Adapting Project Management Principles for Academic research: An Analysis of Current Practices and Development of an Integrated Project Management Pipeline

Abstract

Scientific research is complex and interdisciplinary in nature, involving collaborations and international teams in project execution. To ensure scientific projects remain structured and functional without failure, adopting structured project management frameworks for scientific project management are essential. This thesis examines how various project management methods such as PMBOK 7, PMBOK 6, Lean, Agile, and PRINCE2 can be adapted for scientific research. Additionally, a survey was conducted among university researchers, revealing that smaller research groups rarely use project management tools, even though they understand the scientific project lifecycle and incorporate elements of project management concepts in their work. This suggests that even minimal training could significantly enhance research efficiency, transparency, and quality. Furthermore, the thesis develops a new project management pipeline for young or early investigators, integrating elements from multiple methodologies and organizing them into a structured pipeline with activities at each phase of project management. This framework is designed to help young investigators or research teams to initiate the use of project management tool or process, particularly those that currently lack a formal project management system.