De facto standardisation: template database models as a path to adoption
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 14/11/2020

The modelling of project data, whether for an individual researcher or small research group, has  been  a  significant  hurdle  in  the  uptake  of  the  Heurist  data  management  system  (http://HeuristNetwork.org). Even though Heurist removes the technical hurdles of development, the effort of thinking about entities, attributes and connections is generally too hard for someone who simply “wants to get started”. Our initial response to this problem was to provide a number of template databases which could be ‘quarried’ for suitable structures and ensure a degree of interoperability/standardization  -  not  through  prescription,  but  by  offering  the  path  of  least effort. However the array of choices in a generic system such as Heurist, and lack of example data or guidance on use once set up, still proved a barrier. In 2018 we started developing a more complete  set  of  database  templates  which  can  be  cloned  to  form  a  new  database,  including  example data and a configurable ‘dashboard’ providing an initial view and explanation of the functions most relevant to that particular domain/database. In this paper we will describe some of the Archaeology / small museum templates we have developed and offer observations on the degree of uptake and consequent standardization effects, as well as reflecting on the difficulties in  developing  generic  templates  which  strike  a  balance  between  providing  a  comprehensive  model and creation of a system which overpowers the potential user.


Ian Johnson