The productive use of boundaries in a collaborative digital project

This experience report discusses the inherently collaborative nature of multimodal projects. We argue that teams working on digital publications in particular must have established governance structures that are rigid enough to outline the responsibilities of each role while flexible enough to ensure individual agency and adapt to changes in technology and staff turnover. We use our experiences working on Sherlockian.net, an important resource for the Sherlock Holmes fan community, to provide examples of the collaborative nature of digital projects and illustrate the importance of proper governance. The report concludes with the following actionable recommendations for others working on similar projects: build teams with varied skill sets, establish expectations for collaborative practices, specify the governance and workflow of the project, ensure that all procedures are constantly updated to reflect changes in technology and staff composition, and provide space within the established guidelines and procedures for individual agency.