If you're here, you've passed your Comprehensive Exams. Brava!
Hopefully, you have celebrated navigating the first hurdle (remember this is an essential part of the process; you need to hype yourself up to keep the motivation going).
In this stage, the level of self-direction and accountability will be THE difference in success or failure to reach the final defense. So, before getting into the committee selection elements and working towards the proposal defense, we must create a management plan for this undertaking. Let's talk about it.
What is Project Management?
Excellent question! A complete answer to this question could be a book (or five) on its own. However, an abbreviated version will do the trick.
Project Management is a discipline that allows the Project Manager (PM) to transgress stages from ideation to completion in an undertaking. The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as "temporary efforts to create value through unique products, services, and processes."
A project can be anything, and anything can be a project as long as the concept has a finite end. Undertakings that are indefinite do not meet the parameters of a project, which helps to create a mindset of completing it, much like the goal of your dissertation, which leads me to a great quote that my chair said often:
Make no mistake; your dissertation is a project.
Dr. Mancini told us this is not, nor should it be, your magnum opus. Remember, you have seven years to complete it, and by this point, you're likely 2-3 years in already; the clock is ticking, and it will end no matter what. Best to end on a triumphant note, right?
Project management is segmented into two distinct mindsets: one utilizes a linear approach (i.e., from start to finish) and another is iterative in nature. The former is often called waterfall project management, and the latter is called Agile. Though it seems a rebranding of these terms is gaining traction to coin the mindsets regarding how they flow (again, the linear or iterative approaches).
Linear (or waterfall) project management moves through a series of five stages:
This overall process is called the PM life cycle, and completing one stage and beginning a new stage requires a stage gate. A stage gate is where a deliverable is produced. For example, when transgressing the ideation stage into the planning stage, you might have made a document that contains the ideas and end deliverables your project will have produced at the end.
Iterative project management allows for projects to take shape when uncertainty about the final deliverables or learning while executing becomes necessary. There are several variations or flavors to employ Agile thinking; the most used is the Scrum methodology, but other variations such as Kanban, Scrumban, Lean, RDD, or Crystal Method exist, amongst others.
Which project management approach should I use to complete my dissertation?
Another excellent question! The approach you use is up to you, and your work style, but a few questions can help you narrow the myriad options available:
What needs to be produced at the end of the project?
Are your stakeholders in agreement with what needs to be produced at the end?
Do you have a set deadline?
Do you have a set budget? (Yes, you should have a spend associated with your dissertation, but we'll discuss this in the hidden costs section in a later post.)
Are you motivated by a set series of events, or does that seem too rigid?
Do you need to be able to flex or pivot throughout the project?
Your preferred work style should influence the approach you use to manage your dissertation. The more specific you are about project variables, the more a linear PM approach can be beneficial. However, if there is disagreement or a need for clarity on the end deliverables of your dissertation, an Agile mindset may serve you better here. In my case, I knew what I would need to produce to complete the dissertation, so the Linear design worked well for me. As such, I created a Gantt chart that helped me plan the weekly tasking breakdown for the final defense.
The Case for Methodological Hybridization (Or, in less academic speak, can’t I use a little of each approach?)
The short questionnaire above assumes it's clear to determine what PM approach will serve you well, implying a binary determination on each element. Still, I've learned (thus far) that the world is often better reflected as varying shades of gray (grey) versus a black-and-white approach. If "maybe" or "uncertain" was your response to any of the six questions above, you may consider using a hybridized system to fuse Linear planning with an Iterative learning flavor.
You might be thinking, is that even doable? The short answer here is "yes," but how becomes the most significant hurdle? If project management is new to you, using a single approach might be best (after all, you have enough to do already). If, however, you are familiar with PM, this might be a great time to play with the tenets of the foundation you have to create a workflow that is best for you. As we discuss employing PM for research under each method, note which tools and techniques work best for you.
How does Project Management advance research undertakings?
You might be thinking, "I don't need a system or method to get this done." If that's the case, I say, "You do you," and I support your decision. With that said, it's also worth mentioning from this point on, your progress is yours to determine. You will not have deadlines set for you, as was the case in other classes, and your advisors will likely ask you what they should expect from you and by when.
Communication and updates will be on you to proactively plan with your committee, and the fruits of your work will need to be delivered to make the conversations consistently beneficial. You also need to plan on a two-to-three-week turnaround on feedback from your committee.
Note: Your dissertation committee likely serves on multiple dissertation committees at any time in addition to their other job responsibilities (not to mention they have lives of their own). This recognition is one reason why the onus is left to you to set and maintain the pace to reach the end of this race.
In my experience, this can be a difficult adjustment. I've seen folks drop off because other spheres of life (understandably) took priority, rendering their dissertation progress to a standstill, and they couldn't recover after too much latency. Having a plan that optimizes consistency helps to reduce the likelihood of a drop-off scenario. Using a PM system helps to keep you focused on what smaller increments need to be done every day (the tree's perspective, as mentioned in the last post) to realize the total requirements (the forest).
You'll need to research many aspects concerning your topics which can be a great way to organize your tasking in addition to the other requirements you'll need to satisfy. Let's talk about task breakdown.
