When it came to data and this project, I once again thought I had things pretty well figured out. Take the information provided in the programs, take the information that we could find about each individual song, combine them each into their own CSV’s, plug them into the site, add the program PDFs, deploy to GitHub, and we’re good to go from there.

Of course, once again, that was only the beginning. Not only did we need to include what types of files were going to be in the project and how they would be named, but also:

• Who is responsible for backups in case we lose access to Google Drive / GitHub?
• Are the data file formats sustainable?

I hadn’t thought of keeping a copy of our data on a hard drive just in case (foolishly thinking that this is what the cloud was for) or that data file formats may not be sustainable (despite living through the Death of Flash). We really had to flesh out responsibilities relating to data, how we wanted to name / organize our files, what we were doing for backups, and what do we do if we lost our information.

In so doing, we became more familiar with what ownership of data means as well as why we are doing what we are doing when it comes to the backbone of the site (beyond well, this is what the framework needs). CSV’s and PDF’s aren’t proprietary, so we won’t need to worry about losing access to the data files in the future. Also, by agreeing on our file naming conventions now, we can ensure a cleaner repository in the future. Doing the DMP continued to help us as a team continue to be on the same page when it comes to file organization, our audience, data access, and contingency plans. Having these decisions made early in the game helps us to focus on our research, secure in the knowledge that we are prepared for what comes next.