tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63153231366527102122024-03-10T02:48:01.427+00:0010 simple steps to better archaeological managementPractical advice for project managers to improve their effectivenessUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-12511602108965167062024-03-08T11:56:00.002+00:002024-03-08T11:56:21.348+00:00An Archaeologist's Guide to British Species - Matthew Law<p><a href="https://matthewlaw.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Matthew Law</a> is one of the few British archaeologists to have persevered with the blog format and is now partway through creating <a href="https://matthewlaw.wordpress.com/an-archaeologists-guide-to-british-species/" target="_blank">An Archaeologist's Guide to British Species</a>, with a page describing each plant or animal and its archaeological relevance, accompanied by a photo. </p><p>This is a great resource for archaeologists trying to make sense of a palaeoenvironmental report, a hedgerow survey, or a landscape history. It'll keep him busy for a while as he's on entry #94 and still in the Cs.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-43493436344192492582024-03-08T11:37:00.001+00:002024-03-08T11:37:16.314+00:00Upskilling yourself with Historic England<p>Historic England has relaunched its online training resources and there are a ranges of short courses of interest to readers of this blog.</p><p><a href=" https://training.historicengland.org.uk/" target="_blank"> https://training.historicengland.org.uk/</a></p><p>It is free to register and undertake the courses; each takes 1-4 hours.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would recommend:</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">KEY SKILLS</h3><p><a href="https://training.historicengland.org.uk/course/view.php?id=29">Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment - MoRPHE</a></p><p>This is a detailed walkthrough of Historic England's MoRPHE project management system and its manager's guide, which was developed as an application of PRINCE2 to replace MAP2. Organisations undertaking work for Historic England are required to use MoRPHE, and it is also used by some as standard practice regardless of funding. (and if this description is a baffling set of acronyms you should do this course!)</p><p><a href="https://training.historicengland.org.uk/course/view.php?id=58">Research Ethics & Integrity</a></p><p>This is based on UKRI guidelines for (academic) research, and is focused on potential harm to living participants, although cultural heritage is also covered. It is interesting to compare and contrast with the CIFA Ethics workshop; I don't think either provide much of a handle for those facing the small everyday ethical dilemmas (am I knowledgeable/competent enough to make a judgment call on whether this bit of heritage can be destroyed?, my client wants me to ignore part of the impact - what can I do?).</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://training.historicengland.org.uk/course/index.php?categoryid=10" target="_blank">HERITAGE FOR PLANNERS: ESSENTIALS</a></h3><p>Despite the label, this section has courses that are of interest to anyone involved in presenting heritage information to planning authorities, and cover Historic England's guidance on heritage values, e and setting.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://training.historicengland.org.uk/course/index.php?categoryid=5" target="_blank">HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT</a></h3><p>There's an excellent course on <a href="https://training.historicengland.org.uk/course/view.php?id=69" target="_blank">Statements of Heritage Significance</a> and NPPF4.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-6963965880873344902020-01-26T15:45:00.001+00:002020-01-26T15:45:44.774+00:0010 Simple Steps: the e-bookThe 2012 2nd edition is now available as a free pdf ebook from <a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management.html">Carreg Ffylfan Press</a>.<br />
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There are a few physical copies still available to purchase.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-25810203937962292572016-01-12T00:03:00.001+00:002016-01-12T00:03:38.766+00:00The Grand Challenge for Archaeology- the information cycleIn the 1950s, archaeologists had a clear idea of their role. Wheeler says 'unrecorded excavation is the unforgivable destruction of evidence (<i>Archaeology from the Earth</i> (1954), p. 209), and goes on to insist that proper publication is the duty of the excavating archaeologist. His final chapter, What are we digging, and why?, is uncharacteristically slippery, though. It appears that this duty is primarily imposed to ensure that the contribution to knowledge would be shared with current and future peers, to establish a truth that could in due course be communicated to the world. <br />
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In the 1970s Philip Rahtz's <i>Rescue Archaeology</i> implicitly followed the same view - volunteers were welcome to view or help, but the core of the work was the excavation, recording, and academic publication of the site for the benefit of the specialist reader. (It is interesting to see that he estimates that there were in 1971 about 200 professional archaeologists in the UK).<br />
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When the IfA (now CIfA) was founded in the 1980s, it embodied this approach in its Code of Conduct, specifying that excavators had a duty to publish a site within 10 years. <br />
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I rehearse this ancient history as a reminder that the contemporary view I often encounter that an archaeologist's primary audience is a non-technical, popular, community one, that involving non-professionals in the process of excavation and recording, that digging and showing is more important than reporting and analysis, is a recent development, and one that has had an unwelcome effect on the profession at a time when resources are tight and hard choices must be made.<br />
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The Grand Challenge that I see facing UK archaeology is that archaeologists need to re-engage with all stages of the information cycle, from research, to reporting, to sharing data, placing a high value on prompt availability of credible data and on using the data of others.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">SMRs and HERs</span><br />
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The aspect of archaeology I find most frustrating is the way archaeologists use Historic Environment Records. As the concept emerged in the 1970s, as Sites and Monuments Records, they were transformative. Previously archaeology had to be understood by laborious research using printed gazetteers and hand-drawn distribution maps; instead, all known sites were plotted on large-scale (1:10,000) maps and accompanied by standardised data (initially on paper but transferred to computer in the 1980s). The shift to computers meant that thematic searching was expedited - all Bronze Age cairns could be listed by a simple query. It wasn't until the 1990s that the paper maps were replaced by online mapping and GIS so that it was easy to zoom in and out, relate distributions to topography, and overlay historic mapping. Many are now available <a href="http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway/chr/">online.</a><br />
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Given these incredible research tools, we should be enjoying a golden age of high quality research and publication, with thousands at work, excavating hundreds of sites, generating new data and contextualizing the results. Instead it appears that most are content with superficial and credulous research and an apathy about the value of their contribution. One trend I have learned to dread is the use, in grey literature reports, of an HER site listing included as supplied. I can only assume that those using the data in this way have misunderstood what HERs seek to do and how they are compiled.<br />
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Historic Environment Records are intended to be an index to known archaeological sites in an area. They do not, in principle, consider themselves to be primary sources (and most do not hold primary archival material). As an index, they bring together published and unpublished information and classify it in order to aid retrieval. Their interpretation and analysis is restricted to a basic health check and then an attempt to make the data most likely to be found. HERs will usually accept the source's conclusion about what they found. It is quite common to find that many of the sites are less definitive than they at first appear: antiquarian reports will be given an estimated NGR, wholly unjustified by the convoluted and vague locational information (and it is also common for any finds or records to have vanished), or an excavator's over-enthusiastic conjecture about a site is taken at face value.<br />
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In the early rush of creating the SMRs, a lot of thought went into providing a handy synthesis of the evidence in a newly-written description, to save users the necessity of checking each source and reaching their own conclusions. Increasingly this has been abandoned, partly because of the increase in workload, but also because the validity of the synthesis is questionable. Of all the people writing about a site, you can be quite sure that the HER Officer won't have had the chance to visit it. They are worst placed to rule on the weight assigned to sources. Descriptions will therefore quote from successive sources without necessarily reaching a judgement. Elsewhere, decisions cannot be ducked: the site must be given a category - cairn, natural feature, modern feature, and a date. HER listings for Roman roads, prehistoric ritual landscapes, or Dark Age burials often vanish into mundane, modern or natural features, their more dramatic classification being a relic of past fancy. HERs cannot completely expunge such records, since a researcher may come across the original source and seek the relevant HER record.<br />
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The questions lying behind the maintenance of an HER are thus complex - addressed in the <a href="https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/midas-heritage/midas-heritage-2012-v1_1.pdf/">MIDAS data standard</a> towards which many are working. <br />
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There are, as well as these unavoidable issues, other problems: sources may have been mistranscribed or misunderstood, or not consulted, and, fatally, NGRs may be mistyped. When HERs were undertaking audits it was found that backlogs of 2 years of data awaiting input were not unusual. Some sectors are much worse at making their results available: academics, independents, community groups, all unconstrained by planning, are much less likely to feed into HERs.<br />
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So HERs are, as an academic said about Wikipedia, a good place to start your research and a very bad place to stop.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recording and reporting</span><br />
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Yes I know, don't call it excavation call it preservation by record. But if we say this, and mean this, why is that the standard of records is so low, content with simple standardised descriptions with all the pondering on interpretation and significance left out. This then feeds through into dull reports which say very little. I was looking at a report on an evaluation by a professional unit that encountered a complex of prehistoric features. Their date and purpose were left uncertain by the evaluation, but the conclusion decided that since they were of unknown significance no further investigation was warranted. Somebody who considered themselves a professional was so incurious that they were happy to shrug their shoulders and walk away, Even worse, there had been another development on adjoining land, not mentioned in the report, which had found more features, dated this time. There is a case for archaeologists seeing themselves as technicians, servants of a process, creating data for others, but that seems to me to be an abdication of responsibility. The excavator of a site has spent weeks onsite and off engaging with the site and its features occupying the forefront of their brain. They, if well informed and thoughtful, are by far the most likely person to establish the truth. One of the sad features of modern corporate archaeology is that there is little room for the bold hypothesis or imaginative site narrative - the passion and vision we hope to encounter on a site tour is routinely smoothed into tedium by the reporting process.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reading</span><br />
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Which brings us back to Wheeler and publications. Archaeologists need to be interested in more than their particular site or region. They need to understand the context, the research questions, the developing narratives. Otherwise they will end up making silly claims, that their watching brief with a Roman burial will 're-write our understanding of the conquest of Britain', or a ditch will change the way Bronze Age barrows are interpreted. For much of the 20th century, sites were dug with unskilled, volunteer, or lackadaisical staff, with minimal resources. That work produced the big books and the big theories that we still refer to. Somehow, the plethora of data and the ease with which it can be accessed has narrowed our thinking. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Note</span><br />
