A Round Table Discussion:

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A Round Table Discussion
CAURA WEST 2009

• Project Management in Research

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Research Project Management from the Trenches

• Kelly Fox
• SSHRC MCRI Project Manager
• Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage
• Department of Archaeology, SFU
• Project Director George Nicholas (SFU)
• Co-developers
• Kelly Bannister (University of Victoria)
• Julie Hollowell (DePauw University)
• Research Grant Facilitator
• Beverly Neufeld, Faculty of Arts and Social
  Sciences, SFU

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The Project Life Cycle

• Conceiving and defining the project
• Planning
• Implementing (while Monitoring Controlling)
• Completing and evaluating

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Four Phases of Project Management

• I III
• Determine objectives Monitor performance
• Select strategy Take corrective action
• Provide feedback
• Negotiate for materials/services
• II Resolve differences
• Write specifications
• Develop schedule IV
• Develop budget Deliver output
• Wrap up admin
  details
• Evaluate the experience
• Marion E. Haynes. 2002. Project Management
  practical tools for success. Boston Thompson
  Learning.

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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
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Holiday Preparation Gantt Chart
55 Complete
1 Food
60 Complete
50 Complete
100 Complete
0 Complete
75 Complete
2 Gifts
70 Complete
50 Complete
0 Complete
0 Complete
0 Complete
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Gifts PERT Chart
F
D
C
G
60
10
50
A
B
E
A Knit Sweater B Wrap Gifts C Purchase Dog
Toy D Purchase Watch E Purchase Laptop F, G,
H - Float
H
Which Events are Milestones?
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• I tended to blame individuals in bureaucracies
  for problems when I should have had a better
  grasp of the culture of institutions.
• Harrison, Barbra. 2001. Designing Collaborative
  Programs. In Collaborative Programs in Indigenous
  Communities, from Fieldwork to Practice. pp.
  79-102. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek.

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A Variety of Approaches

• There are a number of approaches to managing
  project activities, including Critical Path (time
  constrained), Critical Chain (resource
  constrained), and Agile (process view of human
  collaboration less documentation more face to
  face interaction).
• For all approaches, overall project objectives,
  timelines, and costs must be mapped, and the
  roles and responsibilities of all participants
  and stakeholders must be defined.

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Fitting the Approach to the Project or Sub-project

• Approaches lie on a continuum from "adaptive" to
  "predictive.
• The Agile approach is on the "adaptive" side of
  the continuum.
• Adaptive methods focus on adapting quickly to
  changing realities.
• An adaptive team changes with the changing needs
  of a project.
• Fits well with Critical Theory and its Discourse
  of Possibility.
• The Predictive Approach has difficulty changing
  direction.

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Communication

• Common language shared terms

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Key Parameters

• Quality
• Time
• Cost

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Defining the Project

• Gather background data, analyse, and discuss
• Write a project definition
• Set outcome(s)
• List needs and wants
• Generate alternative strategies (brainstorm)
• Evaluate alternatives
• Choose a course of action

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Planning the Project

• Planning Quality
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• From WBS, determine specifications for each step
• WBS can also assist with planning time and cost

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Planning the Project

• Planning Time
• Duration of each step
• Earliest time step can be initiated
• Latest time step can be initiated

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Time Estimate

• ?e ?o 4?? ?p figure out a clearer
  way
• 6
• s ?p ?o
• 6
• ?? most probable time
• ?o optimistic time (1 finished in this time)
• ?p pessimistic time (99 finished in this
  time)
• ?e calculated time estimate
• 68.26 in one s 95.44 in two s 99. 73 in 3 s

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Planning Cost

• Experience
• Ask people with experience
• Tri-Agency Financial Administrative Guide
• Considerations
• Inflation
• Currency exchange
• Price increases by suppliers (particularly if
  monopoly)

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Implementation

• Controlling the work in progress
• Providing feedback
• Negotiating for materials, supplies services
• Resolving differences

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Controlling Work in Progress

• Establishing standards
• Monitoring performance
• Taking corrective action

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Establishing Standards

• Control Point Identification Charts
• Project Control Charts
• Milestone Charts
• Budget Control Charts

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Monitoring Performance

• Inspection
• Interim progress reviews
• Listener
• Contributor
• Integrator
• leader
• Testing
• auditing

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Taking Corrective Action

• If falling behind
• Renegotiate
• Recover during later steps
• Narrow scope
• Deploy more resources
• Accept substitution
• Seek alternative resources
• Accept partial delivery
• Offer incentives
• Demand compliance

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Taking Corrective Action

• Providing feedback

intentions
actions
results
feedback
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Negotiation

• Prepare
• Minimize perceptual differences
• Listen
• Take notes
• Be creative
• Help the other party
• Make good trade-offs
• Be quick to apologize
• Avoid ultimatums
• Set realistic deadlines

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Resolving differences

• Demanding
• my way high assertiveness, low cooperation
• Problem solving
• our way high assertiveness, high cooperation
• Bargaining
• our way moderate assertiveness, moderate
  cooperation
• Giving in
• your way low assertiveness, high cooperation

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Common Sources of Differences

• Allocation of human resources
• Use of equipment and facilities
• Costs
• Technical opinions
• Administrative procedures
• Responsibilities
• Scheduling
• Priorities

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Completion and Evaluation