[LINK] CSIRO quizzed on $9.47m web site

[Adam Todd]

At 00:52 18/02/2005 +1100, Eric Scheid wrote:
>On 17/2/05 10:16 PM, "Craig Sanders" <cas at taz.net.au> wrote:
> > only an idiot (or a parasite consultant, but i repeat myself) would 
> retype it
> > all.  anyone with any sense would write a script or set of scripts to 
> import
> > it (and do whatever layout & format conversions are necessary).
>
>software is a magic bullet?
>
>a set of scripts to import & format doesn't address the trickier part of
>such a project -- re-evaluating the hierarchical organisation, grouping, and
>structuring of the content, including re-evaluating whether the names and
>labels given to the various intermediary groups or levels are appropriate
>for the audience.

Wasn't this the HEADACHE and DIZZY SPIN I was referring to, but put more 
articulately by yourself :)

Hey, even *I* would be scared of taking on the CSIRO's website(s), I've 
ploughed through a few in the past, just out of interest, or out of 
requirement, and in some cases even because someone at CSIRO wanted to show 
me things.

In those experienced I'd probably seen less than a fraction of a fraction 
of a percent of the available information that was ONLINE at the time, yet 
alone what is NOT online and constantly being demanded between departments 
for research or otherwise.

It would take a dozen of Links TOP Librarians and Techies and designers, 
probably 3 to 5 years, working 18 hour days to combine all the data and 
information, create the structure and make it functional.

I think you'll find if you add up even average salaries required to pay a 
LINK team to go out and do such a project, you'd probably come up at a 
higher figure!

Personally, I still think it's cheap, based on the very limited information 
available, but I'm happy to assess the merits of the whole project and 
determine if what was done was done reasonably or was over price.