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This essay is not intended to criticise any individuals or organisations; I genuinely believe that they are doing the best they can in difficult circumstances. My examples are anonymised and included to highlight where I believe we have gone wrong.<br />
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This post is part of the <a href="https://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/the-grand-challenges-for-archaeology-a-blogging-carnival/">Archaeology Blog Festival</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-40741797144689587242014-03-21T23:49:00.001+00:002014-04-16T22:06:51.209+01:00The future<div style="background-color: white; color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; line-height: 22.5px;">
"Next month is the SAA session on blogging so this will be the final question for #blogarch. Learning from my mistakes this will be an actual question this time.</div>
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The last question is where are you/we going with blogging or would you it like to go? I leave it up to you to choose between reflecting on you and your blog personally or all of archaeology blogging/bloggers or both. Tells us your goals for blogging. Or if you have none why that is? Tell us the direction that you hope blogging takes in archaeology.</div>
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Short and simple and I hope a good question to finish off #BlogArch with."</div>
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The great value of this blog to me is that it's a playground where I can write whatever I want, and people do find their way to it. I am currently involved in two initiatives which build on my 10 simple steps work: the setting up of a <a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/groups/PMSIG">Project Management Group</a> for the IfA, and a research project I am currently developing interviewing archaeologists about how they construct their sense of professional identity. Both of these initiatives will exist in other forms, but here is where I can add quick updates, try out bits of text, and provide pointers to related sources.</div>
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This last point sounds trivial, but it is easy to overlook. Before websites, the following up of an article's references was a long, tedious and frustrating experience, even for people who had the chance to drop in to a university library that might hold the relevant journals. Now there's a lot that is readily available, and linked directly. It's true that much academic publishing is locked off to all but specialists in academia, but even so it is much easier to be well-informed than it used to be.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-43590653572297584292014-01-14T17:26:00.001+00:002014-01-14T17:26:46.123+00:00Blogging archaeology - my top posts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0of80rZ8ln9wTKn8drO-5jnjVq9QqvfWzmyWp3nO0uQB0ajKpUg1gHxqWCLoKEvrivooonDGsWV_H-8OhGVI025F5rQ6x6Pah6izfxEg5mPGcfQDL1wWqgs_88Y33e_oLYbRkhykmQ/s1600/blogging-archaeology-e1383664863497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0of80rZ8ln9wTKn8drO-5jnjVq9QqvfWzmyWp3nO0uQB0ajKpUg1gHxqWCLoKEvrivooonDGsWV_H-8OhGVI025F5rQ6x6Pah6izfxEg5mPGcfQDL1wWqgs_88Y33e_oLYbRkhykmQ/s320/blogging-archaeology-e1383664863497.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This post is part of a blog carnival in the run-up to SAA 2014:</div>
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<a href="http://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/">http://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/</a></div>
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Over the last seven years there have been 20,900 pages viewed. Whether you think that's a lot depends on your expectations. Most of the traffic comes from Google searches, although some follow links from university archaeology courses cite it as an online resource. It is notable that most of search terms are post titles, which means that 'meat and potatoes' post titles work better than clever allusive and obscure ones.
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-get-your-first-job-in.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">How to get your first job in archaeology</a></div>
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14 Apr 2012, 4 comments</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/drawing-up-personal-action-plan.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Drawing up a Personal Action Plan</a></div>
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20 Dec 2007, 1 comment</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-prince2-and-should-i-be-using.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">What is Prince2 and should I be using it?</a></div>
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21 Nov 2007, 5 comments</div>
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478</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2010/11/five-things-archaeologists-can-learn_14.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Five things archaeologists can learn from Lean Man...</a></div>
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14 Nov 2010</div>
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385</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/commercial-archaeology-and-ethics-of.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Commercial archaeology and the ethics of developme...</a></div>
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11 Jul 2008</div>
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303</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Out now: "10 simple steps" the book</a></div>
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1 Jan 2013, 3 comments</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2010/11/five-things-archaeologists-can-learn.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Five things archaeologists can learn from PRINCE2</a></div>
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7 Nov 2010, 3 comments</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/10-simple-steps.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The 10 simple steps</a></div>
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14 Feb 2012, 1 comment</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-3-image.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Step 3: Image</a></div>
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28 Nov 2007, 1 comment</div>
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<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-and-bad-powerpoint.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Good and bad Powerpoint</a></div>
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28 Feb 2008</div>
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I am pleased that the post on How to get your first job in archaeology is popular, reflecting a bit of a vacuum elsewhere (the CBA website's careers advice is vague and optimistic). The otehr popular posts get significant traffic from people searching for general advice on PRINCE2, lean management, training action plans, and Powerpoint. The essay on Commercial archaeology is an interesting case, where the academic published literature on ethics and development in archaeology are sparse and therefore this contribution to the debate fills a gap.<br />
<br />
If I was to take a gloomy view I could say that it is impossible to predict which of the posts will go viral, to the extent of finding most readers, and I am disappointed at the much smaller number of readers who explore the site at length. But in away that's not surprising: the potential audience of new archaeology graduates or people working in generic management is much larger than my core audience - commercial arcaheologists who have just been promoted to project managers.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-47529672427092197412013-11-27T23:07:00.001+00:002014-01-14T17:26:55.664+00:00Why this blog started and (nearly) stopped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This post is part of a blog carnival in the run-up to SAA 2014:</div>
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<a href="http://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/blogging-archaeology/">http://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/blogging-archaeology/</a></div>
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<b>Why blogging? – Why did you start a blog? </b></div>
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I started the 10 simple steps to better archaeological management blog in 2008 as I was preparing a <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/ifa-conference-presentation.html" target="_blank">presentation for the 2009 IfA conference</a>. I have had a long interest in the applaiction of comemrcial management theory to the practice of archaeology, and had a few things I wanted to say about where archaeologists were going wrong. </div>
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I had been blogging on life and literature since 2004, mainly as an outlet for writing that didn't have anywhere else to go, and it seemed natural to use the same format in the run-up to the conference, if only to share the concepts with the other speakers in the session. I was surprised to find that there was little overlap between the papers, because they addressed a wide range of topics under the umbrella of archaeological management, and little discussion arose. But in any case, writing the blog meant that I prepared the text in advance (my usual practice is to make up a powerpoint set and wing it on the day), and of course the chance to include links to the sources cited and further infromation is much better than the usual talk which hopes that the audinece's notes manage to capture something of what was said. </div>
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I recognised early on that I would not in fact be able to fit everything i wanted to say in the 20 minutes allowed, and so I decided to use print-on-demand technology (<a href="http://lulu.com/">Lulu.com</a>) to produce a book version of the paper for sale at the conference (it was a simple process to paste the posts into a Word file, convert it to pdf, and create the book). </div>
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Although the talk went well, and some books were sold, I was disappointed by the lack of follow-up in terms of readership of the blog. Most people found the blog through Google searches for individual terms, and almost all only read one or two posts.</div>
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<b>Why are you still blogging? / </b><b>Why have you stopped blogging</b>? </div>
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I have always had strong opinions about the practice of archaeology, and although I have published in learned journals and elsewhere I have found the constraints of academic and professional writing hard work. The great joys of blogging are:</div>
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<ul>
<li>a chance to express an unpopular, extreme or impolitic opinion unfettered by an editorial hand</li>
<li>a chance to write as long or as short as I want, in informal language, with jokes and asides</li>
<li>a chance to write about any topic I choose</li>
<li>a chance to respond in real time to emerging news stories rather than waiting for a print version to appear</li>
</ul>
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Over time, without seeking subjects out, I have added to the initial brief overview, and these have fomred the basis of the much expanded and revised <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html" target="_blank">2nd edition of the book</a>. I would have had little chance to write this book as a concerted exercise, and would have found immense difficulty in finding a publisher: the economics of a short print run and a niche market reached through the website only make sense as a do-it-yourself business.</div>
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The frequency of blog posts had dropped dramatically over the last couple of years, mainly because I haven't come across burning issues on which I have anything to add, and aslo because my 'spare' time is directed more towards <a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/poetry-from-strata-florida.html" target="_blank">poetry</a>.</div>
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It is pleasing to see that some of the posts, especially <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-to-get-your-first-job-in.html" target="_blank">How to get your first job</a> and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/commercial-archaeology-and-ethics-of.html" target="_blank">Ethics and commercial archaeology </a> , continue to get a lot of traffic, including links from university courses, and it is clear that the blog fills a gap in the information and guidance that is available. My regret is that the promise of Web 2.0 to generate a global conversation remains unfulfilled - the Twitter model rather than Wikipedia. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-60717537996973587142013-04-16T19:52:00.000+01:002013-10-18T20:16:06.754+01:00Changing the way we working: delivering impact through better project management<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/18410025" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="427"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mlocock/changing-the-way-we-work-delivering-impact-copyright" target="_blank" title="Changing the way we work: delivering impact copyright">Changing the way we work: delivering impact copyright</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mlocock" target="_blank">mlocock</a></strong> </div>
A workshop developed with Andrea Bradley covering the nuts and bolts of formal project management methods like PRINCE2 and MoRPHE, but also placing emphasis on the key question of how managers think and behave.
