Using Gantt Chart for Managing Projects Peer Reviewed Journal
Plast Reconstr Surg. Author manuscript; bachelor in PMC 2016 Oct 21.
Published in final edited form as:
PMCID: PMC5074549
NIHMSID: NIHMS823677
Surgery and Research: A Practical Approach to Managing the Research Procedure
Peter R. Swiatek
oneMedical Student, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Kevin C. Chung
2Professor of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery, Assistant Dean for Kinesthesia Affairs, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United states
Elham Mahmoudi
3Assistant Research Professor, Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, U.s.
Abstract
Following a applied project management method is essential in completing a enquiry project on time and within budget. Although this concept is well developed in the business concern world, it has yet to be explored in academic surgical research. Defining and adhering to a suitable workflow would increase portability, reusability, and therefore, efficiency of the inquiry process. In this article, we briefly review project management techniques. We specifically underline four master steps of project management: (1) definition and organization, (2) planning, (three) execution, and (4) evaluation, using practical examples from our own multidisciplinary plastic surgery research team.
Keywords: Project direction, Work Breakup Construction, Enquiry process, Inquiry planning, Data management, Gantt Nautical chart, Project leadership, Milestones, Milestone charts, Workflow, Kaizen
Introduction
The healthcare landscape in the United States is speedily changing. Today, with an increasing emphasis on improving access to quality intendance, reducing healthcare costs, and preventing surgical complications, there is an urgent need for medical professionals and surgeons to intensify their research efforts. From clinical trial studies [1] to economical analyses of unlike treatments, [2] new topics in surgical inquiry range the gamut. Despite opportunities for surgeons to engage in impactful research, time constraints facing surgeons on a day-to-solar day footing hamper progress. Enquiry requires a commitment to drafting literature reviews, writing grants, working with Internal Review Boards (IRB), managing study logistics, analyzing data, and writing manuscripts. Devoting bandwidth to such fourth dimension-intensive processes is difficult for surgeons who spend more than than 50 hours per week on surgery, patient visits, paperwork, and other authoritative obligations. [iii]
To effectively pursue their research goals, many surgeons choose to work with teams of clinical investigators, health economists, statisticians, and other health professionals. Although teams tin can broaden the capability of whatever one surgeon in the research process, the additional responsibility of managing team dynamics and group workflow can pose meaning challenges. For surgeons interested in collaborating with other researchers, in that location exists a ready of project management principles and practices to maximize their effectiveness and efficiency in the research process. Borrowing from the realm of business concern and manufacture, project management is the combination of people, systems, and techniques required to coordinate the activities and resource needed to complete such projects within the defined parameters.[4] In addition to providing structure to workflow, project direction enables principal investigators (PIs) to sense potential problems and course-correct before the issues go major setbacks or failures. [iv]
Our aim in this newspaper is to talk over the specific systems and techniques surgeons can leverage to effectively manage the research process. Specifically, we discuss best practices related to defining and organizing the research effort, planning the project, and managing progress so that surgeons and their teams can deliver impactful results on time and within budget. Many of the management techniques discussed have been pressure-tested within our ain multidisciplinary surgical research group. To ensure the generalizability of our study to surgical groups of all types and sizes, we dovetail practical examples from our grouping with general principles and paradigms of project management.
Projects and Teams
A project is defined as the unique fix of activities intended to produce an outcome within the parameters of cost, fourth dimension, and quality. [4, 5] In surgery, projects tin range from instance reports, which might involve a half-day of work and minimal financial cost, to larger, more than resource-intensive prospective cohort studies which tin can necessitate months to plan, approve, execute, and publish. [1] Every research project requires a different level of resources commitment from a PI and his or her team. It is important to highlight that different project types require inquiry teams of unlike sizes, functions, and expertise. These teams, and so, require various levels of direction and engagement. For example, our surgical research group is unique in that we pursue a wide range of research interests within the realm of mitt and plastic surgery. Thus, the limerick of our research projects can vary from a team member working independently with minimal support from the research group to a team of three to 6 researchers from dissimilar fields of study who communicate on a regular basis. Past employing some all-time practices in project management, nosotros ensure that each project is completed on time and receive the needed level of oversight and attention for quality and effectiveness.
