CHAPTER 23 Managing the Project

Managing the research project A project is: ‘ A set of activities which has a defined start point and a defined end state, pursues a defined goal and uses a defined set of resources’ (Slack et al, 1998: 589) Can your business research be defined as a project?

Yes – It has a clearly defined start point [produce your research question] It has a clearly defined end state [produce your project report] It involved a set of activities [lit. rev., data collection, analysis] And the resources you have will be limited.

Key considerations in managing the project Scope of the project Time scale for the project Resources available -

The scope of the project: –What is your research question? –What do you want to achieve? –How does this influence method, sample size, etc? The time-scale for the project: –When does this start? –When does this finish? –Key deliverables en route? Resources for the project: –Money, skills, technology, manpower, etc?

Building a project plan Clearly define the project: ‘ Deliverables’ Resources Time-scales Demands Constraints Choices

Analyse the tasks Focus on your research objectives List the outcomes you hope to achieve List each specific activity needed to achieve those outcomes Make a note of the order in which the tasks need to be done Make a note of the time/resources each task needs

Produce the project plan

Interdependencies and constraints –The running order: What needs doing, by when? What can be done in parallel? What needs doing next? Eg questionnaire design before data- gathering Time estimation –How long will each activity take?

Analysing risks –What could go wrong? –What contingency plans have you made –Eg low return rate from questionnaires sent Use critical path analysis to see where problems are likely to occur –Eg if there is the chance of a low return rate, it may be useful to have a second ‘sample’ or to plan interviews

Monitor and evaluate the project On-going monitoring – don’t wait until the end to find it has all gone wrong! Make sure you build in contingency plans Be prepared to change the project plan as necessary You may need to be prepared to change the research plan if necessary