This week’s task was very high-level planning, mostly inside my own head, but also beginning to involve others from my agency. Since my Institute project will in reality be a bite-sized version of a much bigger agency data management project, deliberate and careful planning is a very high priority.
Agency Presentation
I had a great time presenting a very brief overview of all we learned MSU last month to the full range of staff at our agency-wide meeting. Although archaeologists don’t make up the majority of positions here at DHR, all of the topics were relevant well beyond us “below-ground” types. I could hear folks buzzing about other potential projects; it was exciting. I also took the opportunity to introduce my project concept to the larger audience.
Building Project Structure
While I await feedback from Institute faculty, I’m feeling my way around creating a structure for this project. Next week I’ll be having a more focused meeting with Archives division staff, our IT manager, and some other archaeologists. At this point, I’m hoping to present my vision and make sure I’ve got buy-in from as many people as possible. So far, everyone I’ve informally spoken with seems to be on board, although I definitely want feedback. If anyone sees any red flags that I’m missing, now is the time to make them known.
Looking Ahead
It’s definitely hard to temper my enthusiasm. We’ve got such a rich dataset here and it’s going to be orders of magnitude more valuable once it’s accessible.