When is the right time to write a business case?: Difference between revisions

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       needs.  If all this is too hard then just make sure you have good bit-level replication.
       needs.  If all this is too hard then just make sure you have good bit-level replication.


Do you need to fill a skills gap before you really get going in digital preservation?   
*Do you need to fill a skills gap before you really get going in digital preservation?   


       If yes: can you get training, can you get released from duties, can you identify the people that need the  
       If yes: can you get training, can you get released from duties, can you identify the people that need the  
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       times managers are unwilling to release highly competent staff but may be willing to release more junior or less  
       times managers are unwilling to release highly competent staff but may be willing to release more junior or less  
       experienced staff for new projects.  There is a need for curiosity and flexibility  
       experienced staff for new projects.  There is a need for curiosity and flexibility  
       If no: then get started, but make sure you are plugged into professional networks - the digital preservation  
       If no: then get started.  Make sure it's properly written into a job description and communicate to relevant
      stakeholders that  this person (these people) are the designated leads for digital preservation. Make sure these
      people are integrated into professional networks (DPC / OPF / SRUCE are good places to start). The digital preservation  
       community moves quickly and the 'problem' can change a lot in a short time.
       community moves quickly and the 'problem' can change a lot in a short time.



Revision as of 11:04, 31 July 2013

questions and answers

  • Is this the right time to be writing a business case? Does it fulfil a need that the organisation has?
     if yes: get on and do it!
     if no: then get a comms plan for priming the senior management and look into triage for collections.  
     use this triage to help inform the business case. Consider getting digital preservation mandate onto the agenda of senior managers
  • Have any digital preservation projects been undertaken successfully in the organization before now?
     if yes: make sure you know the lessons learned.  Why has it not been continued? what elements of infrastructure 
     or staffing or expertise can be re-used
     if no: need to understand what has prevented them from developing, or why they failed.  
  • Has the senior management been primed to the issue of preservation?
     if yes: the it's safe to proceed.  You might want to get one of your champions to comment on a draft case 
     if no: then identify a champion in senior management and talk to them informally.  Use their feedback to help 
     form the case and figure out how formal or informal the case needs to be.
  • What evidence is there that senior management would be receptive to a business case?
     if there is evidence then you need to build on their expectations
     if not, then examine the strategic plan, operational plan, mandates and regulatory and legal environment
     to find reasons why they would be more receptive.
  • Thinking about the cycle of decision making and budgets in your organisation, there will be some points in this planning cycle in which is would be more useful to make a business case. Are you at that point yet?
     if yes: get on and do it - make sure you know your deadlines and make sure that senior managers know that something 
     is coming.  make sure that its in the right format and also that any important stakeholders (ie IT department, records 
     managers etc) are properly consulted and if possible put their commitment / endorsement along side the business case.
     if no: work out when is the right time.  Use the interval to build momentum such as by priming senior managers, 
     consulting relevant stakeholders, refining the empirical evidence that supports your case, talk to external agencies 
     and colleagues about successes
  • What can you do in the short term to triage your collection? Damage control?
     A simple workflow for getting started in preservation would include the following steps: characterise your 
     collection (ie    know what it is you've got); document the collection (ie generate a report on what you've 
     got); assess risks to identify practical actions for high risk content types or high value collections; 
     plan your preservation actions (making sure that actions are SMART and make sure that your plans can be 
     validated; execute as much of the plan as you can do with limited resources; communicate the results of 
     these actions including success and challenges: the log-jams should will help inform the business case and staffing 
     needs.  If all this is too hard then just make sure you have good bit-level replication.
  • Do you need to fill a skills gap before you really get going in digital preservation?
     If yes: can you get training, can you get released from duties, can you identify the people that need the 
     training and get them involved?  Are these the right people or just the people that are made available?  Often 
     times managers are unwilling to release highly competent staff but may be willing to release more junior or less 
     experienced staff for new projects.  There is a need for curiosity and flexibility 
     If no: then get started.  Make sure it's properly written into a job description and communicate to relevant 
     stakeholders that  this person (these people) are the designated leads for digital preservation. Make sure these 
     people are integrated into professional networks (DPC / OPF / SRUCE are good places to start). The digital preservation 
     community moves quickly and the 'problem' can change a lot in a short time.
  • What components are available now (staff/storage)? When will these components become available?


long term vision/approach

       short term components - staff, storage, etc 
  • Is the technology mature enough to deliver preservation
  • Will new solutions emerge that simplify the problem
  • Is the organisation nimble enough to respond to a problem?
  • What is the budget forecast - should we be looking to a short term project or a longer term commitment


   further information
       link to maturity assessement tools and approaches (e.g. AIDA).