Topic 3. Project time management
3.2 Defining critical timelines – scheduling tasks and outcomes
There are three main phases to the time management of your project.
The planning phase
The framework. The two documents you need to refer to are: (i) your original proposal, which sets out the investigators, the project timetable and goals, and the budget; and (ii) the funding agreement or research contract, which determines the level and duration of funding, any special conditions, and reporting requirements. Read the funding agreement/research contract closely. The target dates set in this document will be the ‘skeleton’ on which you will build the body of your management plan.
Establish priorities for getting started. Estimate the time required for each activity and determine what resources you need in order to commence the project: do you have the physical and electronic resources in place to commence the project? Do you need to recruit personnel? Have you identified suitable students? Identify any constraints that might affect progress.
The scheduling phase
‘Plan the work’ and ‘work the plan’. You know what has to be achieved and by when it must be done. Now you need to map out the process, and stick to your plan. Essentially this means managing people and activities to deliver the expected outcome (even if there is only one person, and that person is you). For each activity:
- Set a time limit for completion of the activity.
- Identify what resources are needed and any budgetary limitations.
- Identify who will have overall responsibility (possibly a postdoctoral researcher) and what that responsibility entails (monitoring, reporting, budgeting).
- Identify who will perform project tasks (research assistants and/or students). Set time limits for the smaller components, detail how you want progress reported, and obtain a commitment from each person.
Team meetings. Communicating regularly with your team is essential. Establish a timetable of compulsory weekly meetings for project personnel at which individual team members will report on their activities. If problems arise, they can be discussed and remedial action taken in a timely manner. In the case of a large, collaborative project that has a management committee, make sure you hold regular committee meetings so that all stakeholders are kept informed of activities and progress.
Minutes of Meetings. These should be typed up as soon as possible after the meeting and either circulated or stored electronically where they can be accessed by everyone.
Staff leave entitlements and their implications. Allow for periods of leave for yourself and your project personnel. There are some categories of leave that you simply cannot plan for, such as extended sick leave or parental leave, but be aware that your progress will be affected if a key researcher is away for an extended period.
Reporting against timelines. You know when reports are due and the extent of information to be provided. Set aside sufficient time in your management plan for report writing, or you will find yourself missing the deadline and placing your project in jeopardy.
Conference papers and publications. Establish from the outset what conferences you will attend and a project publication target. Will you present a poster or a paper at the conference? Decide which journal(s) you will target and check their requirements. Decide how much time each author will need and factor it into their individual timetables.
Scheduling time for your own research. As your research career takes off, and you find yourself managing several projects simultaneously, it will get more difficult to factor in time for your own research. In each project management plan, make sure you schedule time for your own research. If you don’t, your own productivity will fall behind, your research reputation will suffer, and so will your research income.
Writing applications for new grants. Most research grants and research contracts run for 3 years, and the lead time for application and approval of a new grant is usually 1 year. Therefore, towards the end of the second year you need to be developing your next research proposal. The due date for submission will probably coincide with a progress/milestone report for your current grant, and the final report for a previous one; you need sufficient time to complete all these writing tasks. Developing an application is a time-consuming task and you must plan to set aside a significant amount of time for this activity. You may find that you are writing up to eight or nine applications each year, so you need to factor this into your overall time management plan.
The control phase.
The control phase comprises the checks and balances you establish to ensure that the project is being conducted in accordance with your plan, that targets/milestones/reports are on schedule and conform to funding agreement/contract requirements, and that the cost of the research activities remains within budget.
Monitoring task and phase completions. The only way you are going to ensure that you and your team are meeting reporting or milestone deadlines is to set a date in your plan, say 10 days before the event is due, to check on progress. If project personnel know you are monitoring their progress, they will be more focused. People do what you inspect, not what you expect! Incorporate a quality system into your monitoring activities so that you establish a culture of continuous improvement.
Integrating accountabilities for project outcomes in researcher roles. Different sections have referred to giving specific responsibilities to project personnel, in particular to postdoctoral researchers, as this provides valuable training. Give clear advice about your expectations and the nature and level of their responsibility. Maintain a record of their activities and outcomes so that you can discuss their progress. Where these activities are accompanied by financial responsibility, provide them with the necessary guidelines, resources, and authorisation. Keep a close eye on transactions and set a schedule for the submission of expenditure reports.
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