The effectiveness of a DS project can be evaluated in a number of ways, including clarity, ease of use, and effectiveness in accomplishing its goals.
Digital scholarship is a constantly evolving and expanding world, meaning new projects are contantly being developed. While at first this may make it a bit confusing, it does have the advantage that projects with similar goals to yours (either in presentation or in dataset) most likely exist, offering a place to start from in terms of project conception and inspiration.
Performing this kind of "environmental scan" (similar to creating an inital research bibliography!) can often prove fruitful. This makes the ability to quickly evaluate a DS project beneficial, offering quick suggestions for tools or techniques you might explore and utilize or avoid entirely.
Attached is short document we use when quickly evaluating a DS project. It is broken down into several sections useful to highlight and consider as you move forward in your own project. Additionally, several links are provided focusing on the evaluation of DH projects, particually as DH is becoming more accepted within disciplines as a means for promotion and tenure.