Tasking, tasking, and more tasking.
A large element of PM is task management. Many smaller tasks comprise the whole, and ensuring you cover everything becomes critical in this journey (not to mention less stress-inducing).
Start with the grand picture, the five chapters you need to write:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Lit. Review
Chapter 3: Methodology
Chapter 4: Results
Chapter 5: Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations
Then, add another level of detail, such as the sections expected in each chapter (See the Part 8 post for these elements concerning Chapters 1-3.)
Then, start tailoring the pieces toward the narrative concerning your topics, variables, phenomena, and subject pools. I bet you didn't think you were telling a story here. Au contraire mon frère! You are building a narrative that encompasses the history and evolution of your variables up to the study that you are running. It's not just a story; it's an epic saga.
Task management using a Linear PM approach involves taking large items (like a whole chapter and breaking them into the smallest-most-easily-measurable pieces possible (called work packages, in case you're interested). We started doing this above, and you likely do this intuitively, so it should feel familiar. Once you have a list of tasks (or "to dos" as I usually refer to them), the following steps vary by either the linear or Iterative flavor you select. Let's start with linear!
Linear Project Management Task Management for Dissertations
Begin by taking your exploded task list from above and assign "estimates" to each task (or "work package," as we just learned). What's an estimate, you may ask? Excellent question! Estimates can involve the following areas of consideration with questions below to help you determine your requirements for each task:
Time (by far the most pressing element)
How much time will it take me to complete this task?
Pro tip: Figure out the estimate and multiply it by two afterward. People are usually incorrect when assessing how much time tasking takes to complete. By preparing for the worst, you give yourself a needed buffer. This technique is called contingency planning.
Resources (such as librarians, databases, etc.)
What resources do I need to be able to work? (Include space needs here.)
Do you need to work with specific people?
Do you need access to databases or other resources? (If so, do you need to set it up beforehand?)
Are there particular tools or software you need to procure access to be able to work?
Money
What fiscal costs are present when performing your tasks?
Tip: Include expenditures such as the cost of materials or tools, time costs, and even that obligatory creature comfort that helps you to be able to do the work.
Travel (if needed)
Add the time costs of travel to your Time requirements.
Add the financial costs of travel to your Money requirements.
Research Tasking Determinants:
You now have a list of "to dos" or tasks with the time, resources, and financial requirements assigned to them. Well done! Now, we must determine if any tasks depend on completing other assignments beforehand. These are called dependencies in the PM world.
The example I use for this most often comes from building construction: To frame a house, you must first build the foundation. There's a natural, sensical order in which the work must be done to get to a complete, structurally sound end product. Theoretically, you could assemble the frame and then pour the foundation, but this would require a lot of adjustments and rework to fit the frame to the foundation, so it's not an ideal workflow.
Adopting the house metaphor to your research undertaking, which sections must be built first to complete other areas? I'll give a more directly relatable example: you will likely need to write Chapters 2 and 3 before you write Chapter 1. You will need to complete Chapters 1-3 before you can conduct your research. On a smaller level, you would need to research your population before determining what a representative sample of that population would consist of. Take some time to review your task list and note the dependencies you have between tasks. This process will help in the next step, task sequencing.
Dissertation Task Sequencing:
Once you have assigned estimates to each task and determined dependencies, it's time to sequence them (i.e., put them in an order that makes sense). I'm of the old-school mindset here when it comes to task sequencing, so I will write tasks on sticky notes and move them around until I have them in the order that optimizes the workflow (Not kidding, it's a messy process, but the act of physically switching things up helps me figure things out a little better).
Several PM programs can help you perform the same actions (and save paper) without space requirements. I won't list them all (too many), but programs I have found helpful include Miro, Trello, Hive, and Asana. Whichever method you take, the goal here is to create a task sequence where you can save as much time as possible work in a way that your research builds upon itself and allows you to reflect regularly on the literature while seeing your progress along the way.
Crafting your Dissertation Schedule (v01)
From here, you take all the information and draft your first schedule by placing the series of tasks within the context of your calendar. At this point, you can use one of the tools listed above to create this schedule or become Excel-lent and build it in Microsoft Excel. I chose the latter for my dissertation due to my familiarity/comfort with the program. I will explain how to create the schedule (Gantt Chart) using a section of the very chart that kept me focused throughout my dissertation:
A section of Dr. Garman’s dissertation Gantt Chart.
At first glance, this looks like a SCARY chart, but I'll break it down. The left column contains the tasks that need to be done, and I organized tasks by the class they would be completed in (color-coded categories). My tasks consisted of the sections that needed to be researched and written, and you'll notice I started this document at the beginning of Comps.
The top row contains the dates of the project work periods. A work period is a predetermined amount of time (segmented by days, weeks, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.). I chose a weekly work period layout. An important note is to indicate if the date listed on the top row is a "start by" or "end by" date so there's no confusion as to which week you are on.
The cell color highlights indicate tasks for each work period. Any critical moments or hurdles were colored red to grab my attention and keep the focus on what this work is building towards. As you complete a task, you check it off (showing your progress and pending tasks).
