Project
Management
Faculty Orientation
University of Tennessee
Adapted from Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to
Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty
(2nd Edition)
• Deciding on a Project
• Statement of Work
• Defining the Audience
• Project Schedules
• Project Management : A series of flexible and
iterative steps through which you identify where you
want to go, a reasonable way to get there, with
specifics of who will do what and when
• Deciding on project – defining overall objective
– Consider all resources
– Ask:
• What experiments need to be conducted to write a research
paper and submit it for publication before the grant deadline?
• Is there enough time to obtain the necessary data?
• Which students and post-docs could generate these data?
• Planning helps to accurately anticipate time
and resources needed for a project
• Work backwards from the stated objective:
“To get an R01 funded within 1½ years, I must…”
• Obtain final data for the grant proposal (12 months)
• Submit the grant with preliminary data (9 months)
• Submit a paper for publication (6 months)
• Integrate data and start writing a manuscript (5 months)
• Complete the initial set of experiments (1-5 months)
• Each step is then planned more carefully …
• How long will it take?
• Do we have the necessary people?
• Do we have the funds?
• Statement of Work – a written document that
clearly explains the project in four sections:
Purpose, Objectives, Constraints, Assumptions
• Purpose – why the project is being considered
– Background
– Scope of Work
– Strategy
• Objectives – end results of the project:
– Statement
– Measures
– Specifications
• Constraints- Restrictions on the project
– Limitations: Constraints set by others
– Needs: Constraints set by the project team
• Assumptions – unknowns posited in
developing the plan
• Flexibility – As project progresses, goals may
change
– Build in periodic reviews of results against
objectives
– Remember that it is never too late to redirect or
stop work altogether
• Define your audience – know the people and
groups that have in interest in your project,
are affected by it, or are needed to support it
– List the project’s audiences (within and outside of
your institution)
– Divide audience into three categories:
Drivers, Supporters, and Observers
• Drivers – individuals who define what your project will
produce and what constitutes success; PI (main driver),
competitors and collaborators, scientific journal editors,
study section reviewers
• Supporters – People who will perform the work or
make the work possible
• Observers – Those who do not fall into the
first two categories
• An outline of all the work that will have to be
performed for the project
– Start with broad work assignments
– Break down into activities / divide into discrete
steps
• Consider both time and resources needed
• Create a timeline (think in 1- and 2-week increments)
• Some team members might need more detail than others (i.e.,
undergrads vs. experienced post-doc)
– Level of detail; based on the WBS can…
• You determine a reasonable estimate of resources for this work?
• You determine a reasonable estimate of the time required?
• Anyone responsible for the activity understand it well enough to do
it to your satisfaction?
• Develop a Project Schedule – Outline the order
of activities and the needed time and resources:
1. Identify activities and events from the WBS
2. Identify constraints from the Statement of Work
3. Determine durations of different activities; if more than one
person will be involved, who will be doing them
4. Decide on the order of performance
5. Develop an initial schedule
6. Revise your schedule as necessary
• Schedule development tools:
• Key Events Schedule (KES)
• Activities Plan
• Gantt Chart
• PERT Chart
A simple table showing events and target dates for reaching them.
A table showing
activities and
their planned
start and end
dates
A graph
consisting of
horizontal
bars that
depict the
start date and
duration for
each activity.
• Project Management Software
– Microsoft Project and Act! (Symantec)
– Also see www.project-management-software.org
• PI as Manager: main research driver and manager
– Champions the project for the project audience
– Removes obstacles for the project team
– Provides resources, access to essential equipment, and
technical skills
– Communicates the project vision to keep the team motivated
and focused
– Communicates with department chair, sponsor, journal editors
and external collaborators
• Flexibility – Careful stewardship includes
developing strategies and contingency plans to
reduce the likelihood of deviations
