Treatment proposals

Explain the possible short and long-term conservation strategies.

Check-list :
Explicit the possible strategies
Analysis of pro and cons
Comparison and final choice
Time-pressure
Ideal and restricted proposals

 

Identify the equipment significance

The various stakeholders should decide which elements affect the ideological or historic substance of the work and those that satisfy only a functional purpose.

Check-list :
Distinguish playback equipment and display equipment.
Identify the value of each device (functional, aesthetical, conceptual, historical)
Is the equipment purely functional or not?
Can the function of the equipment be mapped without discernable change?
Is the equipment visible or hidden from the viewer?
Consider the scientific and cultural project of the institution
Consider the behavior of representation artifacts and its look and feel.

Matters in Media Art, Questionnaire from Pip Laurenson (Equipment significance) (download)

Risks evaluation and analysis 

Use an inventory of each item and evaluate each component regarding risks. Then analyze these risks in order to anticipate and organize conservation plan regarding time pressure.

-Identify the risks: what has the past taught us, and what future risks can be expected that will shorten the lifespan of the equipment?
-Dysfunction
-Obsolescence
-Hardware-software dependency
-Loss of skills
-Loss of the editor support (for proprietary software)
-Time-pressure: how quickly should actions be taken to avert the threats or minimize their impact? What are the likely consequences of waiting too long?

Strategies analysis

Analysis of strategies is used to define and anticipate solutions to future issues. It is done by phasing correlated with the equipment significance and risk assessment.

Check-list :
Analysis of all strategies
Skip on strategies technically not doable
Analysis of possible strategies regarding risks and feasibility

Useful link : Docam, The decision tree