Sample Implementation Plan - Museum of the Moving Image

Owned by Megan Forbes
Oct 15, 2014
2 min read

Implementation Project Plan

Overview

The purpose of this project is to implement the CollectionSpace collections management system at the Museum of the Moving Image. The Museum will implement Version 2.5 of the software in May 2012, and upgrade to Version 3.0 of the software by October 2012. CollectionSpace will replace the Museum's current CMS, OpenCollection, which will be archived and taken offline in the spring of 2012.

Upon implementation, CollectionSpace will serve as the primary CMS for the collections department; it will also be made available as needed to other staff members as identified/defined during the stakeholder analysis phase of the project. CollectionSpace will serve as the backend for the Museum's online collection catalog.

The project will be led by Collection Manager Megan Forbes, under the direction of Executive Director Carl Goodman, and with the support of the collections and information technology departments.

This project will not include the implementation of a dedicated digital asset management system, the integration of CollectionSpace with other technologies at the Museum (e.g. Blackbaud), or the magic cleanup of all our data leading to the immediate online presentation of all 130K objects in our collection.

Plan Elements

Functional requirement analysis

  • Complete functional analysis of existing OpenCollection software
  • Define desired functionality, roughly categorize into "must-have" and "nice-to-have"
  • Complete functionality gap analysis (OC, CSpace, neither)
  • Prioritize functional requirements:
    • What does CollectionSpace support now?
    • What will we develop ourselves?
    • What will we wait for?
    • What will we live without?
    • Are there areas for collaboration with other implementers?

Operational requirements analysis

  • Complete a stakeholder analysis with staff
    • Collections/Exhibitions
    • IT/Web
    • Other (PR, Development, Education, etc.)
  • Analyze CollectionSpace's use within the Museum
    • Who will support CSpace?
    • Will its adoption affect the working practices of the collections department?
    • Update data entry guidelines and documentation
    • How can other departments leverage CollectionSpace/collections information?
  • Inventory our current technical staff competencies, to answer:
    • What can be accomplished using in-house resources?
    • What must we contract out?

Version 2.5 Implementation & Migration

  • Install CollectionSpace on a dedicated and secure server
  • Configure data model to support map
  • Develop new functionality based on outcomes of prioritization exercise
    • Acceptance testing of new functionality
    • New code contributed back to core project
  • Localization
    • Establish login URL
    • Skin CSpace default UI with Moving Image logo, colors
  • Migrate data
  • Take OpenCollection to read only status
  • Train staff & complete acceptance testing

Version 3.0 Upgrade

  • Upgrade existing implementation to Version 3.0
  • Acceptance testing of new functionality
  • Archive and take offline OpenCollection