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10 Challenges of EU Research Projects …

… and How to Surmount Them

Dr. Martin SpieckDLR – German Aerospace Center

Hamburg

2

Köln-Porz

Lampoldshausen

Stuttgart

Oberpfaffenhofen

Göttingen

Bonn

Trauen

Hamburg

Neustrelitz

Weilheim

ETW

DNW

Braunschweig

Bad Godesberg

Augsburg

Stade DLR is Germany's national research centre for aeronautics and space. 7400 employees 32 research institutes / scientific institutionslocated at8 sites,8 locations, and agencies in Brussels, Paris, Washington and Tokyo.

Participation of DLR at:European Transonic Wind Tunnel (ETW) Deutsch-Niederländische Windkanäle (DNW)

3

Successful projects? successfulfailedchallenged

Que

lle: S

tand

ish G

roup

(Bos

ton,

MA,

USA

)

0%

20%

40%

10%

30%

50%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004200 2006 2009

16%

31%

53%

27%

40%33%

26% 28%

46%

28%23%

49%

34%

15%

51%

29%

18%

53%

35%

19%

46%

32%

24%

44%

4

(1) Research projects are special.

Start zone of ambiguity?

5

(2) There is no „silver bullet“ for proposals.

project planmarketing

popular sciencebusiness planwww.asterix.com

6

(3) A proposal has a target audience of three: the evaluators.

7

(4) Smart project planning aligns individual agendas with the overall objectives.

8

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

level

time

methodology

tools results

average

advanced

expert

9

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

level

time

methodology

tools results

average

advanced

expert

10

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

level

time

methodology

tools results

average

advanced

expert

11

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

level

time

methodology

tools results

average

advanced

expert

12

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

level

time

methodology

tools results

average

advanced

expert

13

classicalanalysis

1 day 1 week 1 month 1 year project working lifegeneration

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 210 211 212 213 214 215

sophisticatedapproach

„pragmaticsophistication“

effort[log2]

benefit

(5) It is not a good idea to focus on everything.

14

(6) Efficient management of large projects: the „project of projects“

WP 1

WP 2

WP 3

WP 4

WP 5

WP 1

WP A-2

WP A-3

WP A-4

WP 5

WP B-2

WP B-3

WP B-4

WP C-2

WP C-3

WP C-4

15

(7) Smart reporting: administrative duties do not have to be a bureaucratic burden.

16

(8) The purpose of a meeting is not to meet, it is to work.

17

(9) Always keep your officer informed.

... and in the experiment, the laboratory exploded

just as planned … … everything is just on

schedule … … no need to worry, really!

18

(10)Mind the gap!Traps which migth be fatal for your project…

scope creep „Is it O.K. to add just some features?“

lip service support „We‘ll do everything we can…“exit of stakeholders „This number is temporarily

unavailable.“loss of key personnel „Joe is no longer working here,

but Jack has seen once how to do it…“

political / dark agendas

… when failing is success.

…

19

“Here comes Edward Bear now, down the stairs behind Christopher Robin. Bump! Bump! Bump! on the back of his head. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming down stairs. He is sure that there must be a better way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment to think of it.“

A.A. Milne, “Winnie The Pooh”, 1926