Remember, this is a V01. As such, you will work with this chart as you go from work period to work period. I suggest keeping this as a living document and printing hard copies of the latest version for your planner or dissertation journal. Visit your schedule often (if not daily) to stay on track.
Iterative PM Task Management for Dissertations
An iterative PM approach for dissertations also involves creating a task list (see above section). Still, tasking requirements are prioritized as it becomes clearer what needs to be done.
Before you can begin managing your tasking with an iterative system, you must choose the flavor of Agile PM. While there are several flavors, the flavors that can be most easily applied to research projects concern:
Scrum
Kanban
Scrumban (Scrum + Kanban)
This post will not explain any framework in its entirety but instead explain progressive steps and tools from the frameworks as they can advance the progress of your dissertation.
For a complete explainer concerning the Agile mindset, please check out the Agile Manifesto.
For information on Scrum: the book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time and Kanban: the self-named Guide by David Anderson.
The concepts discussed below come from these resources.
Scrum for Dissertations
Scrum is a flavor of agile wherein work sessions are performed in a series of iterative sprints. A sprint is a period (of time, usually 1-4 weeks long) wherein four events (formerly known as ceremonies) occur:
Sprint Planning – happens at the beginning of the sprint wherein tasks (called stories or epics pending on the scale) are selected to be completed within the sprint.
Daily Standups – short (usually 15-minute) meetings, happening 1x p/day throughout the sprint, where developers (people that are doing the work) discuss:
What they have completed
What they are working on
What hindrances they've encountered that need resolving to proceed.
Sprint Review – Presentation to the stakeholders at the end of the sprint on completed stories/epics, with feedback elicited to improve the work or confirm completion before moving on to other tasks.
Sprint Retrospective – After completing the review, a reflective session on past performance will indicate successes, identify improvement points, and ideate changes to improve future performance.
Instead of the schedule, Scrum utilizes an ever-changing list (called an artifact) known as the Product Backlog. Think of this as a list of 'to-dos' where tasks are prioritized as more information is learned. As tasks become more concretely defined, they move from the bottom of the backlog (list) to the top. Tasks that are defined and broken down to the point where they are "ready to be executed" can then be pulled (chosen) for completion in a sprint session.
The team (including a 'team' of one) will transgress the events ongoingly until every task on the backlog is fulfilled, thereby indicating the close and handoff of the project.
For dissertations, your team would consist of you, and your stakeholders would be your committee. You would transgress sprint working through the same task list and gaining feedback from your committee on an ongoing, regular basis. The most significant benefit of using this approach is that regular feedback allows for critical changes earlier and, more often, reduces the prospect of a surprise when proposing or defending. However, you would need to explain the process and gain support for this approach from your committee before working this way.
Kanban PM for Dissertations
We touched on Kanban very early in this series, but this is the time when this approach shines. The Kanban board works as a task visualization tool; I'll again use the Kanban section of the professional strategy board I designed for my professional development/workflow as an example:
That good ole’ Kanban making a repeat appearance.
The same four categories exist in this board; consider this a basic version of the Kanban as most times, you'll see 3-4 swim lanes (the columns) of progress labeled similarly to what is in the example. Lately, I've been referring to the "Done" column as the "TA-DA!" column as a reminder to celebrate the small victory. Here is the flow of tasks using the Kanban board:
Tasks from your task list (see above) are written on sticky notes or digital task cards using a PM software tool like Trello and placed on the leftmost "TO DO" swim lane.
When you begin working on something (called a 'pull' or a commitment), you move the task sticky note over to the "DOING" swim lane and get to it.
Once you have completed the task, quality control/assurance (QC/QA) commences. In this case, the sticky note moves into the "REVIEW" swim lane, and you take whatever actions are needed to review and polish your work.
Finally, once polished and considered good to go, it moves again into the "DONE" swim lane (and you have a little celebrative dance).
If you start a Kanban, an important note is to limit the number of tasks you're working on at one time. The act of 'stop-gaping' the amount of work you are performing is called setting a work-in-progress (WIP) limit. WIP limits are necessary because, contrary to popular belief, multitasking is unrealistic or even viable for most of us. Our brains are not made for multitasking. In fact, "what we think is multitasking is, in most cases, task switching," according to Dr. Nancy Napier.
We focus on one thing while other things are happening on their own until we need to handle it, and then we switch focus before returning to the original tasks. An example would be doing laundry while writing; we're not constantly focusing on the laundry while it's going. Instead, it's going while we do something else, and we return to it when needed.
For dissertations, you would write all of your tasks onto a card, place it into the TO DO category, and work them through the board as you go. If a new topic or area presents while you're working, don't worry. Just create a new card to add to your TO DO swim lane and keep moving along. The process allows you to see what needs to be completed and how much progress you have made along the way.
Utilizing a PM method for your dissertation lets you stay on track and communicate better between yourself and your committee. The goal here is to advance your success in a seamless, dare I say, enjoyable way. In the next post, we'll return to the process with tips and tricks when selecting your committee. Til' next time!