Application of Project Management Tools and Techniques to Support Nursing Intervention Research

Overview of Design and Intervention

Closing of the Project

Discussion

Conclusions

References

Abstract

Nursing research involves much planning and attention to details, yet novice and seasoned nurse researchers often overlook the day-to-day operations required to conduct research studies. Project management is a set of iterative steps that can facilitate the process of conducting nursing research. In this paper we aim to provide an overview of project management and identify ways in which its specific principles and strategies may be applied to facilitate nursing research. Here we give an overview of our current longitudinal study using a Solomon four-group design and illustrate how we applied strategies and tools from the project management literature. In addition, we offer descriptions and illustrations of several other project management tools that could have been used in specific phases of this research project. We encourage nurse educators and researchers to familiarize themselves with the principles of project management and consider using them in future studies.

Conclusions

In this paper we described actual and potential applications of strategies and tools described in the PMBOK Guide in an ongoing longitudinal intervention study. In particular, we provided examples of brainstorming, lessons learned, expert judgment, using a fishbone diagram to conduct a root cause analysis, using a spider web diagram for brainstorming, estimating budget with a top-down process, and developing a Gantt chart to depict the order for project tasks. We noted, as have others, that the details inherent in having a nursing research project run smoothly, on time, and within budget can be assured by applying principles of project management as detailed in the PMBOK Guide. We encourage nurse educators and researchers alike to familiarize themselves with these tools and techniques and consider using them in future projects.