10 Unmissable Tips for a Successful DAM Implementation from Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
Photo by Olivia Raney/Mote Marine Laboratory.
Choosing a digital asset management (DAM) platform is the easiest part of implementation. Once you’ve selected your digital asset management system, the real work begins.
Just ask Senior Manager of Creative Services, Alexis Crabtree, and Library & Archives Director, Jaime Fogel. Both work at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, whose team implemented and uses the Terentia DAM solution. They recently divulged the secrets of their success at Henry Stewart’s DAM and Museums event.
The information they shared was too good not to promote with our Terentia community. We’ve broken down their talk into 10 actionable tips you can adopt to help smooth the transition to a new DAM solution.
1. Understand your user needs
The groundwork for any implementation should be done long before selecting a digital asset management system.
At Mote, their search started a year before they chose a DAM platform. Jaime said, “Our search included conducting interviews with different departments across the organization to determine our needs.”
In Mote’s case, they interviewed key stakeholders across 17 different departments, uncovering various use cases they hadn’t thought of when first making plans for a digital asset management system.
2. Create a governance document
If there was a single tip that the Mote team emphasized, it was documenting governance decisions. As Jaime put it, “We cannot strongly enough recommend creating some type of governance documentation from the very beginning.”
The key to success is making governance documents easy to access and update. Mote set up an internal governance website using Google Sites, so they could efficiently document their decisions.
But the team didn’t stop with its creation. They continue to meet regularly with the governance committee to update the site, so current and future administrators could track what actions were taken and why.
A few things you can include in your governance documentation include:
Organization-specific metadata templates
Folder structure
User roles and permissions
Tracking for metrics and goals
3. Choose a governance committee
Once you have a place to store your rules, you need a group to help implement them. To do that, Mote set up a governance committee.
“The governance committee helps vet and manage anticipated changes to our protocols and policies and assists us, as we expand implementation of the system throughout the organization,” Jaime said.
This governance committee is an integral part of change management. Be strategic in selecting committee members to ensure you’ll have DAM advocates who understand your digital asset management system, how it works, and what it can do for the organization.
Also, consider how many people you want on your governance committee. Choose a number large enough to help, but not so populace that internal decision-making becomes difficult.
4. Give your DAM a unique name
Connecting with a DAM platform is sometimes easier if you call it a meaningful name that goes beyond the vendor’s. For instance, Mote decided on “CLARK” as the name for their system.
This choice was very deliberate and worked on two levels. Firstly, CLARK is an acronym for Cyber Library for Accessible Resources and Knowledge. However, it also references Mote’s founder, Eugenie Clark, and connects the DAM system to their history.
5. Ensure assets get uploaded to the DAM
One of the hardest things to maintain during implementation, and even afterwards, is ensuring users upload assets to the DAM platform. Mote found a creative solution to encourage their staff to make the switch.
Scientists at Mote receive a financial incentive when they publish scientific studies. To submit their papers, previously these researchers would send them by email to one of three people—a workflow that often led to confusion.
Enter the Mote’s DAM system, CLARK, to remedy the situation. Now, scientists are required to upload their publications directly into the platform to receive that monetary incentive.
Though this workflow wouldn’t fit every organization, your DAM system can consolidate your processes and tools if you establish it as the only place to store digital assets. As a result, users are encouraged to rely on the DAM platform and upload assets with consistency.
6. Develop DAM-centric workflows
Finding ways to add your new digital asset management system into your organization’s workflows is another way to simplify implementation. Mote not only adapted workflows to their DAM solution, they also looked for existing systems that it could replace or augment.
“We’re always trying to find ways to replace or consolidate existing systems,” Alexis said. For instance, they integrated the DAM system with the backend of their website, so that it houses elements of the website in a single system, rather than multiple systems.
This change empowered them to make their DAM platform central to the organization, encouraging users to view it as a single source of truth.
7. Hold regular training sessions
Another way to ensure your organization benefits from your DAM is offering regular training.
At Mote, Alexis and Jaime meet with department managers ahead of time to discuss potential workflows or issues the DAM could help resolve. They then hold training sessions one to two times per month.
While attendance is mandatory, Jaime and Alexis do everything possible to make the classes targeted, productive, and fun. In particular, they train one group at a time, turning each workshop into a working session where users accomplish tasks relevant to them.
The team also maintains a training manual on Google Sites, including videos, screenshots, and written instructions to help users when Alexis and Jaime aren’t present to guide them.
8. Have a robust project management structure
As Jaime and Alexis put it, “Implementing a DAM system [across an organization] is a very large undertaking—bigger than you think.” And it requires structure to put it into place.
Mote set up a structure that deals with macro issues and the nitty gritty, day-to-day tasks that need to be accomplished.
They recommended following a setup similar to this:
Once a year: Choose SMART Goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. These are the big-picture priorities that you can share with decision-makers.
Quarterly: Meet with your governing board to adjust your SMART priorities and engage stakeholders in the decision-making processes.
Monthly/Bi-weekly: Set sprints that allow you to track monthly and weekly goals.
Weekly: Schedule work sessions to accomplish the tasks you set for your sprint.
Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory.
9. Ask for help
Jaime and Alexis pointed out that you can’t set up a DAM system alone. You’ll need a team to keep things running smoothly.
Mote takes a “harnessing the power of people” approach by employing these roles:
Super admin: The DAM manager(s) who oversees the whole digital asset management system.
Governance committee: The internal team for looking at big-picture questions, such as where to focus their DAM efforts and championing the system.
Area admins: This group manages materials for different departments. For example, the area admin for the Education department manages the educational assets.
Volunteers: Jaime and Alexis enlisted volunteers to assist with admin tasks, such as editing and improving metadata.
Users: Every member of the Mote system can view and upload materials, making them part of the larger team.
Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory.
10. Track DAM metrics
You may have implemented your digital asset management system, but how can you gauge its success?
Mote tracks and monitors DAM metrics, such as the number of assets, asset types, and users in the system. To gauge user engagement, they also consider anecdotal feedback and optimization workshops.
These metrics allow them to make a case for decision-makers to continue investing in the DAM system. Analyzing the data also shows Jaime and Alexis where they can improve upon the user experience for Mote’s staff.
Implementing a digital asset management system involves careful planning, collaboration, and ongoing effort to ensure success.
However, all that planning pays dividends later on. Mote has developed DAM workflows and processes that work well for them, allowing them to maintain assets across 17 departments in eight different locations.
Start your DAM journey with Terentia
If you’re early on in your DAM journey, get in touch! Terentia can share how we partner with organizations like Mote to support the digital asset management needs of museums and cultural institutions.
Start the conversation today or schedule a demo with our team.