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A summary was published in <i>The Archaeologist </i><b>89</b> (Autumn 2013), pp. 17-21.<br />
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This workshop was developed in response to a perceived gap
in opportunities to improve the standard of management in British
archaeology. Andrea Bradley of BIPC and
I share an unusual perspective on project management, since we both combine
experience of commercial archaeology with work outside archaeology and training
in the PRINCE2 formal project management methodology. There have been attempts since the 1990s to
use the wisdom and techniques of management theory in archaeological contexts,
but these have made little headway until recently. To begin with we mapped out a brisk introduction
to project management theory and terminology, but we realised as we talked
about our experience of applying it in practice that much more important than
any specific technique was the attitude of the project manager, and so we
deliberately constructed the programme to start and end with changing the
mental landscape. <b>All effective Continuing Professional Development must be personal
development</b> if it is make a real difference to future performance through
changed behaviour. This article
summarises the key points.</div>
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<b>Understanding
ourselves<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Although project management techniques have their place, the
need for self-awareness and reflection is greater. The workshop's first exercise explored our
individual values and priorities by identifying our most intense
experiences. For many people this came
from their leisure time or family life.
Unless we understand our drivers it is difficult for us to operate
effectively.</div>
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<b>Exercise: Self-assessment<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>There are no right or
wrong answers. You will not be showing
your responses to anyone else, so be as honest as possible. The exercise consists of 4 statements, which
you are asked to score from 1 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree strongly).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Disagree Neutral
Agree </div>
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I am competent and professional in my role</div>
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1 2 3 4
5</div>
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I find my role satisfying and productive</div>
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1 2 3 4
5</div>
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I am passionate about being involved in excavation</div>
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1 2 3 4
5</div>
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I make a positive contribution to the success of projects </div>
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1 2 3 4
5</div>
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The time you have taken to answer these questions is
probably the longest you have spent on reflection in the last year. But you answers are vital in setting any
goals for improvement. People are very
poor at evaluating their own performance -psychologists have identified the
Dunning-Kruger effect, the phenomenon where the less we know about a subject,
the more confident we are in our opinion.
This is exacerbated by the prevalence in many organisations of a culture
is "Don't ask don't tell" about people's performance, except for
annual appraisals. The rest of the time
poor performance (or good performance) is not discussed. One helpful tool is the 360 degree
evaluation, where anonymous feedback from bosses, peers and underlings allows
you to compare your idea of how you are doing with those of others. There is a free survey available from www.carregffylfan.co.uk/media.html </div>
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<b>Projects and project
management<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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There is a traditional view that the management of
archaeological projects is unique bit is is archaeology, but this
exceptionalism was challenged by one of the workshop's exercises. Participants were asked to report on a recent
project that had failed and to identify the reasons for failure. The answers were: poor planning, poor
communication, insufficient time and resources, unavailability of key staff,
and inflexibility in the light of changing circumstances. Nobody reported that C14 dating or a complex
occupation phase was the problem. The
issues are generic, and precisely those that the discipline of project
management is aimed at addressing.</div>
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Project management is a distinctive subset of general
management - it gets its character from the fact that every project is temporary,
with a defined endpoint and constrained resources. As a result, projects involve compromises
between standards, scope, costs and time: a good project manager is one who
makes the right calls in the face of tough choices. Project management is not, in essence,
complex - <b>it can be summarised as
comprising three components: talking to people, moving bits of paper around,
and thinking</b>. Moving bits of paper
around is usually the easy bit, while thinking is often undervalued.</div>
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Formal project management defines a project as a unique
temporary activity delivered a specified change with defined budget and
resources, using skills from multiple parts of an organisation or consortium,
in order to achieve a business aim. In business,
this aim is usually to generate a profit.
Although some archaeologists would say that a successful project is one
that has the right academic or professional outputs, no organisation can afford
to lose money forever.</div>
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PRINCE2 is the widely-used method in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>, especially
in the public sector, and its terminology and structure have become
standard. It is often perceived as
paper-intensive and excessively bureaucratic, but one of the principles is that
processes should be tailored for the project.
The key benefits of using PRINCE2 is the clarity about aims, progress
and standards which reduces the chance of catastrophic failure. Few archaeological organisations explicitly
use PRINCE2, but PRINCE2 underlies English Heritage's MoRPHE project planning
process (the replacement of <i>Management of
Archaeological Projects</i> (MAP2 and MAP3)).
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The workshop didn't try to provide a full primer on project
management, instead focusing on the issues most relevant to archaeology.</div>
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<b>Defining roles<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Successful projects tend to have well defined roles without
overlaps or black holes, and project management therefore spends a lot of time
defining the roles and responsibilities of those involved. PRINCE2 discourages the creation of large
steering committees with periodic progress meetings in favour of a project
board restricted to those directly involved, meeting when required to make
decisions. The project board includes
representatives of the suppliers (those doing the work), end -users
(representing the client) and the corporate interests of the institution (the
project executive or director). The
project manager reports to the board, from whom authority within defined limits
is derived. When things are running to
plan, the project manager can provide brief highlight and checkpoint reports to
the board members, but this can be escalated into ad hoc advice and meetings as
soon as the project's success is threatened.
Typically the board's discussion will go like this:</div>
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Project Manager</div>
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Progress is behind schedule and completion is in doubt</div>
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Supplier</div>
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We need more time and/or resources to complete the work</div>
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User</div>
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We need to ensure that standards are maintained if we are
to achieve the intended aims</div>
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Executive</div>
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Providing more resources will reduce the profit generated</div>
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These tensions are inherent in any project governance
structure - the power of assigning roles like this is in providing a forum and
process by which these can be balanced.</div>
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<b>Defining the
structure<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Projects often involve numerous contractors, subcontractors,
and stakeholders, in addition to the hierarchy of the project team itself. It is helpful to draw this structure and
share it with others. Since
communication is vital, every link in the structure can be thought of as an
information flow, and it is worthwhile considering the medium and frequency
with which data will be shared (formal report, email, phone call, or site
visit). Often the process of mapping
will highlights some key relationships which have no defined means of
communication at all. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Change, risk and
progress<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Chang and risk is part of the project landscape. At the start, there are too many unknowns to
predict effectively what will prove possible or desirable. Good project management allows for this so
that the project manager can spot risks and opportunities early and amend plans
accordingly.</div>
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A thorny issue in archaeology is how we track progress. It is relatively easy to monitor expenditure
and activity to check spend against profile, but this doesn't address the vital
question - how much of what needs to be done has been done? In the end this is largely a judgement call,
but project managers should at least be asking themselves this question all the
time.</div>
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<b>Changing how we work<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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“The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head
and hands, and then work outward from there.” Robert M Pirsig, <i>Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance</i><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
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Organisations are hard to change, but it is much easier to
change our own behaviour. The workshop
ended with a series of practical tips which could be implemented immediately. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The 'Five Whys' technique of root cause analysis can be
applied to any recurrent problem, major or minor. All it needs is a partner who can ask
penetrating questions, and often the problem's solution emerges. For example: "They've run out of content
sheets on site again."
"Why?" "They didn't take enough." "Why?"
