While project management is widely popular, this popularity mainly relates to application areas outside of academic research. In part, this is because the position of a project manager is typically rare in academic settings, and project management therefore needs to be performed by research scientists themselves.
While the skills required to perform research successfully are already numerous, project management is often not given much attention and is rarely part of undergraduate or graduate curricula. Despite this, the ability to complete research projects on time and in line with their objectives is essential.
For this reason, we focus here on the essential aspects of research project management and provide guidance on how to get started effectively.
What are the essential elements of a research project?
First, we explore the specific characteristics of research projects as a basis for their effective management. All research projects share three fundamental elements: a goal, a timeline, and a budget.
The goal of a project is defined at the very beginning. Although this may sound trivial, defining clear goals in research is far from easy and is one of the most important factors for project success.
The timeline of a research project is an aspect that is frequently overlooked.
However, creating timelines is an excellent way to think systematically about the tasks required to achieve the overall goal.
This is particularly important in collaborative research projects.
For this reason, research grant applications typically require the definition of milestones and associated timelines.
Finally, advance budget planning is essential to give projects a realistic chance of success.
What is project management in research?
The primary goal of research project management is to achieve project objectives on time and within the allocated budget.
- Define a clear overall research goal
- Break the goal down into achievable tasks
- Identify dependencies between tasks
- Create a realistic timeline
- Define milestones
- Identify required resources
- Plan budgets
- Identify risks and mitigation strategies
Manage your research projects with Foldercase
Foldercase enables effective project management and was designed specifically for scientific work. It provides Gantt charts, Kanban boards, wikis, and communication tools tailored to collaborative research.