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Handover Priorities - 2 Months Remaining

Current Status

  • 2,800 photos captured from pressed plant specimens
  • Physical access: Herbarium for specimens/equipment, camera, photography box
  • Network access: Work network for email, SharePoint, Microsoft services
  • Original task: Digitize specimens + create spreadsheet of labels/DAS numbers
  • Goal: Maximize tools and workflows for successor

Immediate Priorities (Next 2 Months)

Phase 1: Process Existing Photos (Week 1-2)

Objective: Get maximum value from 2.8k photos already captured

  1. Bulk OCR Processing
  2. Run toolkit on all 2,800 images using fastest engines (Vision/Tesseract)
  3. Generate initial CSV with extracted labels and confidence scores

  4. Flag low-confidence results for manual review

  5. Quick Quality Assessment

  6. Sample 100-200 results to assess OCR accuracy
  7. Identify common failure patterns
  8. Document preprocessing needs (lighting, contrast, rotation)

Phase 2: Streamline Review Workflow (Week 3-4)

Objective: Create efficient review process for successor

  1. Optimize Review Interface
  2. Set up web review interface for side-by-side image/text comparison
  3. Configure batch approval workflows

  4. Create shortcuts for common corrections (collector names, locations)

  5. Institutional Integration

  6. Export review-ready spreadsheets to SharePoint
  7. Set up import/export workflows with Microsoft services
  8. Document network connectivity requirements

Phase 3: Knowledge Transfer Package (Week 5-6)

Objective: Complete handover documentation

  1. Successor Onboarding Guide
  2. Step-by-step processing workflow
  3. Camera setup and photography best practices
  4. Common troubleshooting scenarios

  5. Network setup and SharePoint integration

  6. Institutional Deliverables

  7. Final processed dataset from 2.8k photos
  8. Quality metrics and accuracy assessment
  9. Recommended workflow for remaining specimens
  10. Cost/time estimates for future work

Phase 4: Future-Proofing (Week 7-8)

Objective: Set up successor for long-term success

  1. Automation Setup
  2. Configure batch processing scripts
  3. Set up scheduled exports to institutional systems

  4. Document maintenance and updates

  5. Expansion Planning

  6. Recommend hardware/software for scaling
  7. Document integration with GBIF and other databases
  8. Create roadmap for remaining collection digitization

Key Deliverables for Successor

Technical Package

  • Fully processed dataset from 2,800 photos
  • Working OCR + review workflow
  • SharePoint integration scripts
  • Installation and setup documentation

Institutional Package

  • Spreadsheet template with standardized fields
  • Quality control procedures
  • Network setup and security documentation
  • Cost/benefit analysis for continued digitization

Knowledge Package

  • Photography best practices guide
  • Common specimen types and OCR challenges
  • Workflow optimization lessons learned
  • Contact information for technical support

Success Metrics

  • Data: All 2,800 photos processed with quality scores
  • Workflow: Successor can process 50+ specimens/day
  • Integration: Seamless handoff to SharePoint/institutional systems
  • Sustainability: Clear path for remaining collection digitization

Risk Mitigation

  • Time constraints: Focus on core workflow before advanced features
  • Technical complexity: Emphasize documentation and training over optimization
  • Institutional continuity: Package everything for offline operation if network access limited

This document prioritizes practical deliverables over technical development, maximizing impact for institutional continuity and successor productivity.

[AAFC]: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada [GBIF]: Global Biodiversity Information Facility [DwC]: Darwin Core [OCR]: Optical Character Recognition [API]: Application Programming Interface [CSV]: Comma-Separated Values [IPT]: Integrated Publishing Toolkit [TDWG]: Taxonomic Databases Working Group