I attended a workshop on Project Management at the University of Maryland yesterday. The most useful piece to me was the session on prioritizing - What next? What fascinating piece of Western Maryland history do I put on Whilbr next? There are criteria I have in mind - relevant, introducing new light on local history, from one of the three counties, primary source material, not just one family unless the family has a particularly important role in local or national arena (like Janice Beall's great grandfather), and of course all the required permissions and copyright clearances. Extra points if I find the topic of interest to me!
But once that is agreed, then how to decide among competing goods? I know I seen and used tools before, but I clearly need a refresher. This tool seemed helpful - a grid like the one below.
Impact/ effort grid
Effort
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Impact
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Easy
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Moderate
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Difficult
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Major
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1
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2
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4
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Medium
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3
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5
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7
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Minor
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6
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8
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9
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So we are looking at impact and effort. Something that is easy to do and has major impact would be a great place to start. 1s and 2s are easy. 4, 5, 6 are important, but require planning. 7s need to get done. 8 are a low priority and 9s can be skipped or given to someone else.
I thought about recent collections put on Whilbr. The Cumberland Architecture. 3 - medium impact, moderate effort. The ongoing This week 150 years ago this week - Civil War news from the Hagerstown newspaper - 2, moderate effort/impact. The Western Maryland Slavery site I am working on now, gathering materials from newspapers, wills, manumission records - I hope it is a 4 - much effort, and a major impact. I know I've put up what I considered 6s - easy to do, but limited impact (i.e. few people who use the site.) But I know that with history and genealogy, others may have a very different take on what is significant. I'm hoping that with thinking about effort/impact in decision asking I will spend time on fewer 9s.
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