Hello, dear reader!

The project has officially started in the beginning of September 2019 and we are already fully immersed in building the digital infrastructure of the new project!

After a careful consideration we have mutually agreed on our official name “The Social Dynamics in the Ancient Mediterranean” research group. We will get back to the name in some of the future posts but it appears you can’t really start doing anything, unless you have a name!

Even Rome wasn’t built in a day… and so wasn’t the digital infrastructure of a research project. It does not only include to research the available research tools and the existing infrastructure (pun intended), but you also have to bring to the table solutions that would a) work for the entire team and that would b) survive in a long run. Suddenly you have to think about internal communication, external presentation, storage, code and data sharing, version control, publication, shared bibliography, project management and planning, shared calendar… And all that while you are keen on doing the actual research. But again, some of the decisions you make now can impact your future research in a good and in a bad way. The lesson I have learnt in life many times is: the time you invest in making the decision upfront, however tedious it may seem, will save you a great trouble in the future.

The issue with most digital tools and software is their short lifespan. It unfortunately aplies to commercial apps as well as to open-source software. And there is not an easy escape route. Maybe tune your mindset to be ready to migrate to a completely new tool every once in a while but the change is inevitable. Therefore, even before you create something, start thinking about the other end of its lifecycle - what will happen after the current structure collapses.

“It happened to all of us. You can run out of funding, change institutions or take a career break. You abandon your project and when you want to return, it is irreversibly and truly gone.”

But honestly, how many people, unless they were burnt really badly in their past experience, think about the entire lifecycle of a digital project? Reflect on your decisions and try to answer the following questions honestly:

  1. Do you think about the format of the data that you are going to leave behind?
  2. Are you planning to share or reuse the data in five years?
  3. What is your exit strategy?
  4. Do you have one?

Although it may seem pesimistic, there is no universal solution that would fit all projects. But maybe a mere thought of the inescapable end of your project is the key itself. Building the infrastructure responsibly with the end date in mind may open the door to future projects that won’t have to reinvent the wheel and will build upon your work.

What is your experience with building the infrastructure for a research project? Please, reach out to me (petra.hermankova@cas.au.dk or @pettulda on Twitter!) if you would like to ponder about the research lifecycle and our mutual building efforts.

Or simply stay tuned for more!