A Human Approach to Effective Research Project Management

Professor Tony Bertram and Professor Chris PascalCentre for Research in Early Childhood

WorkshopBECERA 11 Birmingham

Project Management

Traditionally project management has focused on the detailed construction and implementation of a fairly mechanistic and structural work plan strategy

Gannt charts Prince 2 plans Critical path analysis Work plans etc... This workshop gives an example of this BUT

focuses on the human side of project management as in our experience it is this that can trip you up!

Strategy 1: Identifying Design Faults

Starting too late with collecting the evidence

Collecting too little evidence Depending on cooperation or

participation that did not occur Evidence required is too complex for

short project Not anticipating interruptions or

suspension

Identifying Design Faults

Trying to finish too soon Not drawing a line to allow a

manageable analysis Committing too much to memory and

writing only cryptic notes Neglecting research timeline and going

round in circles NB These faults are typical but not fatal

Strategy 2: Responding to Design Faults

A typology of four responses when things go wrong (NPQICL)

1. A passenger: puts up with faults hoping they will go away, sort themselves out and is just one of those things.

Responding to Design Faults

2. A prisoner: leaves the design unaltered but feels annoyed, resentful, angry and uncomfortable about the faults and blames others.

Responding to Design Faults

3. A protester: Acknowledges and tackles the task but with little hope, without seeking help and with an angry insistence that the fault is not of their own making.

Response to Design Faults

4. A participant: Admits the problem Writes in their journal the possible causes for

the faults Stops digging the same hole more deeply Acknowledges that something has to be

dobe differently Gets a second opinion Tentatively tries doing things ‘differently’ Then rethinks the design Fully and faithfully records the process

Strategy 3: Knowing What Things Can Go Wrong

A low response rate A key contact leaves You lose an essential reference Your work on the computer crashes, is

not saved or gets lost There is too little or too much evidence The questions you ask do not work or do

not get the data you wanted The evidence is chaotic, hard to

organise and make sense of

Strategy 4: Being Aware of Things That May Happen To You

The project takes you over, you become obsessive, compulsive and anti-social

You miss your favourite comforts and treats and become resentful

You get writer’s block on the few evenings you try to work on the data and the evenings crawl into late night sessions

You defer action – making coffee, dead heading flowers….

Panic prevails and spoils the design timetable

Strategy 5: Reducing the Chance of Faults Developing

Start small and stay small in scope Expect the unexpected Make the research a priority for the

moment Share the faults as soon as they appear Stay a participant and avoid being a

passenger, prisoner or protester.