Engaging the Management Process Model
Regardless of project size and complexity, our group follows 1 management process model that provides the necessary structure and directionality to the project workflow. The four primary stages of the process model include (1) defining and organizing the project, (ii) planning the tactical aspects of the project, (3) tracking and managing the project, and (4) evaluating outcomes (Effigy 1). [5]
1. Define and Organize
First, a PI spearheads the establishment of the research protocol, frames the team'southward organizational structure, defines team norms for communicating and collaborating, and identifies a funding source for a project. [5] In our lab, for instance, a PI takes a primary part in staffing the project squad based upon availability within the resource group and the specific skills and expertise needed to tackle the enquiry project. For larger teams, the PI may designate one team member as a project pb. The project lead plays a surrogate role for the PI in managing day-today responsibilities. After recruiting a team, the PI assigns roles and responsibilities to each team member and establishes a reporting structure within the team. For larger teams, knowing "who reports to whom" is imperative for ensuring accountability and minimizing unproductive communications.
To kick-off the project, the PI communicates high-level project goals to the team, sets time, quality, and cost parameters for the project, and charges the squad to devise a comprehensive enquiry plan. For u.s., this advice typically occurs in person. Face-to-face interaction allows team members to improve communicate their concerns and receive immediate feedback. Moreover, engaging in informal and modest-grouping meetings helps the team members to know one another better. This is particularly helpful in meetings betwixt surgeons and researchers from different fields. For instance, just recently we were working on a project relating to studying national variation of care in pollex carpometacarpophalangeal articulation (CMCJ) arthritis. Past taking advantage of a i-on-one meeting and a unproblematic drawing board, one of our hand surgeons clearly described various CMC treatment options for our team's health economist. Open, breezy, and regular communications among team members who are engaged in the same project ensures that they all sympathise the aims and constraints of the project from the beginning. When face-to-face meeting is not possible we find that "video conferencing" and "teleconferencing" are effective alternatives.
After onboarding the squad, our PI designates i team fellow member to manage research plan development. The enquiry programme, which consists of objectives, research questions, hypotheses, conceptual frameworks, and methods, serves to highlight the scientific value and feasibility of carrying out research on a item topic. In improver to providing a framework for the general research project, the research plan serves as the basis for grant and IRB applications. Although 1 team member can take on the unabridged enquiry program, we observe that allocating workload to match the strengths, bandwidths, and developmental goals of each team fellow member to be nigh effective. For example, nosotros engage a number of medical students and research assistants to sift through published literature and data, prepare literature reviews, and write the content in many of our enquiry plans. These students and inquiry assistants work closely with wellness economists, statisticians, and surgeons, who are often engaged in several other research efforts. Leveraging the abilities of each team member early in the inquiry process ensures timely completion of the research plan.
2. Plan
In Stage 2, the PI or project lead works with the team to devise a Piece of work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of all activities and tasks necessary for executing on the project objectives (Figure ii). [five] Benefits of leveraging the WBS are three-fold: (ane) the WBS provides a framework for organizing scope of work; (two) it ensures that all tactical activities necessary for project completion are identified; and (3) information technology provides a framework for allocating resources. [6]
For a surgical inquiry projection, the WBS usually consists of at least four major activities: (1) managing the funding and ideals approval process, (2) organizing report logistics and managing the execution procedure, (three) analyzing data, and (4) publishing results. Each major activity is disaggregated into smaller, sub-activities or tasks to which the PI can assign an "possessor" who remains accountable for completion of the task. [7] In Effigy two, for case, "Activity A: Managing Funding and Ethics Approval," includes all tasks involved with organizing project finances and managing communications with IRB. For example, our PI has designated 1 team member to manage all fiscal transactions within our institution across all research projects. Because this process requires unique expertise, our group leverages the skills of this one team member to heighten the efficiency of the entire group. Our labs take a similar arroyo to managing IRB requirements. Rather than request each team member to process his or her IRB applications individually, our lab leverages the IRB-expertise of one or two team members to effectively manage the IRB approving process for all projects.
