Module 5, Session 1: Project Management and Time Planning

[CPC Admin]

#1936

Share your insights from this week’s session on project management here.

Remember to click “subscribe” (top right corner) to receive responses to your comments via email.

[Susan Kilonzo]

#3067

On managing projects and planning time, for me as a researcher and my postgraduate students, I consider myself fairly well disciplined. I am able to juggle a number of activities including research, supervision and personal issues. My mind is able to remember to-do tasks fairly well. I keep a diary that I do not use quite often but I am able to remember most of my to-do activities. I try not to overbook my diary. More often than not I say not to invitations, and supervisions as well when I feel I have enough on my plate. This is important for me not to disappoint others and my students as well. Mostly I work from home and so I am able to balance my research activities, especially writing, and home responsibilities. I only go to the office when need be, and I am lucky that I have few responsibilities, like committee membership. This gives me enough time to research, write and supervise; and, be home with family. I do keep a list of all my students and follow closely their progress. I email, text and call, but this said, there are students who are just difficult. They will disappear, you follow, they promise to get back on track, and they just cannot. There are those that will work at their own pace and cannot respect timelines. They are always late with assignments and agreements made between them and the supervisor.

What we would call an MoU is the School of Graduate Studies provision and requirement for both students and supervisors to write reports after every three months. This is not strictly adhered to and as such students may not take it seriously. This poses a challenge in management of time and projects. The resultant effect is backlog of students who need supervision. In a year, a supervisor may count upto twenty or more because of this backlog. This further derails the institutional vision of graduating a given number of students per year.

In our tutorial discussions, we noted that proper induction and the need for both supervisors and students to understand their roles and responsibilities is key towards unlocking some of the gridlocks to project and time management; as well as relationships in the process of supervision.

[Jacinta]

#3069

Deadlines in student supervision are usually agreed upon by the student and the supervisor, that is what I personally do. Usually, I agree with student on how the work should proceed. However, should an official assignment come up, which rarely happens, I always update the student so that none of us is inconvenienced. However, I have all along managed my deadlines.
I am conversant with the university regulations and I always ensure that I am compliant with the University requirements. For instance, PhD students are supposed to submit progress reports after every 6 months and I always follow up to ensure that the reports are submitted as required.
Variances are inevitable and in most cases postgraduate students are rarely affected. But, should they be affected communication pathways are many and such students are updated appropriately.
I usually plan with my students depending on their stage of work and their availability. I usually meet one student at a time and I have never had time management issues when it comes to postgraduate students time management.

[Christopher Odhiambo]

#3072

The analogy of project management and postgraduate thesis writing is quite apt. However it would work very well in an ideal situation where the postgraduate students have adequate funding and are not subjected to lots of confounding variables. In role as a supervisor I had effective agreements with students on scholarship from their institutions, governments or funding bodies where written progress reports are consistently and periodically required. However, it has not been possible to have effective agreements with self-sponsored students. Working with such students require much flexibility and negotiation in modes of operation. It is also sometimes difficult to fulfill the terms of agreement because in my University the student is usually assigned two supervisors who might not have same working ethics. Working as if in a project management in situations where the supervisor is involved in multiple role is also not easy because there are usually too many unplanned happenings such as impromptu meetings. So once again one must be extremely flexible.
Here in Kenya the number of students one can supervise is already defined by the Commission for Education(CUE). But this is sometimes not adhered to because of the shortage of graduate faculty in a number of departments.
However treating post graduate study project using project management model would be a good move where most factors are constant.

[Yakub]

#3077

There are several things I have learnt from the presentation.

I totally agree with the PowerPoint presentation that Postgraduate Studies process has comparative structures of forms of Project Management. It involves several stages that are similar to management of a project. For instance, the concept of time and rigours of beating deadlines as well as expected project outcomes are key in PhD supervision process. The concepts of evaluation, monitoring, analysis, development etcetera are equally noted in postgraduate studies process just like in project management. I tend to always want my students to keep time as agreed.

