Argus by Lucidea - Evaluation

About this evaluation

This evaluation was performed on January 26, 2018 with a representative from Lucidea. It was evaluated by eight members of the museum community and reflects their personal opinion. These evaluations were based on a set list of tasks in a limited period of time. It is always recommended that you request a demonstration of any product in which you may be interested based on your specific requirements.

Evaluator ratings

The following table shows the ratings given to this software by members of the museum community. To understand what these ratings mean, please refer to our Scoring System & Evaluation Guide.

Each rating given is scored out of a maximum of five points. The larger the Standard Deviation number, the wider the range of scores for that task.

Task Average Standard Deviation
Online data entry 3.5 0.8
Publish a record to the web 4.0 0.8
Set user permissions and groups 3.8 0.5
View audit trails or change log 3.5 0.9
Import data 4.0 0.8
Export data 3.4 0.7
Create a local terminology list 3.4 0.5
Upload or attach images and files 4.5 0.5
Catalogue an object 4.1 1.0
Batch modify a set of records 3.6 0.7
Multilingual capabilities 3.3 0.5
Customize a catalogue entry page 3.9 0.8
Create a template record 2.9 1.4
Generate and/or build a report 3.8 0.7
Perform basic search 4.1 0.4
Perform advanced search 4.4 0.5
Browse records 3.6 0.5
Create an exhibit 4.0 0.8
Enter condition report information 3.9 0.6

Evaluator comments

The following comments have been provided by our evaluators after they rated the performance of each task. These are selected comments drawn from the "Additional Comments" section of the evaluation form.

  • They said, "There is a lot more we can show you!" I wish we had had time… I would have loved to have seen more…
  • Overall - I am very impressed with this system. It seems to be very user-friendly, the interface is attractive yet functional. Many of the functions also seem quite intuitive which makes me feel it would be an easy system to use and implement. I also know the product can also be scaled to accommodate professionals working at smaller museums as well, which is an important feature for many museums in our province.
  • They also mentioned:
    • Auto-generates finding aids and can be used for archives.
    • Sister product – SKCA? – (archival management system).
  • The application had impressive functionality overall. However, screen presentation was often busy and/or cluttered and not particularly viewer friendly. Tiny font for audit trails is one example. I was impressed by the option to integrate the archival application.
  • Very customizable – very powerful - more complex as a result. But administrator can set for groups of users (e.g. volunteers) limited view/options, so that functionality and information presentation can be suitably simple for those groups.
  • Can put archival material directly into Argus database, or can use the SKCA sister product with specific archival functionality.
  • Providing a range of review options when doing data entry would be helpful. How multiple users editing the same record at the same time is handled in a "live" environment requires further clarification.
    • Vendor comments: Within Argus there is no need for the record to be locked during the edit process; this allows multiple concurrent users to work on the record without waiting for others to complete their work. The record is updated after the save button is clicked—if the edits do not conflict with changes made by others the record is simply saved. If another user has edited the same data, the system will provide options on the screen as to how the user they can proceed. No data is lost during this process; Argus always retains record history and versions.
  • Looks clean with relatively simple tabs and modules for ease of use;
  • Built-in design tools allows institutions to customize database which appears to be fairly simple;
  • Via follow-up question: Vendor claims that regular updates will not compromise data nor alter format changes – this is reassuring.
  • Argus can manage archive collections, but they also offer an Archive Application (SKCA) which is a more comprehensive system and can cross-reference with objects in Argus CMS.
  • Generally, I find the product cumbersome. Too many tabs. Entering records for an exhibition of loaned works that includes 200-plus objects is time-consuming.
    • Vendor comments: During implementation, clients can remove any unwanted tabs/fields, consolidate as they wish, or add custom requirements.
    • If a user wants to add a large number of objects to an exhibit there are a number of ways that Argus can streamline this process. It allows users to add multiple objects at once via a search (all search options fully available), add data via a CSV import, or copy/paste a previous exhibit and update as needed.

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