"There weren't many left in the sore." "Why?" "The
last project took most of them but didn't order more." It would be possible to devise a complex
administrative solution, but perhaps all that is needed is a note on the wall
of the store reminding people to order more when the supply is getting low.</div>
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"Lessons learned" is a phrase that originated with
PRINCE2 and has become a commonplace - continuous improvement comes from not
repeating mistakes. Even if there is no
formal post-project review (and there should be), anyone can take some time to
reflect on their experience and activity to identify what worked and what
didn't.</div>
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We also need to recognise that <b>we are not brains on legs</b> - our physical and emotional state can
affect our work. I have a rule: no Excel
after 4 o'clock, based on the bitter experience of re-doing financial reports
the next morning when I'm awake enough to spot the errors. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Having an impact<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those who attended the workshop found it inspiring and
positive at the time, but more importantly they have taken action on returning
to work. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I now plan out each morning what I hope to achieve,
and review it at the end of the day"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I make much more effort to explain the background to the
tasks and to link it to our company objectives"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I have found myself noticing my emotional state and
deciding to postpone difficult conversations until I'm calmer"</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS_QbNFYHAiNkFQaFL50ySpXs8hKI7ktBK9XgFie_l3bWXEpRhcBi9UjVXtWV-KH-vyGof1ZNJRCYLEGcKERew-6utDr0RGaL3dnPaSJXhUXUrzEndz8jk7zhU0cPmwAm6tSTx7TjCg/s1600/PA270204.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Juggling priorities (c) Martin Locock A photo of a large office whiteboard annotated with multiple tasks and dependencies" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS_QbNFYHAiNkFQaFL50ySpXs8hKI7ktBK9XgFie_l3bWXEpRhcBi9UjVXtWV-KH-vyGof1ZNJRCYLEGcKERew-6utDr0RGaL3dnPaSJXhUXUrzEndz8jk7zhU0cPmwAm6tSTx7TjCg/s320/PA270204.JPG" title="Juggling priorities (c) Martin Locock" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><i>Project management is the art of juggling priorities Photo: Martin Locock</i></o:p></div>
<o:p><br /></o:p>
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p>Would your oganisation benefit? If so get in touch to arrange a workshops.</o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-8962323451208908802013-02-13T19:36:00.000+00:002013-02-18T19:01:04.190+00:00Value and values in excavation recordingA video version of a presentation I gave at TAG 2012 in Liverpool.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://panopto.lamp.ac.uk/Panopto/Pages/Viewer/Default.aspx?id=3156c19d-1d85-424d-b4ad-c5832420603e">http://panopto.lamp.ac.uk/Panopto/Pages/Viewer/Default.aspx?id=3156c19d-1d85-424d-b4ad-c5832420603e</a><br />
<br />
You may need to download the Panopto viewer to get the synchronised slides + commentary.<br />
<br />
Slideshow:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/16603742" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="427"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mlocock/value-and-values-in-excavation-recording" target="_blank" title="Value and values in excavation recording">Value and values in excavation recording</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mlocock" target="_blank">mlocock</a></strong> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-63202683180725906032013-01-01T19:56:00.003+00:002024-03-08T11:38:20.406+00:00Out now: "10 simple steps" the book<strong>10 simple steps to better archaeological management</strong> available as a 150-page paperback, £16 including P&P.or as a <a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management.html">free ebook from Carreg Ffylfan Press</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"A cogent analysis of the problems inherent in archaeological management. This book should be required reading for all archaeologists - at all stages of their careers" <b><i>The Historic Environment</i></b></span></blockquote>
<br />
** Buy it or download it free from <a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management.html" target="_blank">Carreg Ffylfan Press </a> **<br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Preface</b><br />
<br />
<b>Acknowledgements</b><br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Section 1: Introduction</strong> <br />
Why reading management books won't help archaeologists<br />
Bad habits of archaeological managers and where they came from</div>
<div>
Isn’t good management just common sense?</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>Exercise 1: Your beliefs and assumptions</i><br />
<br />
<strong>Section 2: The 10 simple steps</strong> </div>
<div>
Step 1: Identity </div>
<div>
Step 2: Labels <br />
Step 3: Image <br />
Step 4: Training <br />
Step 5: Communication <br />
Step 6: Costs and risks <br />
Step 7: Don’t overperform the spec <br />
Step 8: Archaeology isn’t just excavation <br />
Step 9: Take Health and Safety seriously <br />
Step 10: Treat junior staff well <br />
<br />
<strong>Section 3: The Manager’s toolkit</strong> <br />
Email is your friend not your enemy<br />
iGoogle can change your life<br />
Getting Things Done<br />
Time management<br />
<i>Exercise 2: Review your current time-use</i><br />
Microsoft Project<br />
Excel cheatsheet <br />
360 degree evaluation<br />
<i>Exercise 3: Evaluation</i><br />
A training buddy<br />
<br />
<strong>Section 4: Action plan </strong><br />
<i>Exercise 4: Love/hate map</i><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Section 5: Practical management</strong><br />
Company health-check<br />
Quality systems in archaeology<br />
Succession planning and career development<br />
How to fix a failing project<br />
What is PRINCE2 and should I be using it?<br />
Why do good Project Officers make bad Project Managers?<br />
Being positive about business meetings<br />
What not to say at a client meeting<br />
Copyright for archaeologists<br />
The archaeological marketplace<br />
Commercial archaeology and the ethics of development<br />
Preservation and ethics<br />
Coping with the crunch: hard times are coming<br />
Hard times economics<br />
Bridging the skills gap and re-thinking evaluation<br />
Curatorial practice after the crunch<br />
Management gurus and the 10 simple steps<br />
<br />
<strong>Afterword</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Bibliography</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-links.html" target="_blank">Book links</a></strong></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-23930292554273676032012-04-14T23:58:00.001+01:002020-12-02T13:31:16.313+00:00How to get your first job in archaeologyArchaeology students in their final year may look beyond their final exams to see an even more challenging prospect - finding a job in the industry. About 2,000 people graduate in archaeology-related subjects every year. Most of them will never get their first archaeology job. Of those that do, most leave archaeology after a few years (in 2010 the average age of professional archaeologists in the UK was 38). It has been estimated that 100-200 people join the profession and make it their long-term career - everybody else either doesn't try, or tries and fails. Commercial archaeological contractors employ 90% of archaeologists.<br />
<br />
<br />
So if you are in this situation, and you want to try to start an archaeological career, what steps should you follow?<br />
<br />
<b>Prepare your cv</b><br />
<br />
The university careers service should be able to give advice on formatting and content. The cv is particularly important in archaeology because most junior posts are filled without interviewing, so it is your only chance to make the cut. It should be noted that archaeological employers take a very narrow view of what they are looking for in potential staff, and other content will be ignored.<br />
<br />
The ideal new graduate would have a cv proclaiming:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>driving licence and car</li>
<li>fieldwork experience on several UK sites</li>
<li>work placements in commercial archaeology</li>
<li>knowledge of British archaeology</li>
<li>experience of finds handling and identification</li>
<li>experience with GIS, databases and photography</li>
<li>team working and initiative</li>
<li>some evidence of an interest in archaeology (membership of local, period or topic societies, IfA)</li>
</ul>
<br />
All of these should appear on the first page.<br />
<br />
You shouldn't lie on your cv. But you should highlight if you have relevant knowledge, skills or experience. (if you have the chance to fill some gaps before leaving, now is the time to do it).<br />
<br />
Include references, preferably from a commercial/professional rather than academia. <br />
<br />
<b>Research your employers</b><br />
<br />
There are about 200 archaeological employers in the UK. (That's a guess- there are 72 CIfA Registered Organisations). It is a waste of your time and theirs if you approach them all. Choose the ones you want to work for, find out what they are doing at the moment, and note the names of the key staff. Find out whether anyone at the university has links with them which could be used. <br />
<br />
Most organisations have centralised recruitment, so don't approach individuals directly, but you should tailor your submission to emphasise areas of their work you could complement.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Apply</b><br />
<br />
Job vacancies are advertised on <a href="http://www.bajr.org/" target="_blank">BAJR </a> and the CIfA<a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/jis/online" target="_blank"> Job Information Service</a>. Most most job vacancies aren't advertised at all. What tends to happen is a company is told it has got a contract and the race is on to bring a team together in a matter of days. So don't wait for an advert: apply anyway. Some companies are careful to maintain a list of people who have approached them in case things come up, some just delete on receipt. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b> Be prepared to volunteer</b><br />
<br />
Having a degree in archaeology is no indication that you would be an asset if employed. Most companies will simply ignore any applications from people without 6 months of paid excavation work under their belts. So how to get a foot in the door? Be prepared to spend some time learning the practical skills you will need. With any luck if you hang around, a paid post will turn up.<br />
<br />
<b>Think about the future</b><br />
<br />
The most valuable asset in your career is the good opinion of your current and future employers. So don't mess them about.<br />
<br />
<b>Do some research</b><br />
<br />
You could do worse than reading<a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management.html" target="_blank"> 10 simple steps (free ebook)</a><br />
<br />
<b>Update: </b>get a <a href="http://www.archaeologyskills.co.uk/">Skills Passport </a>and start getting it completed.<br />
<br />
<b> Join or upgrade CIFA membership and join relevant Area and Special Interest Groups- this will give you a chance to meet with all levels of the profession and find out what current debates and practice arise.<br />
<b> Prepare for future responsibilities by brushing up Excel skills, exploring grey literature and HER data online, and maybe contributing corrections, additions and photos to your local HER. <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-91013871575706103052012-02-14T22:01:00.000+00:002012-02-27T22:03:42.655+00:00The 10 simple steps<strong>Note:</strong> This post is a sticky: new posts appear below.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/introduction.html"><em>Introduction</em></a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/03/ifa-conference-presentation.html">10 simple steps: the talk</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html">the book</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html">the workshop</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Step 1</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-1-identity.html">Identity</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 2</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-2-labels.html">Labels (job titles)</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 3</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-3-image.html">Image</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 4</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-4-invest-in-training.html">Invest in training</a><br />
Ignore the <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/excuses-to-avoid-training.html">excuses to avoid training</a>. <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-most-from-external-training.html">Get the most from external training</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-prince2-and-should-i-be-using.html">Prince2 </a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/using-microsoft-project.html">Microsoft Project </a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/does-getting-things-done-get-things.html">Getting Things Done summary</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/06/getting-thinsg-done-review.html">[review]</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/igoogle-can-change-your-life.html">iGoogle </a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/excel-cheatsheet.html">Excel </a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 5</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-5-communication.html">Communication</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-and-bad-powerpoint.html">Good and bad Powerpoint presentations</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-not-to-say-at-client-meeting.htm" l="">Client meetings</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 6</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/costs-and-risks.html">Costs and risks</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/coping-with-crunch-hard-times-are.html">Coping with the crunch</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 7</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-7-dont-overperform-spec.html">Don't overperform the spec</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 8</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-8-archaeology-isnt-just-excavation.html">Archaeology isn't just excavation</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 9</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-9-take-health-and-safety-seriously.html">Take Health and Safety seriously</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 10</strong>: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-10-look-after-junior-staff.html">Look after junior staff</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Background</strong><br />
