Managing a research project. Presentation to Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CILT), University of Cape Town Brown Bag Seminar. Tess Cartmill, ROER4D Project Manager

1. MANAGING A RESEARCH
PROJECT
PRESENTATION TO CENTRE FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING
AND LEARNING (CILT), UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
BROWN BAG SEMINAR
22 MAY 2014
Tess Cartmill, ROER4D Project Manager
Tess.cartmill@uct.ac.za

2. Project Management
 Project success factors: Agreement among
stakeholders of project goals, Plan showing
path and responsibilities, Constant effective
communication with everyone, Controlled
scope, Management support
 Project definition: Has beginning and end,
and produces a unique product
 Challenges: Staff, Estimating, Authority,
Controls
 Definition of success: On time, on budget,
high quality

3. Define Project
 1. Stakeholder analysis - define management,
team and recipients
 2. Project charter – Announcement: name,
purpose, signed by relevant authority
 3. Statement of work – Agree what all to do,
define deliverables, cost and schedule, define
success
 4. Responsibility matrix – Who is Responsible,
has Authority, must be Consulted, or be Informed
 5. Communication plan – what, to whom, how and
when
 6. Project proposal – Goal, problem/opportunity,
solution, cost/benefit analysis

4. Risk Management
 Identify risks
 Analyse and prioritise
 Develop a response
 Establish reserves
 Continuous risk management
 Probability x Impact = value
 (use scales of 1 to 5)

5. Work Breakdown Structure
 List:
 Summary Tasks – All top level tasks
 Work packages, per summary task – small
measurable task by specific person or team in a
reportable time (e.g. day or week)
 List tasks in logical groupings for your project
 Use verb and noun to describe tasks
 Plan for quality
 Define completion criteria

6. Realistic scheduling and accurate
estimating
 Estimate Work Packages (Have the right people!!)
 who will do the work?
 what will they be doing?
 how long will it take?
 how much will it cost?
 when is the task complete?
 how do you measure the quality?
 Define relationships between tasks for scheduling
 Establish critical path
 Draw up Gantt chart for total time estimate and
pictorial view of project

7. Cost, Schedule, Scope, and
Quality
Quality
Cost
Scope Time

8. Research Project
 What makes it different?
 Defining research project
 Pre-proposal, proposal, funding
 Research dissemination

10. ROER4D experience
 Contracts – expert assistance - RCIPS
 Finance – track everything – placed every
invoice on Vula in folders matching IDRC
budget categories
 Communication – underestimated activity –
expert assistance
 Evaluation opportunity – research on aspects
of project
 Planned activities – constant monitoring
required
 Knowledgeable leadership and funder support

11. References
 Project Management principles obtained from
UCT / Get Smarter Project Management
course (attended in 2013)
www.getsmarter.co.za
 Advanced Research Design course, by Cheryl
Hodgkinson-Williams (3-8 February 2014),
part of UCT Master’s degree, ICTs in
Education run, yielded the puzzle on slide 9.