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BAVC Resources

Project Startup Procedures

Most projects that we work on at BAVC have unified specs. This is because we work with many small organizations and individuals, and our standard deliverable set has been configured to serve these types of collection holders. However, from time to time we do work with large collection holders that have their own specific deliverables, with specs different than what we typically deliver.

It’s very important that any deviation from our standard deliverables be carefully documented in Salesforce, so that the transfer technicians and QC technician know how to create files and what to look for during QC.

Step 1: Read the SOW

SOW stands for Statement of Work. Most large organizations will provide an SOW at the beginning of the a project. This document contains the deliverable specs, timelines, contact info, and other importnat project management information. Read through the doc and look for any importnat details and mark them down. If you see anything that you know will be a problem it’s worthwhile to reach out immediately. These are the kind of things that you will want to reach out about:

  • Strange Project specs
    • Sometimes people request ProRes or H.264 files as preservation formats. Or ask for HD frame sizes for SD files.
  • Unrealistic timelines
    • Make sure that you’re not promising a turnaround date that is impossible
    • Sometimes people ask for us to hold onto their backup files for 6 months, instead of our standard 30 days. Make sure that if this is absolutely necessary you have a plan, like moving delivered files to a hard drive off of the PresRAID. Otherwise the PresRAID will fill up and you’ll have serious issues

Step 2: Add Importand Details to SalesForce

Once you’ve read the SOW and found any importnat details that the tranfer or QC tech needs to know about, add these details to the “Special Request” field. Also, make sure to upload the SOW to Salesforce.

Step 3: Run a Pilot / Test on Small Batch

This part is VERY important. If the collection holder is requesting specs that make the workflow different than usual, you should run a small batch of tapes first and get confirmation on the deliverables. Run 3 to 5 tapes and deliver the files for these tapes on a small drive, or over the internet. Get confirmation that everything is correct, includign filenames, metadata, checksums, photos, anything that might be weird or different. Once you get confirmation from the collection holder you can start running the project in full.