History lessons: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/changes-in-management-training.html">Changes in management training </a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/bad-habits-of-archaeological-managers.html">Bad habits of archaeological managers </a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/redesigning-pyramid-archaeological.html">Redesigning the pyramid </a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-do-good-project-officers-make-bad.html">Why do good Project Officers make bad Project Managers?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/isnt-good-management-just-common-sense.html">Isn't good management just common sense?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/delegation-and-succession-planning.html">Delegation and succession planning</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/good-enough-is-good-enough.html">Good enough is good enough</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/about-this-blog.html">About this blog</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Toolbox</strong><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/drawing-up-personal-action-plan.html">Drawing up a Personal Development Plan </a><br />
How to save a failing project <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/failing-projects-1-identification.html">Part 1</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/failing-projects-2-how-to-save-failing.html">Part 2</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/failing-projects-3-saving-your-own.html">Part 3</a><br />
Law for archaeologists: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/contract-law-for-archaeologists.html">Contracts</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/copyright-for-archaeologists.html">Copyright</a><br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/03/annotated-book-list.html">Annotated book list</a><br />
<br />
Buy <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html" target="_blank"><em>10 simple steps the book</em></a><br />
<br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em><br />
<em><br />
</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-54068309556527981452011-11-07T23:17:00.000+00:002012-04-14T11:33:54.433+01:00Book linksThis post provides links to the web sources and exercises for the <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html" target="_blank">10 Simple Steps book.</a><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Section 1</span></b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ggat.org.uk/">www.ggat.org.uk</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/">www.archivesnetworkwales.info</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/">welshjournals.llgc.org.uk</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.strataflorida.org/">www.strataflorida.org</a><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.mindtools.com/critpath.html">www.mindtools.com/critpath.html</a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.davidzinger.com/">www.davidzinger.com</a></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.gallup.com/consulting/52/employee-engagement.aspx">www.gallup.com/consulting/52/employee-engagement.aspx</a></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/media.html" target="_blank">Exercise 1</a></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Section 2</span></b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i>Step 1</i><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/2/2trowel2.html">www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/2/2trowel2.html</a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://leicester.academia.edu/MattEdgeworth/Books/174815/Acts_of_discovery_an_ethnography_of_an_archaeological_excavation">leicester.academia.edu/MattEdgeworth/Books/174815/Acts_of_discovery_an_ethnography_of_an_archaeological_excavation</a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i>Step 2</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/">www.archaeologists.net</a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/development/nos">www.archaeologists.net/development/nos</a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/redesigning-pyramid-archaeological.html">10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/redesigning-pyramid-archaeological.html</a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i>Step 3</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/buy/geek">www.cafepress.com/buy/geek</a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i>Step 4</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2007/10/07/should-we-take-off-those-training-wheels/">meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2007/10/07/should-we-take-off-those-training-wheels/</a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/development/cpd">www.archaeologists.net/development/cpd</a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 15px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 15px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 15px;"><i>Step 6</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.archaeology.demon.co.uk/">www.archaeology.demon.co.uk</a></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/publications/archaeologist">www.archaeologists.net/publications/archaeologist</a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><i>Step 7</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/codes/ifa">www.archaeologists.net/codes/ifa</a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i>Step 8</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/" style="font-family: Garamond;">archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Step 9</i><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.cscs.uk.com/">www.cscs.uk.com</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Step 10</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/practices/salary">www.archaeologists.net/practices/salary</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Section 3</span></b><br />
<br />
<i>Email</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.drthomasjackson.com/">http://www.drthomasjackson.com/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/alright-fine-ill-add-a-disclaimer-to-my-emails">http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/alright-fine-ill-add-a-disclaimer-to-my-emails</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://inboxzero.com/">http://inboxzero.com/</a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Getting Things Done</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.davidco.com/" style="font-family: Garamond;">www.davidco.com/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Time management</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/media.html" target="_blank">Exercise 2</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>360 degree evaluation</i><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><a class="external text" href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.64.2655&rep=rep1&type=pdf" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: url(data:image/png; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3366bb; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px; padding-right: 13px;">"Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/media.html" target="_blank">Exercise 3</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Section 4</b></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.carregffylfan.co.uk/media.html" target="_blank">Exercise 4</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Section 5</b></span><br />
<br />
<i>Quality systems</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.prince-officialsite.com/">http://www.prince-officialsite.com/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en/assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/standards-and-schemes/iso-9001/">http://www.bsigroup.com/en/assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/standards-and-schemes/iso-9001/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/regulation/organisations">http://www.archaeologists.net/regulation/organisations</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/training-and-skills/training-schemes/short-courses/project-management-using-morphe/">http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/training-and-skills/training-schemes/short-courses/project-management-using-morphe/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>PRINCE2</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.prince2.org.uk/home/home.asp">http://www.prince2.org.uk/home/home.asp</a><br />
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/training-and-skills/training-schemes/short-courses/project-management-using-morphe/">www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/training-and-skills/training-schemes/short-courses/project-management-using-morphe/</a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<i>Project Officers and Project Managers</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/redesigning-pyramid-archaeological.html">http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/redesigning-pyramid-archaeological.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html">http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://skepdic.com/myersb.html">http://skepdic.com/myersb.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Copyright</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm">http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm</a><br />
<br />
w<a href="http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm">ww.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm</a><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://savageminds.org/2007/12/19/an-open-access-case-study/">savageminds.org/2007/12/19/an-open-access-case-study/</a></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cla.co.uk/licences_available/library/">www.cla.co.uk/licences_available/library/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Commercial archaeology and the ethics of development</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/archaeology/documents/ronayne_wac.pdf">http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/archaeology/documents/ronayne_wac.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.friendsofthornborough.org.uk/">http://www.friendsofthornborough.org.uk/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/discover/the-history/">http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/discover/the-history/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7494474.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7494474.stm</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Recession</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/profession/recession">www.archaeologists.net/profession/recession</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Skills gap</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/downloads/HBRGuidanceFinalDraft2.pdf">www.eastlothian.gov.uk/downloads/HBRGuidanceFinalDraft2.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greylit/index.cfm">archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greylit/index.cfm</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/reports/66260/wickets-cherry-orchard-close">www.wessexarch.co.uk/reports/66260/wickets-cherry-orchard-close</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><i>Management gurus and the 10 simple steps</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo</a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.leanenterprise.org.uk/">http://www.leanenterprise.org.uk/</a><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-82731050484301764492011-08-18T19:56:00.000+01:002011-08-18T19:56:40.541+01:00Quick fix - email pop-upsWhenever I talk about time management, people's worst problem is email, which robs them of the ability to plan their own work and concentrate on completing it. Sometimes this is unavoidable - a project manager will have to keep up with emails as they arrive in case one is time critical. But often the messages are completely irrelevant, routine, or non-urgent, yet they will still have intruded upon the flow of thought. Studies have shown that after such an interruption it is likely to take 5-10 minutes before the worker returns to the original task. <br />
<br />
So how to fix it? <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/04/email-is-your-friend-not-your-enemy.html">One answer </a>is to make good use of filters and folders so that important messages can be spotted immediately. But the single simplest change you can make is to notifications. The defaults for Microsoft Outlook were devised at a time when email traffic was rare and messages were important, so a window pops up to say a new message has arrived; in such circumstances it takes an iron will to deliberately leave the message unread while you finish the sentence you were typing. It doesn't have to be this way. Under Outlook > Tools > Options > Email options > Advanced options, it is the work of a few seconds to change the notification to something less distracting, like an envelope on the task bar. <br />
<br />
Making this one simple change will give you back the feeling that you can control the way you use your time to best advantage.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-4117997416366927442010-12-10T23:18:00.000+00:002010-12-10T23:18:48.892+00:00Five things archaeologists can learn from The Last Lecture<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eg42JYafHX2uUlcgh-th6d-ogSCU05FV3wcBqmWg1aW6XhzSNc-HoymTI8wlnJ2haW5pKL0vkOe7bIfh8PicFoQVzTveHsNKG9BR-2ONe3CBv99PTKTem7K67e2sTEEUffZ3H3Ia7w/s1600/randypausch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eg42JYafHX2uUlcgh-th6d-ogSCU05FV3wcBqmWg1aW6XhzSNc-HoymTI8wlnJ2haW5pKL0vkOe7bIfh8PicFoQVzTveHsNKG9BR-2ONe3CBv99PTKTem7K67e2sTEEUffZ3H3Ia7w/s1600/randypausch.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Randy Pausch, 2005 image by Kevinull</div><br />
In 2007, Randy Pausch, a computer scientist, gave a talk about time management, work, life and everything, conscious that he had an inoperable cancer. The lecture has been turned into a book <a href="http://www.thelastlecture.com/">The Last Lecture</a><br />
<br />