At times I have to remind them when they take unnecessarily too long to be back. This disorients my schedule as there are also other competing priorities that require my attention. It becomes tricky for me, thereafter, to balance the various responsibilities. I have to plan out my time and responsibilities pretty well.

Like any Project it is therefore critical that an academic memorandum of understanding between supervisors and students be documented and signed. This is a new phenomenon to me. What I normally have with my students are verbal instructions of directions we would take in the process of the PhD journey. I can see that the signed MOU would bind both myself and the student and definitely structure the interaction between us. The MOU will also indicate the various commitments between the student and supervisor. I will surely try out the format given in our context.

[Sandra]

#3104

Managing time is key to a successful project completion. I am quite good in managing my schedule and I always organize it around priorities. My priorities do change and shift and so does my agenda throughout the week. I am always mindful about this and accept changes as they come along.

Regarding student thesis, all relevant steps such as revisions, planning, management, coffee talks (where I just want to chit chat with my students and not about their thesis) are booked in my agenda, and also scheduled for students themselves.
At my university, students are well informed about thesis regulations and timeframes at the start of their master or PhD trajectories in introductory classes. Moreover, each student can accompany the development of their thesis via our online project management platform. We as supervisors can also follow up on our student’s work and their activities via this online platform.
Additionally, when a PhD students starts his/her PhD trajectory they have 1-3 months to develop a training and supervision plan with their supervisor and a co-supervisor (we always supervise in groups). This plan serves the purpose of organising the work of the PhD student, including outlining which courses the student intends to take, which articles he/she intends to write, with whom and where he/she intends to publish them. It outlines any potential research stays abroad, need for specialised training and the total budget and funding. Every year the plan is revised according to the student’s progress and eventual changes in the trajectory.

[Colette Gerards]

#3119

Susan is raising a very important point in her post about saying ‘no’ and backlogs.
As a supervisor, when is one in a position to be able to say ‘no’. Are there policies regarding the number of PG students one can supervise or is that at the discretion of the supervisors, HoDs or deans? What is the maximum number and of course that also varies across the disciplines as well as per supervisor.
Experience counts but does that mean one can handle more and more PG students and give them the supervision they need? Obviously there is no ‘yes or no answer’ but good project management at all levels in the institution can eliminate the ‘bad practices’.

[Colette Gerards]

#3121

@Christofer, I think in the presentation looking at the PhD study as a project and emphasizing there is a start and end date, there is hint to making the student aware of the fact that yes – although it is a PhD degree and you have to contribute to the advancement of new knowledge etc – it is also (just) a degree of a junior researcher. Striving for ‘perfection’ is great but to advance there is also a need to end the journey, graduate and move one. As a project manager (and not a researcher) I see excellent PhD candidates struggle and find themselves lost in the research for reasons beyond what makes sense, where from my PM perspective the best thing they can do is to complete and good as they can .
I agree the circumstances under which one is doing the PhD (full time or parttime whilst working and supporting a family) have a hue impact on progress, management of the study, completion times etc., from a PM perspective this needs to count and be taken into consideration.

[Lydia]

#3127

Just like Sandara, I consider time management key to success in academic activity particularly student supervision. Managing my diary is something I have had to learn over time. I no longer clash activities and all my undergraduate and post graduate students have had to learn to see me on schedule. All my post graduate students have to stick to their timelines or adjust to what is workable for them. This way our expectations are realistic and time bound.

Keeping a diary helps me to keep control of the day’s activities and greatly reduce the stress of running into late submissions. It also facilitates active participation in a balanced manner and find time to rest and relax in between a busy schedule.
I am also aware that time management has to take into account eventualities such as emergency meetings where urgent decisions are required.

[Titus]

#3148

My supervisor at PhD made the following statement which profoundly influenced how I planned my PhD activities; “What you are undertaking in a project like ant other project. If you plan and execute poorly, you will waste your time, resources, you’
ll be in conflict with the university and your supervisor and you’ll blame everybody else except yourself”. Then, it wasnt clear but now that I am a supervisor, it makes perfect sense. I agree with Susan and Yakub (above).