In addition to accounting for all activities and ensuring ownership, the WBS allows the PI to pinpoint resource-costs for each activity, identify potential risks, and devise a programme from mitigating those risks. [7] With respect to the "Activity A" in Figure 2, the PI must assess the likelihood of receiving institutional funding. If the likelihood is uncertain, the PI must decide an alternative source. In seeking ethics approving from the IRB, the PI must anticipate how delayed IRB blessing could impact the timeline for the projection. From our experience working with the IRB, some projects may crave months of iteration with the IRB before achieving approval. Knowing this up forepart allows our PI to plan more downstream activities and tasks.
Later identifying all activities and tasks required to complete the projection, the PI tin can then fit the WBS into a timeline, represented by a Gantt chart (Figure 3). In the chart, each activity and task is plotted on a linear calendar. The procedure of edifice the chart requires the PI to consider all interdependencies betwixt tasks. For example, in Figure 2, IRB approving is linked to study subject field recruitment. Since the IRB approves methods for subject recruitment, the PI must await for IRB approval before recruiting subjects. In addition to serving as a planning tool, the Gantt chart provides united states with an effective way to communicate timelines to teams and relevant stakeholders. Chiefly, Gantt charts can be hands created in Excel® [8] or other tertiary-party programs like Smartsheet®, [9] transferred to an email or Microsoft PowerPoint®, and disseminated. The chart is an easy and efficient way to keep track of progress of the projection, and it can be hands created and updated.
With a WBS and Gant chart in paw, the PI can begin developing activity milestones for using in-progress tracking during the execution phase. Milestones are achievement dates that stand as "guideposts" for monitoring disquisitional completion dates within a given action. [4] A milestone chart graphically displays all milestones for a given activity, along with a clarification of the milestone, scheduled deadline, actual date completed, and filibuster (Effigy 4). In the execution phase of the project, team members should regularly update columns for "Actual Appointment Completed" and "Filibuster (days)" to provide a realistic timetable for completion of the project. Additionally, team members can add specific comments each week in the "Notes" column to provide further granularity on progress made since the terminal update and any anticipated challenges or roadblocks ahead. Knowing what projects are delayed or are at risk of delay is imperative to PIs who may demand to intervene or reallocate resources appropriately.
3. Execute
During Stage 3, or the Execution phase, the PI actively tracks the progress of the projection. Best practices in reporting strive to minimize time and efforts required of each team member and maximize the quality of information reported. [x] Regular updating of the same milestone charts allows team members to speedily and finer update the PI on their process (Figure 4). At a gross level, the PI sees the milestones that are on track for completion along with milestones that are delayed. For additional information, the PI may refer to the notes provided by the activity possessor. In our grouping, for example, updates are provided weekly, not simply to the PI but also to our extended research group. This internal and regular socialization allows our grouping to leverage its diverseness in expertise to the fullest capacity and stay engaged and interested in other projects being carried out past our team. Although milestone charts are generally useful tools, PIs must make up one's mind what method of progress tracking is most constructive for their teams. In a small team, a unproblematic email thread for weekly updates may suffice. For larger projects with more circuitous interdependencies, use of a formal reporting organisation (due east.g., Microsoft Project®) may be necessary. [xi]
In addition to establishing a method for the tracking progress, the PI must make up one's mind how all written report data is gathered, stored, and shared. One of the chief challenges facing data-driven research is the lack of effective data and file management. This includes inadvertently deleting, losing track of changes, duplicating, and mislabeling chief data files (Figure 5). Challenges in constructive information management extend to the analysis of the main source data. Failure to runway the code used in generating a given analysis or failure to update the version number for the analysis may create significant obstacles for research teams, peculiarly if the analysis is revisited weeks or months afterwards.
To ensure constructive data management within our inquiry team, we all follow a practical and easy-to-use information and file management protocol, which addresses the following: (1) naming files, (2) tracking updates inside files, (3) sharing files, (4) bankroll-upwardly files and (5) ensuring file security (Figure 5). Establishing a common file-naming convention ensures that the most upwards-to-engagement version is used by all squad members. Communicating all-time practices in tracking updates within a file enables transferability of that file to other team members and ensures that, if the file is revisited at a later point, the user understands any modifications made to the file. For example, we name our files based on "projection name" + "YYYYMMDD of the last edit" + "initials of the last team member to edit the file." Therefore, when a binder containing multiple iterations of an private documents or analysis is opened, the well-nigh recent version appears at either the top or bottom of the listing when sorted by engagement.