The lecture is also available on Youtube: <br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ji5_MqicxSo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ji5_MqicxSo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Drawing mainly on the work of Stephen Covey and his own experience, he suggests that changing our priorities will make us mnore effective and happier. The whole thing is worth watching; I'd pick out the folliwng five points as the key learning for archaeologists. <br />
<br />
<strong>1 Mentoring is powerful</strong><br />
<br />
We look back fondly on places we did good work. We <strong>love </strong>places where we learned new things. It's not surprising, therefore, that our emotional connection to our alma mater is so powerful. How can we replicate this level of engagement and loyalty in a company? By repltiucting the core relationship of mentor and mentee, possibly as a formal structure, but at the very least as a key corporate value. An organisation in which people at all levels are clear about their future development paths and can depend on the interest and advice of their superiors is incredibly powerful and resilinet, and doesn't even cost much to implement.<br />
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<br />
<strong>2 Share success with the team</strong><br />
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It is inevitable from the shape of archaeological teams that only the senior staff are visible to the wider world of clients, media, and the profession. Some egalitarian managers attempt to overcome this by dragging their staff in to share the limelight, but this is a mistaken approach - what they want is to be respected and valued for the work they HAVE done, not to be given the credit for work they haven't. But make sure that if a project is a success, they know it - share the praise.<br />
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<strong>3 Don't skimp on tools and equipment</strong><br />
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Almsot all the cost of archaeology is the cost of staff time. If someone is idle for an hour because there aren't enough buckets, you've lost the price of a bucket in work. The same goes for computers, screens, everything else: against a year's salary almost all kit costs are trivial. Buy everybody a mobile phone, a GPS, a camera: anything that means they will be able to work smoothly. <br />
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<strong>4 Delegate</strong><br />
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There are enough management tasks that must reside in a single inidividual. Everything esle should be ruthlessly delegated. As with mentoring, this does not just improve effiecioncy, ift changes the atmosphere of the organisation from one that is static with defined roles, into a dynamic place where people can take on new responsibilities in a supportive environment.<br />
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<strong>5 Life's too short</strong><br />
<br />
If an archaeological organisation has reached the point where it is mechanically completing projects to a standardised methodology without generating new ideas and perspectives, it is wasting its time, and that of its staff. We should be bold enough to ask fundamental questions, to explore new topics that are thrown up by our work, to develop new methodlogies and abandon old ones. Life really is too short to spend it doing work that has no value to you or others.<br />
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<br />
<em>Buy </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html"><em>10 simple steps: the book</em></a> and <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/file-download/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management/2170376"><em>the e-book</em></a><br />
<br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-47074077682520637472010-12-10T15:53:00.001+00:002010-11-09T21:36:41.419+00:00Guide for new readersThis website started out as the developing contents of a talk at the 2008 IFA Conference, <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/10-simple-steps.html">10 simple steps to better archaeological management</a>, also available as <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html">a book </a>and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/03/ifa-conference-presentation.html">powerpoint</a>.<br />
<br />
Since then I have gone on adding material on <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/search/label/failing%20projects">how to deal with failing projects </a>, <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/search/label/failing%20projects">the law</a> and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/search/label/identity">ethics and identity</a>.<br />
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More recently I have covered questions arising from the impact of the downturn on archaeological organisations:<br />
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* <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/02/hard-time-economics.html">hard times economics</a><br />
* <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/02/archaeological-marketplace.html">marketing in a recession</a><br />
* <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/03/secret-of-painless-downsizing.html">downsizing</a><br />
* <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/coping-with-crunch-hard-times-are.html">what it means for organisations and individuals</a><br />
* <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/09/bridging-skills-gap-and-re-thinking.html">Bridging the skills gap</a><br />
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These expand on many of the themes raised in the paper I wrote with Kenny Aitchison, "Hard times: archaeology and the recession", <em>The Archaeologist</em> <strong>71</strong> (Spring 2009), 10-11.<br />
<br />
I am now looking at various management gurus and related topics to identify the lessons for archaeology in the<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/search/label/five%20things"> five things</a> series.<br />
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<em>Buy </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html"><em>10 simple steps: the book</em></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-90215779395295895472010-11-14T13:18:00.001+00:002012-06-16T22:17:33.363+01:00Five things archaeologists can learn from Lean Management<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing">Lean management</a> was defined as a concept in the 1990s by <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lean-Thinking-Banish-Create-Corporation/dp/0743231643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289252192&sr=8-1">Daniel T. Jones</a>, focused on assembly line industrial processes, but has since developed into a mini-discipline <a href="http://www.leanenterprise.org.uk/">http://www.leanenterprise.org.uk/</a> and has been extended into service industries and the public sector: <a href="http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/Lean_Engagement_Workshop_v1.pdf">lean management workshop at OGC</a>. At heart the approach is based on mapping your business processes, identifying waste, delays and bottlenecks, and re-designing your workflow to aim for perfection, building quality in rather than adding it on.<br />
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<strong>1. Define value in customer terms</strong><br />
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Archaeologists have two customers: the one that pays the bills, their clients, and the one they are answerable to for their conduct, future researchers. Activities that benefit neither should be dropped. <br />
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<strong>2. Follow the value stream</strong><br />
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Where do we do work that leads to customer value? Mostly at the report stage. Where don't we? At the data collection stage, creating multiply-redundant images and over-detailed records of deposits of little or no significance. Every recording activity carries a cost in creation and subsequent processing - we whould be bold enough to tailor our records to the needs of the resource (as we routinely do for watching briefs and test pits).<br />
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<strong>3. Reduce waste and failure demand</strong><br />
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The culture of quality audting leads to the erosion of personal responsibility: there's no need for me to check the text because the manager will anyway. And does the manager spend their time trying to reinterpret the site or rewrite the description when they should be auditing the process? Yes. They shouldn't: they should trust and empower the staff who have direct contact with the data.<br />
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<strong>4. Reduce inventory</strong><br />
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For most projects. the site is excavated and reported fairly quickly as a burst of activity, and then there follows a half-life while specialist reports are commissioned, written, and collated, and eventually tidied up for archive deposition and publication. As a result, archaeological contractors live surrounded by large numbers of nearly-complete projects along with their current work, which isn't good for anybody. Get stuff off the shelves and into museums.<br />
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<strong>5. Reduce time</strong><br />
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The long timescale also means that cash-flow can be problematic, since there will be fees outstanding until it's all wrapped up. In which case, wrap them up.<br />
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<em>Buy </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html"><em>10 simple steps: the book</em></a> and <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/file-download/10-simple-steps-to-better-archaeological-management/2170376"><em>the e-book</em></a><br />
<br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-31074317733762300302010-11-07T13:17:00.000+00:002010-11-07T13:17:43.487+00:00Five things archaeologists can learn from PRINCE2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xGiF0z6HE5-47cF2667G5c2mM8RcYNt8e0ffD9fe3bTVURjL-z5fO5YbDQQXq2mYJEAugdoC0rpLzsx3Oy4jr_0PFIMRA845FllNXSl8CGfPBcFiczLqgOcTZipnAo79CpOvSveC7w/s1600-h/logo-prince-2.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135432427582515010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xGiF0z6HE5-47cF2667G5c2mM8RcYNt8e0ffD9fe3bTVURjL-z5fO5YbDQQXq2mYJEAugdoC0rpLzsx3Oy4jr_0PFIMRA845FllNXSl8CGfPBcFiczLqgOcTZipnAo79CpOvSveC7w/s200/logo-prince-2.gif" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
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I've written about <a href="http://www.apmg-international.com/APMG-UK/PRINCE2/PRINCE2Home.asp">PRINCE2</a> <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-prince2-and-should-i-be-using.html">before</a>. The choice to use the PRINCE2 project management methodology has to be made at corporate level; it is rarely used in archaeology because the nature of its activities and problems do not play to PRINCE2's strengths. Nevertheless, the methodology is based on <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/search?q=voltaire">common sense</a> and experience of project management, so there should be some elements which can be applied.<br />
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<strong>All projects involve risk</strong><br />
-and if this is true of something like decorating an office, how much more true of projects where the nature and complexity of the archaeological resource is unknown, and the work is subject to weather conditions and logistical complications. So how can we <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/costs-and-risks.html">manage the risk</a>? We can minimise it, by ensuring that we exploit all available information, but we cannot eliminate it. If we expect the unexpected, our best strategy is to empower those on the spot with the authority and resources to respond to the emerging situation, while being ready to <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/failing-projects-2-how-to-save-failing.html">provide support</a> when needed.<br />
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<strong>Manage by stages</strong><br />
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Every project in <a href="http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/guidance/map2/">MAP2</a> and the IFA Standards starts with a big <a href="http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/guidance/map2/map2-ap1.htm#secta1">meeting </a>of all the specialists who may be involved, from palaeo and flint expert to illustrator and archivist. Luckily, in reality these meetings do not take place, because otherwise people would get even less done, without having any effect on the 90% of projects which do not in fact produce material requiring special consideration. There are planning horizons beyond which the imponderables become so great that time spent planning is not just wasted, it's actually harmfdul, since it distracts from what <em>can</em> be planned for. <br />
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<strong>Product-led planning</strong><br />
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The end results of a project are the archive and reports. Activities which do not contribute to either may well be pointless. Activities which do not lead to report content may also be pointless. <br />
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<strong>Continuing business justification</strong><br />
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Commercial archaeology is a business. Projects which have ceased to contribute positively to the business (especially financially) should be closed down. Projects which have <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-7-dont-overperform-spec.html">achieved their objectives</a> should be closed down. It is easy to allow projects to run on to their allotted end-date, but doing so is wasting time and money. Your time and money.<br />
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<strong>Learn from experience</strong><br />
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Archaeological businesses live and die on the quality of their estimation. Yet very few employ a formal process to review projects after the event to see whether the estimation was accurate. It is notorious that some types of project (eg desk-top studies and watching briefs) are very difficult to complete to a professional standard within the level of funding usually available. After a few have gone over-budget, maybe the lesson is that prices must rise or that this type of project should be avoided. Was it not Santana who said that those who don't remember the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them? (No it wasn't, it was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana">George Santayana</a>).<br />
