The H.C. Andersen Centre – University of Southern Denmark

Digitising H.C. Andersen’s complete works

The H.C. Andersen Centre at SDU in Odense had an important task and mandate to digitise and centralise H.C. Andersen’s complete works in a digital solution, to be made accessible to interested parties worldwide.

Clear communication and important system integrations were key, as the complete solution was to be designed and developed by Morningtrain.

Problem

The primary challenge for the H.C. Andersen Centre was to create the right digital solution to support the presentation of the different types of works.

Another key part of the challenge was how to make the visualisation and presentation as broad as possible. It needed to appeal both to the very different age groups of visitors and to the wide range of visitors’ nationalities, as the website’s target audience was H.C. Andersen enthusiasts from all over the world.

Plan

The plan began with an extensive design and concept phase, in which the complete digital solution was outlined and designed with all the necessary details. There were many needs and stakeholders, and the process had to ensure these were met and involved.

Next came the technical implementation, including an integration with TEI Publisher to display the digitised works in the chosen WordPress solution, tied together by a Laravel API. The technical solution was then developed in close dialogue with the client.

Result

The result was a digital solution delivered on time, meeting all defined requirements and functions—while still staying within the allocated budget scope.

The website project was prepared for launch, and a continued collaboration was initiated for ongoing development and support to continuously expand the H.C. Andersen universe.

Technical integrations build a bridge to the past

Collection Management System integration

Building a bridge between stories from the past and today’s communication often requires outstanding technical integrations. In this case, a connection had to be established between the large data archive of older content from H.C. Andersen’s works, which existed in multiple language versions and different file formats such as .pdf and epub, etc.

Our developers ensured that the various data, as well as data from TEI Publisher, was made searchable and readable in the digital solution, including by ensuring a strong integration with the underlying Collection Management System.

Collaboration that drives progress

ScrumButs agile development process ensured progress

The collaboration between the H.C. Andersen Centre and Morningtrain was exceptionally strong, as the project was based on well-structured frameworks that enabled ongoing development and sparring between the project participants.

In addition, frequent meetings were prioritised by both parties, strengthening the mutual collaboration and ensuring that misunderstandings never had the chance to spiral out of control.

Budget in focus

Time-boxing ensures project finances

In public-sector projects, it is often crucial that the project can be delivered within the allocated budget.
This is because getting approval for additional budget is often a time-consuming and drawn-out process that can unnecessarily delay the overall project launch.

We used the time-box model to manage the project finances, ensuring that the most important priorities and functions were implemented within scope. It also provided ongoing alignment of expectations regarding need-to-have and nice-to-have functions and features in the project.

See the complete solution here