On Tue, 14 Oct 1997 16:18:47 -0400, you wrote:

>We have just installed an in-house temporary exhibition and our
>administration is interested in finding a way to evaluate the process
>of the development, fabrication, installation, marketing etc. of the
>show.  This is meant to be an evaluation by our staff of how we did
>what we did.  We are trying to find a way of making the evaluation
>objective instead of just a "gripe session".
>
>Does anyone out there have a form that they use for such evaluation?
>Do you have a list of crietria you use for exhibit develpment that we
>could use as a basis for evaluation?
>Do you know of a book or resource that might have such information?
>(we are not interested in visitor evaluation, we have info. on that but
>on how to get objective evalutaion out of our staff.)
>
>Thank you in advance for your assistance.
>
>Sylvia S. Duggan

        I do not have direct museum experience of setting up
exhibitions but I do have a wealth of knowledge about Project
Management.  I have thirty years work experience and, for the last 15
years or so have consulted, written, lectured and given a large number
of seminars on the subject.  
I am also a member of the board of directors of the Laguna Art Museum.

To start off, organizing and setting up a museum exhibition is a
PROJECT.  The criteria for a project is that it must be definable
undertaking, it must have a beginning and an end, also a budget of
resources needed and it has to have a criteria by which its completion
can be measured.  

Therefore, the first requirement in evaluating a project is to ask:
What is the goal or purpose for this exhibition?   If there isn't a
stated and documented goal,  Lose your turn and go back to GO.

Once defined, the next question is do you have a list of key dates as
to when critical aspects must be accomplished in order to meet the
scheduled completion of the exhibition?   If you don't, don't be
surprised if you are late or in a panic.  Lose one turn.

Once defined and scheduled, the next question is whether you have
estimated the cost in manhours, purchases, insurance, etc,etc.?   If
not, don't be surprised if you run out of money.  Go back ten places.

What this process does is to force you to THINK THROUGH the project
and  plan how you are going to accomplish your goal.  This includes
defining  the key steps, determining who will do what and, VERY
IMPORTANT, who will be the person responsible to get the job done.
(This covers what he or she will do as well as the organizing and
overseeing what all the other contributors will do.)

        A famous saying, attributed to numerous historic leaders that
best covers the point:

        Plans are meaningless but
                Planning is everything.

Another way of looking at this is that if you set up an evaluation
system based on producing certain pieces of paper  or following x
number of steps in preparing a schedule, you may not  "...see the
forest"   

In my opinion, the most useful criteria for evaluating the results of
a project (exhibition) is to ask the questions listed above and to see
if the individual or the team did in fact go through the thinking,
defining  and  planning process, (one that took into account the
actual conditions and circumstances of the specific project) AND THEN
STUCK TO IT.

One last note is to mention that in the ever important field of
Quality Control, and especially the so called ISO 9000 international
standards, " Quality is not gold plating, it is doing what you set out
to do."

Enough lecturing for one day.    Sylvia, I hope you will share with
the List what you learn from your inquiry.

John Bing
Laguna Beach CA
--
John A. Bing
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