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<br />
<em>Buy </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html"><em>10 simple steps: the book</em></a><br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-5464825823176734472010-10-23T15:49:00.003+01:002010-10-28T21:12:10.472+01:00Five things archaeologists can learn from The Apprentice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheLga7A7jTkLD9Y0Z5qsX5tKmZbL-wqSoyHAwLBer7A94hnFluZPog_WEv3CYo9sIwQg5r-vh2xsgeYlsPJfPnNuWyPeDhN0SY5q87kmQ_W03bty_tZbtrNMeExmeLqAgyc1NRTb_EQ/s1600/apprentice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheLga7A7jTkLD9Y0Z5qsX5tKmZbL-wqSoyHAwLBer7A94hnFluZPog_WEv3CYo9sIwQg5r-vh2xsgeYlsPJfPnNuWyPeDhN0SY5q87kmQ_W03bty_tZbtrNMeExmeLqAgyc1NRTb_EQ/s1600/apprentice.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Alan Sugar and the would-be apprentices (2009 series)</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo: AJC1</div><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/">The Apprentice</a> is a reality TV entertainment show, with the emphasis on entertainment rather than reality. But it is, nevertheless, instructive to those, like archaeologists, who are isolated from the day-to-day business environment, its culture and values. It may not present a wholly representative picture, but it is still possible to learn a little about how the world seems to those with a business role.<br />
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<strong>1. They don't care</strong><br />
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Not just about heritage, about anything. Business appears to be one big game, with money the way of keeping score. Someone who is willing to swear blind that their product is organic in order to close a sale is unlikely to be trouble by the moral issues raised by not obeying a planning condition. <br />
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See my posts on <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2009/05/being-positive-about-business-meetings.html">business meetings </a> , <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-not-to-say-at-client-meeting.html">what not to say at a client meeting</a> and<a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-5-communication.html"> Step 5: communication</a>.<br />
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<strong>2. They know nothing</strong><br />
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They stopped reading when they discovered money. They may vaguely recall Elizabeth I, but don't count on it. Archaeologist will need to explain from first principles about Planning Guidance, types of project, curators and contractors, post-excavation, archives and publication. Don't assume that they know what you, or they, should be doing. They don't.<br />
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<strong>3. "Project manager" means nothing</strong><br />
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There was a time when being a project manager implied a level of experience, competence and responsibility, and to introduce oneself as the archaeological project manager meant something that should be respected. This has been eroded recently, and when fitting a kitchen or washing cars can be 'project managed' then clearly the term has lost much of its meaning.<br />
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See my post on <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-2-labels.html">Step 2: labels</a>.<br />
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<strong>4. They wear the uniform</strong><br />
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The phot above neatly demonstrates my <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-3-image.html">discussion of image</a>. Although no dress code has ever been formalised, grey suits and black dresses have emerged as the uniform of business. These days there is much more tolerance of idiosyncrasies such as weird hair and jewellery, but it is still true that business people will only respect people who dress like them.<br />
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<strong>5. Results are what matters</strong><br />
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If money is the yardstick applied to success, expect an uphill struggle trying to persuade them to spend more than necessary. At a certain level of maturity and seniority, company staff may be willing to consider the soft benefits of feel-good spending, but the default mode is cost minimisation. Expect this - and make sure that you have <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/costs-and-risks.html">costed for everything you need</a>.<br />
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So, to conclude: business people have a different set of values, and when communicating with them, bear this in mind.<br />
<br />
<em>Buy <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html">10 simple steps: the book</a></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Transform your business with a <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html">10 simple steps workshop</a>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-19175720509212931262010-10-19T23:12:00.001+01:002010-11-06T11:35:35.449+00:00Five things archaeologists can learn from Dragon's Den<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Peter_Jones_Dragons_Den.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Peter_Jones_Dragons_Den.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Jones<br />
By Simontrend, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's not surprising that archaeologists are, on the whole, pretty poor business people: they don't want to be business people. But an industry that employs thousands of people in hundred of companies, partnerships and freelance operations, turning over £100m a year, <strong>IS</strong> a business: the question is whether we embrace that fact, and see what we can do to improve, or we ignore it and trust to luck. <br />
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It is possible to learn a lot about business from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/">Dragon's Den</a>: not so much from the revolutionary rubber hammers, innovative chocolate teapots, and re-engineered sliced bread that hopes to be the best thing since the original sliced bread, but from the pooled practical experience of the entrepreneurs. After a while their questioning starts to form a pattern, from which I'd highlight these:<br />
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<strong>1 Has it been done before?</strong><br />
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Businesses based on innovation need to think about this all the time. Archaeology, less so, at first blush. But of course we build out work on existing knowledge. We should be prepared to invest in analysing results of previous work in the area before firing up the JCB on a new site. See <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-8-archaeology-isnt-just-excavation.html">Step 8</a><br />
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<strong>2 What's the IPR position?</strong> <br />
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Working with ideas and information intrinsically raises a whole range of issues about ownership, protection and licensing. Specifically, archaeologists generally use, as part of their commercial work, mapping, structured data and images created by others. They should be clear about what <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2010/01/copyright-and-economics-of.html">copyright</a> they own and what <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/copyright-for-archaeologists.html">copyright they use. </a><br />
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<strong>3 Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity</strong><br />
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It's depressing to see how hard archaeologists work, yet leave to chance whether their businesses produce a surplus. Typically they rely on estimating the likely work and charging accordingly, unaware that they are effectively gambling on the absence of complex archaeology, and gambling with the company's money. Don't do that: follow <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/costs-and-risks.html">Step 6</a> and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/coping-with-crunch-hard-times-are.html">Coping with the crunch</a> and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-7-dont-overperform-spec.html">Step 7</a><br />
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<strong>4 It's the people not the product</strong><br />
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Every successful business is built on its staff. If flint-hearted Gecko clones know this, archaeologists should too. Follow <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-4-invest-in-training.html">Step 4</a> and <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-10-look-after-junior-staff.html">Step 10</a>.<br />
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<strong>5 Are there hidden costs?</strong><br />
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Most organisations carry along with them a lot of baggage - time and resources that have been sunk into things which have yet to bear fruit, or uncosted commitments that there is a contractual or moral obligation to fulfill at some point. Maybe archaeologists don't need to tell others about them, but they certainly ought to be aware of them. These loose ends should be reviewed, quantified and allocated to someone to take ownership of, even if they're not actually being progressed. See <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/step-8-archaeology-isnt-just-excavation.html">Step 8</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Buy </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/out-now-10-simple-steps-book.html"><em>10 simple steps: the book</em></a><br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-55168334966031778112010-09-02T22:29:00.002+01:002010-10-27T18:13:51.298+01:00Keeping it safeTim Darvill wrote a couple of interesting papers in the 1990s on the concept of value in heritage management. <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=W2IDOk2QTEwC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=darvill+management+use+value&source=bl&ots=MvXg6repYO&sig=aum8RrVmhG7hzDpOE8w7Txm6F8M&hl=en&ei=Ur5hTKT7HKS60gTO14WDCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false">value systems in archaeology </a> he distinguished between <b>Use value </b>(what we get from using a resource now, by, say, digging it up with some students), <b>Option value </b>(what we get from keeping a site for now for possible use later) and <b>Existence value </b>(the vague feeling of well-being derived from knowing that something is there, without actually using it [as many people feel about libraries or, perhaps, the Royal Opera House]). What he skirted was the question of how these values affected heritage management practice. <br />
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The <a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/icontent/inPages/docs/codes/Stewardship2008.pdf">IFA Standard and Guidance for Stewardship </a>says that: <br />
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<blockquote>Stewardship protects and enhances what is valued in inherited<br />
historic assets and places. It responds to the needs and<br />
perceptions of people today and seeks to have regard for the needs<br />
of those in the future. The stewardship role includes undertaking<br />
conservation management tasks, communicating the public value<br />
of the heritage, promoting community awareness of the historic<br />
environment and encouraging active engagement in protection and<br />
enhancement.</blockquote><br />
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This is a longer way of explaining the key planning principle which <a href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1514132.pdf">PPG5 (2010)</a> words as: "A documentary record of our past is not as valuable as retaining the heritage asset" (HE12a), or in the old PPG16, that preservation <i>in situ </i> was the preferred option for archaeological sites.<br />
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So archaeologists and planners are agreed: sites are best off looked after, not dug up. This can lead to some strange outcomes, where an early 20th century shed in a development site is lovingly protected, while Scheduled Ancient Monuments continue to be ploughed (because they have been before, so that's all right) or dug up by students, or washed away. <br />
<br />
It's interesting to consider what would happen if restrictions on excavation of SAMs were to be lifted (on the reasonable grounds that in 50 years time they will be underwater or enduring arid conditions anyway), so that archaeological activity could focus on investigating the best-preserved and most-interesting sites rather than the marginal ones. True, we would have to endure the scrutiny of our descendants, just as we criticise the Egyptologists who trashed the pharoah's tombs, but we could at least say that we found out some useful stuff.<br />
<br />
Edit: fixed typos<br />
<br />
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<em></em><br />
<br />
<em>Transform your business with a </em><a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/transform-your-company-with-10-simple.html"><em>10 simple steps workshop</em></a><em>.</em><br />
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</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-37450811106168125042010-04-01T23:00:00.001+01:002010-04-01T23:01:11.299+01:00Can't we all just get along?As I said <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/step-1-identity.html">a long time ago,</a> archaeologists often start with an innocent belief that they share the interests and roles of all otehr archaeologists. If only, they think, we could get the planners and builders and architects out of the room, we could sort out the rescue response required in two minutes flat, and everyone would be happy. Maybe. But probably not - because, just as lawyers are supposed to protect their client's interests, archaeologists have a responsibility to their clients, whoever they are. An archaeologist who agrees to do more archaeological work than the situation requires is acting unethically. A planning archaeologist who demands more archaeological work than the evidence supports is acting unethically. Strangely enough, in all the concern that has been expressed about the strains that commercial interests may impose on archaeological judgements, this has never been said. A recent research project looking at the <a href="http://www.heneb.co.uk/cadwprojs/cadwreview2008/archaeologicaldecisionmaking.html">Evaluation of Archaeological Decision-making Processes<br />
