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project stages

  1. Planning

    • The process begins with the RDDS project form
    • identify internal stakeholders including subject librarians and global collections
    • identify comparable projects, site designs we/they like other reference points
    • ux design workshop to establish user problems and needs, prioritize use cases and features (scope), define successful outcomes and goals
    • grants, identify relevant grants and needs.
    • Wireframing and data models
    • Assess best solutions and technologies to use given project requirements, people and goals. Is this a project that RDDS can or should support? Does it match our values as a team? Provide opportunities to inovate and explore?
    • Planning ends with a completed project charter documenting everything above

  2. Development

    • Development begins with a project manager and regular project team check-ins
    • Project team training and capacity building. Basically projects offer professional development and mentoring opportunities as well as work in existing areas of expertise for all project partners.
    • content creation and editing
    • Dev work leading to minimal viable product, with opportunities for pair-programming, sharing and feedback.
    • Documentation should be sufficent to guide new participants
    • Testing for RDDS priorities: visible citation of project partners, accessibility, inclusive language, access to data, RDDS visual identity and TBD.
    • Development ends when an Alpha version of the project is complete. It is a complete first draft of the project. Development ends when the project team agrees that the project is ready to share with external users.

  3. Deployment

    • Deployment begins with the Beta version of the project and the publishing of project applications, software and data.
    • At this point, all applications and web content should be "flattened" to static sites.
    • If possible, project data should be published as a dataset
    • User testing and feedback
    • Creation of a project sustainability plan (see https://sites.haa.pitt.edu/sustainabilityroadmap/)
    • Deployment ends with a production version of the project

  4. Closeout

    • Closeout begins with ???
    • Stakeholders, project manager, and all team members meet to reflect on the project to help inform planning and development of future projects as well as current project maintenance.
    • Assessment of goals, resources, process, and documentation (see https://dhlab.yale.edu/assets/docs/Project-Close.pdf)
    • Articulation of action items based on closeout results (like: do we need different equipment? do we need to build in a longer timeline next time?)

  5. Maintenance (3-year cycle)

    • Versioned updates of content and data
    • versioned DOIs
    • Support for communications and promotion, conference presentations, workshops
    • Grant reporting and whitepapers
    • Preservation planning to archive data and project outcomes