Just like a project, Planning is key for postgraduate studies; Knowing the required overall outcome(knowledge contribution + thesis + publications + personnal transformation); the ability to break it down into manageable tasks (Work Breakdown Structure), identify key deliverables for each task, identify key milestiones, identify Key resources required for each task (Time + money + personnel).

Roles and responsibilities of the supervisor and the student need to be clearly communicated and understood; activities associated with postgraduate supervision need to be carefully planned. Withput a good plan, it may look like we are busy doing a lot but in the end the outcome will be little.

[Kelly]

#3191

The issue of MoU is known. I didn’t know that it is institutional. In fact, what i do is not MoU parse. I kept a register for all agreed sessions. The session ended with setting a date for the next visit. Every three months i used to write a report on the progress. The report is part of the submissions for school board items.

[Shonisani]

#3199

Managing postgraduate studies like a project is very challenging. It needs more planning, brainstorm plans for every the project and dream startup or creative idea which they would like to implement. Before starting to manage postgraduate project, it is vitally important to set up clear goals and objectives, and to identify a possible end-product to have on my plate at completion. The following ideas would be used to manage postgraduate studies project:
1. Clarify project goals and objectives
2. Use peers to build a ‘virtual’ team
3. Plan strategy for the semester in advance
4. Stay on top of the group work
5. Think how to build new work for next time

[Charles O]

#3221

Project planning and time management is key for any successful PG studies. Immediately, a student decides to pursue PG, he or she should properly start planning. The source of the project can either be the student or the supervisor or even a funding organization. As such, the project should have a starting point to finish with well laid out activities or goals to be achieved within specified period. Period = quarterly or monthly. Projects should be planned based on activities. Often I ensure that my students develop an “activity-based work plan” and strictly follow through (with minimal variance) to be able to complete their projects on time. Planning is also done with the funding organization. Most funded projects have specified outputs or outcomes that should be delivered at specific times during the lifespan of the project. For a successful PG, both student and supervisor should work together on the project plan to ensure “ownership” and commitment. Activities to be carried out can be discussed and agreed upon on delivery time. It should be noted that the length of a project plan depends on project SMART goals or objectives which are directly linked to methodologies.

[Paul]

#3227

@ Colette, true “an excellent PhD student may struggle and even get lost in the research …”. Is this the case of ‘over estimating PhD or lack of focus in-terms of scope and action plan?’ Mirzaei and Mabin (?) identify ‘ambiguity of scope’ as a cue that may lead to PhD failure or such struggles.

I once supervised an experienced practitioner and must admit that I still don’t know how to deal with one. The student really underestimated PhD since he thought he knew all the answers. I guess such students imagine that they know what constitute doctoralness given their experience. I think am now in the position of knowledge after going through the PPT.

The import of signing an MoU can not be overemphasized. I had a PhD student whose proposal, ratified by Sch. of Graduate Studies and bore my signature got funded by NRF. The student received the first tranche of the funds and relocated to the USA abandoning his studies. Is this a case of ‘failure at the start’ by lose of contact with the supervisor? Can the proposal be regarded as a loose ‘MoU’ between the funding body, University and the supervisors?

I think project management is an intricate phenomenon that even Gnatt chart is ‘unlikely to have much effect on delivering the PhD project on time’.

[Colette Gerards]

#3230

@Paul, indeed the gantt chart will not make you deliver the Phd ‘on time’ but it can assist in keeping the team on track by providing a pathway. So it would be a tool that symbolizes steps towards the end goal, a break down of you like.
I think we should have a whole separate week regarding supervision of the experienced practitioner:-). I don’t think we have touched on this theme yet but it is worthwhile to more and perhaps different views on this.
I am not sure about the exact funding rules for NRF regarding completion and what is considered a deliverable a point in between. I think it is realistic and proper PM to count in drop out as a realistic risk.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Colette Gerards.

[Author]

Posts