and Sampling Strategies in Wales</a> was<br />
<blockquote>"a valuable opportunity to step back, take stock and think more generally about the strengths and weaknesses of developer-funded archaeological work and the role of development control archaeologists in Wales." <br />
</blockquote><br />
This project would look carefully at the data used in DC responses to developments, whether the judgements were reasonable, and whether the predicted archaeological resource was present or not. Well, it would if I had scoped it. The report has now been produced and I will return to it in another post.<br />
<br />
For now I just want to emphasise that no, we can't all just get along. But this need not mean that we are in league with the devil. Andrew Marvell made this point eloquentaly in his paper to the IfA Conference last year, now published on Scribd: <br />
<br />
<br />
<a title="View The New WHS Trowel-Paper given to the Institute for Archaeologists conference 2009. on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/22155304/The-New-WHS-Trowel-Paper-given-to-the-Institute-for-Archaeologists-conference-2009" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">The New WHS Trowel-Paper given to the Institute for Archaeologists conference 2009.</a> <object id="doc_136704554952714" name="doc_136704554952714" height="500" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" rel="media:document" resource="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=22155304&access_key=key-i2dbjwmdsoduwrh0p82&page=1&viewMode=list" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/searchmonkey/media/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=22155304&access_key=key-i2dbjwmdsoduwrh0p82&page=1&viewMode=list"><embed id="doc_136704554952714" name="doc_136704554952714" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=22155304&access_key=key-i2dbjwmdsoduwrh0p82&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="500" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-23004205152008767242010-01-30T15:54:00.000+00:002010-01-30T15:54:45.237+00:00Copyright and the economics of archaeological publishingI am not a lawyer, but I have seen and signed a lot of publishing agreements, and there is a lot of confusion out there, especially now that digitisation has given new life to old and forgotten print articles.<br />
<br />
<b>Whose copyright in the first place?</b><br />
<br />
Copyright belongs to the creator initially, automatically, unless it is being created as part of your employment, in which case it is usually the employer's. So for most commercial archaeologists, it isn't their own perosnal property. Things may be complicated by the inclusion of otehr material (illsutrations, mps and photographs) with their own rights owners. And even more complex if the original developer was one of those who require their contractors to assign copyright to them - so that a unit and its staff may have to ask permission to publish their report.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Publishing agreements</b><br />
<br />
The terms on which a publisher agrees to publish a work vary considerably. In commercial scientific publishing, it used to be standard to require authors to sign the copyright over to the publisher (this is now changing significantly as the <a href="http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm">open access movement</a> has led to pressure to allow authors to keep copyright), while in archaeology, particularly for one-off volumes, authros were asked only for a licence. In most cases, until recently, the question as never raised: if there is no signed agreement ceding copyright to the publisher then it would still with the author (or employer or client). It is administratively convenient for publishers to hold copyright, allowing them to republish, sell in other markets, and handle incoming re-print requests without a lot of correspondence. On the other hand, it may mean that authors are (or feel) precluded from re-using their work themselves (in a book or on a website) or granting others the right to re-use it. <br />
<br />
Authors faced with a strict demand for assignment of copyright have limited room for manouever - it may be completely non-negotiable (<a href="http://savageminds.org/2007/12/19/an-open-access-case-study/">or said to be</a>), or the author may be allowed to retain a licence so that they can do stuff in the future. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Economics</b><br />
<br />
Aside from the question of what you might want to do (or authorise otehr to do) with your work, there is the question of who makes money out of it. The short answer is, alas, nobody. Most journals and book series riley on institutionl subscriptions from universities round the world as the main market - a few hundred at most. Although the rates may be high, these need to compensate for the high start-up costs for printing and distribution (it is only in the thousands when unit costs drop, beaing spread out over so many). So most journals do not pay their authors, editoirs or reviewers for initial publication rights. And they don't make a lot more from selling rights on, either - £50 or £100 for reprint rights. Relying on arcaheological publication fees for your pesnion is not a good plan. There is one possible route for income, though: the <br />
<a href="http://www.cla.co.uk/licences_available/library/">CLA Sticker scheme</a>, which collects fees from people who photocopy artciels and distribute them to regsietred authors. Unfortunately, you have to register your publications with them, and pay a small fee, to be included, and of the course this is only worthwhile if you expecte there to be a fair number of copies made (in which context it is worth pointing out that only twice in my life have I ever met anyone who has said they read on emy articles, let alone copied it, let alone paid a fee).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-479093265088680382009-11-28T11:10:00.002+00:002009-11-28T15:39:16.802+00:00Curatorial practice after the crunchThey tell us that the recession is over. Over the next few years, the rate of development will increase, and commercial archaeology will be back in business, and even if it doesn't reach the frantic heights of the recent gold rush, curatorial archaeologists will be kept busy (unless a new government decides that heritage is an impediment to economic growth). There is now a breathing space in which curators have a chance to consider whether any chnages in approach are needed. I think the answer is yes, based on how it worked before (excessive documentation, delays in response, inconsistency), but also because of changes that can be foreseen. The next decade will see a revival in construction and its associated archaeological activity at the same time as savage cuts in local government budgets, falling especially heavily on non-statutory functions. It will be a lucky curatorial service that retains its current staff while facing a doubled workload. Something's gotta give - but what? An answer which would work would be a shift to light-touch regulation. The Corgi gas servicing scheme had training and accrediation for workers, but very limited inspection of work done. Maybe this is a model that could be considered for archaeology. What would this entail in practice?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Trusting the record</b><br />
In assessing the possible impact of a development on archaeology, it is possible to spend an enormous amount of time wondering "if there's a flint over there, and a flint in that field, surely there must be a henge here?", or "Fred's been fieldwalking round there for years - I wonder if he's got anything in his notebooks?", or "I'll just check the early OS map and the tithe map and the APs to see if anything turns up". You should rely on the HER to tell you where the known arcaheology is. If the rason you can't is because the HER is an inadequate record of known arcaheology, then you should a) hang your head in shame that after 35 years it still isn't doing what it was supposed to do, and b) invest significant resources in enhancing it.<br />
<br />
<b> <br />
Focusing on important stuff</b><br />
Every development might affect archaeology, known or unknown. These days, Total Archaeology runs up to the present, so any development will have an affect - removing a fecne or a lamp-post. Obviously we cannot hope to save, monitor or record it all. There will be losses. Focus on the major stuff - big holes in important sites.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Relying on Standard Operating Procedure</b><br />
Don't re-invent the wheel. Almost all of curatorial and contractual archaeology involves applying a standard set of principles and practices to the specific requirements of an individual development. Most of these principles and practices are shared with the rest of the UK archaeology community, so you should think twice befoe developing local variants, and three times before tailoring them to single projects. There's no shame in saying "do the same as usual". <br />
<br />
<b>Trusting the contractor</b><br />
The contractor is being paid to examine in great detail the development, to identify the main impacts, think about the arcaheological effects, and devising a programme of mitigation. They are being paid to prvide a professional service. Let them. If they are accredited orgaisnations or people, they have passed a gatekeeper test and are subject to monitoring by the IfA. You don't need to check whether they have costed for Portaloos or have chosen the right Roman pottery specialist. So don't check. Reserve the right to inspect if you wish, but do so sparingly. <br />
<br />
<b>Communicating quickly</b><br />
Telephones eat time. Writing eats time. Handle all possible communications by email: a one-sentence message confirming a spec can be written in 10 seconds (after allowing 5 minutes to scan through the key archaeological elements). If you get FAQs from developers or planners, put a FAQ page on the website or send it to them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Don't stretch a point</b><br />
What also eats up time is arguing about things like landscape character. Preparing an argument takes a long time if you are having to justify a largely arbitrary and personal view. So don't do it. If you have managed to protect the hard archaeology then you've done the most important part of your job. Heritage has become an easy piece of ammo for NIMBYs, leading you into controversies in which the impacts on archaeology are negligible. Any time that you find that you are having to do a lot of research before you can comment, you're probably trying too hard to find something to complain about.<br />
<br />
<br />
I for one will not accept any claims from curators that they are under-reseourced and over-worked unless they can claim to have followed the above. Yes, it's hard work, but it's your job, so get on with it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6315323136652710212.post-22561045138401096122009-11-12T23:06:00.000+00:002009-11-12T23:06:15.039+00:00CPD: no more excusesFairly quietly, and fairly uncontroversially, the <b>I<i>f</i>A </b> has just transformed the way that professional archaeologists must behave, by making it <a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=451">compulsory </a>for their members to undertake 25 hours of CPD a year in line with a <a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/icontent/index.php?page=20">Personal Development Plan</a> [templates for CPD log and PDP available on their site]. From a vague statement in the code of conduct that archaeologists have a duty to keep themselves well-trained and informed, identifying training needs and fulfilling them has become one of the key responsibilities of a professional worthy of the name. This is good news - I believe that those who claim to be unable to locate any skill gaps either are already in fact managing a lot of CPD or haven't thought about it enough, or at all. They should start with <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/12/drawing-up-personal-action-plan.html">my Action Plan</a>.<br />
<br />
The impact of the rule change will vary - in organisations which are <a href="http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">Investors In People </a>, employees will already have PDPs which cover both employment-focused and personal development. For others, employers will probably have to accept that training their staff is something they will have to do, and possibly pay for. <br />
<br />
But what if the employer can't or won't. Here are some suggestions for CPD activities that will cost little or nothing but will have a instant payoff:<br />
<br />
* read the legislation and guidance - Planning Policy, the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Araes Act, the Valetta Convention, Environmental Information Regulations. These are quite interesting once you get into them, and will equip you with a much better grasp of the overall context of your work.<br />
<br />
* Time management - Read <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/06/getting-thinsg-done-review.html">Getting Things Done</a> and implement it; make an <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/igoogle-can-change-your-life.html">iGoogle homepage</a> ; or just read some advice online.<br />
<br />
* Read some journals. <a href="http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/collections/blurbs/793.cfm">Medieval Archaeology</a>, <a href="http://www.le.ac.uk/has/ps/index.html">PPS</a>, <a href="http://www.romansociety.org/publications/journals/britannia.html">Britannia</a>, and <a href="http://www.spma.org.uk/journal.php">Post-Medieval Archaeology</a> contain interesting book reviews and reports as well as excavation accounts - now reading them is <i>work</i>.<br />
<br />
* Attend one or two day-schools or events. Maybe ones you wouldn't normally go to.<br />
<br />
* Generic skills: negotiation, assertiveness, project management, team leadership, effective meetings, report writing.<br />
<br />
* Presentation skills: <a href="http://10simplesteps.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-and-bad-powerpoint.html">Powerpoint</a>, html, Word<br />
<br />
* Master digital photography - find out what ll those buttons actually do, nd see if you can take some photos that show what they are supposed to<br />
<br />
<br />
That should keep you busy for the first two or three years.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0