Project management

Most library services will be part of a larger organization, whether a council, college or business, which will have its own approach to high-level project management, and to which the service will have to conform. This may be one of a variety of approaches, ranging from PRINCE2 to the simpler Critical Path Method, and a detailed description of this level of project management is outside the scope of this book. It is highly likely, however, that some form of Project Initiation Document (PID) will be required, describing in some detail why the project is required, how it will be managed, the costs and the planned outcomes.

In this way the parent organization can satisfy itself that its rules for capital investment will be met – and so make funds available – as well as minimize risk and ensure that the project is planned, organized and managed correctly. It will be crucial to the success of the project that the service meets all of its parent body's requirements in terms of project sponsorship, management and control, particularly if the release of funds is staged according to milestone targets being achieved.

Rather than dwelling on these vital but high-level and fairly generic aspects of project management, this chapter concentrates on the more pragmatic elements of putting library RFID into practice and outlines the main areas that will need to be covered.

Risk management

Regardless of the higher-level project management approach adopted, it is highly likely that some form of risk management process will be required. This can be comparatively straightforward, but needs to be an honest and robust assessment of the possible obstacles that might lie ahead and of the likelihood of their happening. Table 11.1 shows a simple chart, outlining some possible risks arising from RFID and assessing the level of their possible impact, with proposed plans to address them.

This approach is simple, but if used rigorously can still be effective. However, this rigour is vital if the process is not to be simply a token gesture.