Research Project Management Flashcards

When managing a geographically dispersed research team, which practice MOST reduces miscommunication risk?

Answer: Establishing a communication plan with defined cadence, channels, and escalation paths

A formal communication plan with defined channels, frequency, and escalation paths is the most effective way to manage distributed team communication.

Which contract type places the MOST financial risk on the research buyer (client)?

Answer: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)

Cost Plus Fixed Fee contracts reimburse all allowable costs plus a fixed fee, placing financial risk on the buyer since costs are not capped.

A project manager observes that team velocity has dropped significantly during a lengthy research data coding phase. The MOST likely root cause to investigate first is:

Answer: Team burnout or unclear task assignments during a repetitive phase

Velocity drops during repetitive phases commonly signal burnout, unclear priorities, or inadequate task breakdown rather than budget or sponsor issues.

What is the purpose of a procurement Statement of Work (SOW) in a research project?

Answer: To define the specific work, deliverables, and standards expected from an external vendor

A procurement SOW clearly specifies what the vendor must deliver, including scope, deliverables, timelines, and quality standards.

During project execution, a team member flags an ethical concern about data collection procedures. What is the project manager's FIRST responsibility?

Answer: Log the concern, pause affected activities if necessary, and escalate to the IRB or ethics board

Ethical concerns in research require immediate documentation, possible suspension of affected activities, and escalation to the appropriate oversight body.

A final project report reveals that 40% of budget overruns were caused by underestimated data cleaning efforts. Which planning tool would BEST prevent this in a future project?

Answer: Detailed bottom-up estimate with explicit data quality assumptions

Bottom-up estimating with explicit assumptions about data quality forces teams to account for cleaning effort, reducing systematic underestimation.

Which adaptive (agile) project management practice is MOST useful when research objectives may shift based on iterative findings?

Answer: Sprint-based planning with frequent review and backlog reprioritization

Sprint-based agile planning allows research teams to reprioritize work each iteration as new findings emerge and objectives evolve.