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Project Management Expectations

Effective project management is a core research skill. It helps protect the quality of the science, the time of collaborators, the efficient use of lab resources, and your own progress toward degree and career goals.

This lab expects every project member to develop reliable habits for planning, communicating, documenting, and following through. These skills are learned through practice, feedback, and appropriate support.

See also Lab Communication for meeting cadence and Lab Notebooks for documenting progress.

Guiding Principles

1. Own your project

You are responsible for knowing the current status of your project, the next steps, the relevant deadlines, and the support you need.

Owning a project does not mean doing everything alone. It means taking responsibility for moving the work forward, identifying barriers early, and asking for help in a timely and specific way.

Appropriate ownership includes:

  • Knowing what needs to happen next.
  • Tracking deadlines and dependencies.
  • Preparing for meetings with updates and questions.
  • Following up on agreed tasks.
  • Alerting mentors or collaborators early when something is off track.
  • Bringing possible solutions, not only problems.

2. Plan before acting

Before beginning an experiment, analysis, manuscript, or collaborative task, create a concrete plan.

A good plan should answer:

  • What is the goal?
  • What are the major steps?
  • What materials, data, approvals, or collaborators are needed?
  • What could delay the work?
  • What needs to be checked in advance?
  • What is the timeline?
  • What does “done” look like?

For experiments, confirm all required materials, protocols, equipment access, organisms, reagents, permissions, and personnel before the planned start date.

3. Identify dependencies early

Many research delays happen because a task depends on something outside one person’s control. These dependencies must be identified early.

Examples include:

  • Reagents or supplies that need to be ordered.
  • Data or samples from another person.
  • Statistical advice.
  • Animal, culture, or field schedules.
  • Equipment availability.
  • Mentor feedback.
  • Coauthor input.
  • Institutional approvals.

If a dependency could affect the timeline, it should be listed in the project plan and discussed before it becomes urgent.

4. Ask for help early and specifically

Asking for help is expected. Waiting until the last minute is not.

When asking for help, include:

  • The specific issue.
  • What you have already tried.
  • What decision or action you need.
  • When you need it.
  • What will happen if the issue is not resolved.
  • Any options you see.

Instead of:

“I’m stuck on the analysis.”

Use:

“I’m stuck choosing between model A and model B. I tried checking the assumptions and reading the prior code. I think model A may be better because of the repeated measures structure, but I’m not sure. Could we discuss this by Thursday so I can finish the results section by Monday?”

5. Use written task tracking

Every active project should have a written tracking system. This may be a shared document, spreadsheet, project board, lab notebook plan, or another agreed format.

At minimum, the system should include:

Task Owner Due Date Dependencies Status Definition of Done
Complete DNA methylation data QC Maya Mar 4 Raw bisulfite sequencing files, sample metadata, QC pipeline access In progress QC report generated, low-quality samples flagged, and results shared with mentor
Finalize sample metadata sheet Maya Mar 6 Treatment groups, collection dates, batch information, collaborator confirmation Not started Clean metadata file uploaded to shared project folder and approved for analysis
Run differential methylation analysis Maya Mar 13 Completed QC, finalized metadata, analysis script, mentor-approved model design Waiting Differentially methylated regions identified and summary tables saved
Review model design and covariates Mentor/Maya Mar 15 QC results, metadata file, preliminary analysis output Waiting Final decision made on covariates, batch correction, and comparison groups
Draft methylation analysis methods section Maya Mar 20 Final analysis workflow, software versions, model specifications Not started Draft methods section sent to mentor for review

The purpose of written tracking is not surveillance. It is to create shared clarity.

6. Prepare for meetings

Meetings are most useful when everyone knows what needs to be discussed.

Before a project meeting, the project owner should send a brief update that includes:

  • What was completed since the last meeting.
  • What was not completed and why.
  • Current blockers or risks.
  • Decisions needed.
  • Proposed next steps.

A useful meeting agenda might look like this:

Project:

Date:

Progress since last meeting:

1.

2.

3.

Current blockers:

1.

2.

Decisions needed:

1.

2.

Next steps before next meeting:

1.

2.

3.