This method presupposes
- a careful analysis and definition of all important information categories to be covered by the research in question.
- very close cooperation between - in this case - mother tongue linguists (delivering the material), method specialists (lexicographers) and computer analysts (databases, object management, whether it is text, sound or image).
The rationale behind this approach is that an important end product of adequate quality which is there after five years, ready to use, is better than a piece of perfection in twenty years' time. This goes both for the research, the researchers and the public. The experience gained by presenting solid research in usable form to the public does more to sharpen research the second time round than long term polishing will do.
Strict planning
The ALLEX Project starts each project element by setting the date for the finished product, and then working out the plan backwards, calculating how much can be achieved with the resources at hand (man power, time, money). Research manuals are produced, setting out conventions and standards for each product. In house training has been a constant feature. We try to break down the work to the smallest possible units and measure how long each item takes - for instance - how long does it take a student on attachment to transcribe a recording of 30 minutes? How much database revision can an experienced editor do in one day, or one working week? And since all project work is teamwork, stored in databases that all have reading access to, it is easy to check on progress.
Training at many levels
In addition to running in house training and annual workshops, The ALLEX Project has made use of
- guest reseacherships for UZ staff - a three month stay at UO, with a predefined work plan including supervision and support
- Ph. D. scholarships and practical support for UZ staff
- The methods for product planning have also been applied to planned training.
The training of Ph. D. scholars from UZ who have received their financing by means of the ALLEX Project. All the ALLEX Ph. D. scholars have had sandwich scholarships, dividing their time between UZ and UO. They have all obtained places at the UO Arts Faculty training programme for Ph. D. scholars, which has been essential to progress and success.
The aim for personal development is to ensure that all project participants become both good generalists AND find a field in which to specialise. Personal development for team members is an aim for both technical and scientific participants within the ALLEX Project. In some cases contributors coming into the project part time and from outside, have been offered training through the ALLEX project, in order to strengthen links between the ALLEX Project at UZ and other UZ institutions. At UO, the University Library has leant support to project development within their field of expertise.
Division of labour
Good planning entails division of labour. Once a task has been defined, those who take it on have responsibility for seeing through, and for reporting both on progress and hindrances. As ALLEX project members have gained experience, we have seen that the younger, recently recruited participants gain competence and confidence very quickly. The first general Ndebele dictionary had a Ph. D. scholar as its chief editor. As the only linguist in the Ndebele team he had to take it on. Three of the specialised dictionaries published after 2001 have been researched and written by junior staff members at ALRI. Lexicographic and linguistic competence has to a large extent been generalised in the course of the ALLEX Project.
Designing and creating databases, corpora and language parsers is a different matter. Most team members have been involved in discussions and plans for these tools and products of the ALLEX Project, and they have used them extensively in different contexts. The finalising of ALLEX end products no longer depends on UO support. But computer expertise applied to linguistic categorisation and analysis has not been developed to the stage of UZ self sufficiency so far, and outside input is still essential.
Division of labour also means that once the annual work plan and the budget are in place, the UZ team relies on UO team members to do their bit and vice versa.
Internal communication
The project organisation is open and all project steering documents are accessible to all team members. Project aims are clear, and the project organisation is transparent and in accordance with local regulations at UZ and UO. This means that internal communication can and should be open, also on issues where someone has to be disappointed. The ALLEX Project leadership on both sides cannot work miracles, but it has tried to make a point of being accessible, of giving work opportunities to junior team members, and of making visible the importance of all team effort. The ALLEX Project has also been fortunate in attracting enthousiastic, hard working and capable participants at all levels.