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Re: [ARSCLIST] Please help: quantifying progress
Steven C. Barr wrote:
For any collection which consists (as this one does) of a given finite
number
of physical objects..."quantifying progress" is a relatively simple
process!
You simply need to use "X," the number of objects processed, as a
percentage of "T," the total number of such objects in the collection
with which you are dealing...!
Thus, you have successfully "processed" 13xx negatives, out of a collection
of however many...or, in other words, N% of the total number of negatives.
It MIGHT be possible to make a rough estimate of your progress by measuring
the relative height of the stack of processed negatives as a percentage
of the
height of the total stack...but that is both difficult and unreliable...!
Since you can easily learn the number you have processed (the database
program should tell you the number of completed data records in the file)
all you need is a fairly accurate estimate of the total number of negatives
in your archive (you may or may not have this...I would assume you
do...?!).
Comment ca va?
Again, I am an amateur at this sort of thing. Still some comments may be
worth offering.
Percentage completion is a measure, of course, but may be of little or
no value. If selection of instances is systematic with respect to the
relative difficulty of cases or is truly random, that may do it.
However, there is always the tendency - exacerbated by the desire to
show quick results - to tackle the easier parts first.
There is a comparable problem with database records. As information is
collected, it is presumably entered into the database. For example, when
cataloguing LPs, label, number, title(s) and the rest are simple to
enter from the jacket. Matrix, take and more require more effort and may
be deferred while basic data are recorded for each disc in the
collection. Measuring either by initial entry or by completed entry is
suspect at best.
To continue with the simplistic points, management's desire for measures
of completion is fully understandable. It is not necessarily related to
assessment of the staff; it will surely affect planning the effort and
seeking the funds needed to continue it. Unfortunately, recognizing the
need for measures does not assist in developing them.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/