Additionally, our workflow structure has substantially helped united states of america avert losing important files. We maintain copies of all files related to educational purposes (e.g., seminars, workshops, etc.), manuscripts submitted for publication, and grant proposals submitted to different agencies for funding. For each category, we have project-specific folders containing the latest versions of all files (e.g., manuscript, tables, figures, encompass alphabetic character, etc.) and before revisions. This structure facilitates all our squad members to admission files as needed for different projects. For example, recently, our lab needed to develop a questionnaire for a price-effectiveness analysis. Knowing that our research group had developed a similar questionnaire in the past, we were able to chop-chop search though our certificate database to obtain desired files and to modify them accordingly. Documenting workflow of all databases and all final files reduces redundancy, protects against data loss and makes the team more efficient, ultimately saving fourth dimension and coin. Having a workflow in identify and following it is an investment that pays substantial dividends over time.
Furthermore, post-obit a practical file management protocol increases reusability and therefore efficiency inside a group. In our grouping, for example, we occasionally used to lose or misplace source codes of our data-driven projects. Instead of doing research, we wasted precious time looking for files. So, nosotros decided to collect all the source codes and keep them in one central location nether the project name. This has helped us to (one) reuse the lawmaking for similar projects, (2) teach our new data analysts how to lawmaking, and (iii) over fourth dimension, aggrandize the aims for the aforementioned project without losing time redoing initial information management. Additionally, nosotros bank check that everything, including source codes, is fully annotated and tin can be followed by other programmer analysts. This ensures reusability and portability of source codes within our research group.
Sharing files via a "common folder" on a network server or in a secure third party "deject" tin effectively reduce risk of information and file management mishaps. Moreover, all files should be backed-up via an alternative storage device. An external hard-drive provides an piece of cake safeguard and can be locked in a cabinet for security balls. Diligent tracking and effective data and file management empowers the PI to successfully progress the project from execution to information analysis to publication and dissemination of findings.
4. Evaluate Outcomes and "Kaizen"
W. Edward Deming, a business consultant credited with inspiring Nihon's ascension as an economic superpower after World War II, believed that success in management is dependent upon continuous improvement of systems and process. [12] Deming's philosophy of continuous comeback, known equally "Kaizen" in the Japanese workplace, champions activities that continually improve functions throughout an organisation. [13] The Toyota Production Organisation, a socio-technical organisation adult past the automotive giant Toyota, is one example of Kaizen put into practice. [fourteen] The organisation allows Toyota employees to provide regular feedback to management regarding their piece of work and productivity. Past inviting feedback from those closest to inherent inefficiencies in a procedure, as might be seen on an assembly line, Toyota'south management is able to all-time assess potential problems and take corrective activeness. [14]
The philosophy of continuous comeback, or Kaizen ( 
, alter to the better), is directly applicative to the earth of surgical research. By soliciting feedback from research team members, PIs can take action that minimizes inefficiencies and maximizes effectiveness. In our research group, the PI takes an active part in evaluating the overall project outcome through private meetings with team members. In the spirit of continuous improvement, our PI then applies primal learning from squad feedback to futurity enquiry efforts.
Determination
For busy surgeons interested in conducting medical research, the principles of projection management are a powerful tool for maximizing efficacy and efficiency in the enquiry setting. Whether working independently or teaming with a big multidisciplinary research team, PIs can leverage the management process model and direction practices, such as progress tracking and information management, to drive the successful completion of their research projects. Although overt practice of project management in the realm of medical research has been limited, [15] we promise that this brief introduction to the principles and practices of projection management volition both encourage and enable surgeons every bit they strive to advance medical knowledge.
Acknowledgments
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Peel Diseases of the National Institutes of Health nether Laurels Number two K24-AR053120-06 (to Dr. Kevin C. Chung). The content is solely the responsibleness of the authors and does non necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Wellness.
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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074549/
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