“The joys of upgrading!” Or, lessons learned from a simple upgrade
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2018-12-31

This paper follows on from the New Systems for Old and Into the Field with Intrasis CAA UK papers given in 2009 and 2011, where we at Fort Cumberland first explained how we chose and implemented our digital recording system.  The world of digital recording doesn’t stand still - we recently upgraded our decade-old off-the-shelf software (Intrasis) to the latest version, incorporating a partial revision of our data template and a wholesale replacement of associated hardware, and thought we’d share our new findings with anyone contemplating a similar task with any of the currently available systems on the market.  Our goals were driven by the increased potential to empower users to do more with their data, and included keeping our system current, exploiting a number of significant software improvements, and getting ready for wireless networking as a precursor to true “trench-side” digital recording.  

Fundamental changes to the new software presented challenges migrating existing databases, and also caused us to re-evaluate some of our existing working practices and most of our training materials  to match the new interface – activities that were probably long overdue.  There was a cost in terms of highly-skilled staff time to carry out the upgrade and revise both materials and procedures, a new training cost for existing staff, and a cost in terms of project management that are all additional to the headline costs of actual software and hardware, and also are additional to the normal running cost of the system.  Using our specific example with Intrasis, the aim of this paper is to highlight the broad processes and key issues that will confront anyone trying to maintain a complex digital recording system over the long term so they can plan effectively.  It should be of interest to developers, users, and managers alike.

Tom Cromwell