motivation v. Marching orders
Key Strategic Technology Initiatives at MIA
• One Year– Evaluating, planning, setting the stage
• Three Years– Integration of customer experience
• Seamless, smart, easy– Produce inspiring digital content
• Collaborative production• Iteration, with feedback loops• Experimentation, fail early and often, learn
– Refresh core infrastructure, reduce footprint
Strategic Planning Process
• Formal– Consultants, Executive Leaders, Board of Directors– Iterations, Document, Approval– Scorecards
• Informal
Strategic Planning Process
• Formal
• Informal– Observe, listen, probe, investigate– Clarify expectations, repeat– Communicate, in all directions– Illuminate sub-par practices– Hire smart– Document and share
What’s Worrisome?
Troublesome …
Troublesome …
• Technology will be the salvation!• Innovation is a technology job
Troublesome …
• Technology will be the salvation!• Innovation is a technology job• Is that your responsibility?
Troublesome …
• Technology will be the salvation!• Innovation is a technology job• Is that your responsibility?• You know, I’m a major stakeholder in this
Troublesome …
• Technology will be the salvation!• Innovation is a technology job• Is that your responsibility?• You know, I’m a major stakeholder in this• Practical constraints
39
Museums & Technology: the near horizon
• NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition
• One year or less:
- mobile apps
- tablet computing• Two to three years:
- augmented reality
- electronic publishing• Four to five years:
- digital preservation
- smart objects
The near horizon IMHO
• Trends that I am keeping a close eye on include:• Customer expectations continuing to rise• User-generated content that is meaningful• Mobile & mobile web
– App overload– Mobile web standards
• Gaming for museums• ePublishing
Establishing a collaborative work environment
• It’s not rocket science!• Communication (adjusted to audience)
• Active listening• Respect, empathy• Lead by example
• When all else fails, bring in the experts – (hint: each other)
Enable me!
• Support– Operational funding– Staff flux to be expected, can bring vitality
• Interaction– A lively discussion, challenge my assumptions,
but resolve to come to one mind and drive on.
• Openness– Embrace experiments and “failures”
Weaving a tech plan into an overall strategic plan
• Process ... takes time• Open dialog• Seek dissenting voices• Determination is good
– wild-catting is not!– pick your battles
• Plant seeds– don’t take credit for the harvest
Tech initiatives at the MIA
Tech initiatives: the good
• Application Programming Interface (API)– first step toward a solid foundation for digital content presentation
• Cloud services– Inexpensive, scalable
– On-demand storage and processing
– Agility, particularly for testing
Tech initiatives: the bad
• Customized business systems– every workflow deserves its own
system!
– systems must be modified to match time-worn workflows
– codify and formalize all exception cases
Tech initiatives: the bad
• Multiple website content management systems– and sometimes none at all
– “locked” content, unsharable, undiscoverable
Tech initiatives: the ugly
• Digital Asset Management System– complex relationship to collections management system– errors, laborious manual error-checking– hardware failure + backup failure = erosion of trust
Tech initiatives: the ugly
• Sizable technology footprint– no virtualization– hardware maintenance & replacement costs
Follow the Leaders
• Sources for museum technology information, connections, ideas, and helpful colleagues
– www.mcn.edu
– Museums and the Web
– AAM - Media and Technology SPC
