You’re in charge of research management. What project management tools will help you succeed?

Before looking for collaborators for a new medical device, it is crucial to ensure that the needs are defined explicitly. - Clearly define what problem your device aims to address along with unmet needs in the healthcare industry pertaining to your device. - Defining the purpose and intended use of the medical device and its target population - Understand the regulatory landscape and identify collaborators. - Determine and define the technical specifications of the medical device - Assess the design and usability of your device. - Gain understanding of the manufacturing process - Establish strategy for intellectual property for your device. - Create a list of potential collaborators with relevant expertise.

Considering the uncertainty of the research project, scoping and planning are essential activities. The boundaries of the research should be defined, and the technological route should be confirmed. Based on these, a clear research goal can be proposed, and the risks can also be controlled. Although these won’t guarantee 100% positive outcomes, the possibility of failure can be significantly reduced.

In my experience tracking and reporting tools are required for projects involving more that 3 people. For small projects this is often not required. but for bigger projects this is essential. Especially generating reports and monitoring milestones and deliverables is very important.

Moreover, the ability to generate and share these reports seamlessly within the project management tool fosters collaboration. This not only ensures that everyone involved is on the same page but also contributes to a culture of openness and continuous improvement. Identifying trends, analyzing patterns, and learning from project outcomes become integral parts of the process. Project management tools specializing in tracking and reporting transform raw project data into actionable insights. They are the compass guiding research managers through the complexities of project oversight, allowing them not only to navigate challenges efficiently but also to demonstrate the tangible value and impact of their research initiatives.

There is no ?one size fits all“. It depends on the project size, volume, involved persons in the team, stakeholders to include and report to, is it a single organization thing or a multi- organization project, how many departments shall be included, is it basic research at TRLs below 4-5 or beyond. In the end, it is the project leader’s choice, in close decisions with the project owners, what tools or styles to use.

As a Research Management, you must be effective in communicating with all stakeholders and team members through various mediums. Good communication helps your project run smoothly and supports a healthy team culture. You have to demonstrate how to craft and deliver an appropriate message and consider the importance of obtaining and addressing feedback. Most importantly, make sure your communications are clear, relevant, and frequent. I used Asana to create task lists, set deadlines, and track progress. Additionally, it facilitated collaboration among team members.

For effective communication and collaboration in research management, consider project management tools like: 1??Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): Offers Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, and Hangouts for seamless collaboration, document sharing, and communication. 2??Microsoft Teams: Offers chat, video conferencing, document collaboration, and integration with Microsoft Office apps, streamlining communication and project coordination. 3??Trello: Enables visual project management with boards, lists, and cards. Team members can collaborate, assign tasks, and track project status easily.

I personally find very easy to use Teams, as it is integrated with all office apps. While other solutions are also working fine, one has to balance the widespread use of it and the safety issues that limit the use of these tools in some organizations.

This really depends on the type of project and the type of data. Research data useful for open science can be stored better in repositories like Zenodo, where also a DOI is given for easy referencing. One can link the DOI between data and papers easily. Larger data sets are generally stored in the company repositories, but often not accessible to many people.