Tools

This section provides the project management tools allowing to turn any idea into a structured project and maintain its internal logic. Regardless of its scientific content, it is highly recommended to arrange the project to show the consistency between its different parts, representing goals, work packages, results, and indicators in the application form.

There are several different management tools widely used for many years depending on the project type and can be broken down into two fundamental categories: general, including scientific and business and commercialization projects. Below we present the basic tools to be commonly used in the application forms by Polish and European funding agencies.

The logical framework or logframe is a document that gives an overview of a project’s objectives, activities, and resources. It also provides information about external elements that may influence the project, called assumption. A logical framework matrix is the output of a program design process where you work out how the program activities will lead to the immediate outputs, and how these will lead to the outcomes and goal. The structure of the logical framework is as follows:

  • Goal (overall aim).
  • Outcome/Purpose (what will be achieved, who will benefit, and by when).
  • Outputs (specific results the project will generate).
  • Activities (what tasks need to be done for the output to be achieved).

LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

Gantt charts help to plan work around deadlines and properly allocate resources. Projects managers also use Gantt charts to maintain a bird’s eye view of projects. It depicts, among other things, the relationship between the start and end dates of tasks, milestones, and dependent tasks. The Gantt charts mapping can be broken down into five steps consisting of identifying the steps or activities needed to complete the project: milestones within the project, the expected time required to complete each task, the sequence of tasks and the order of precedence of tasks, and finally, plotting a horizontal time axis on the bottom of a page.

Gantt chart template

Preclinical Development Timeline

TECH-005 Gantt chart template

Rozdział pracy na osoby w projekcie

A PERT chart breaks down the separate tasks that make up a project and helps analyze the time it will take to complete each task. It also helps identify the minimum amount of time you’ll need to complete the entire project. A PERT diagram is made up of arrows, rectangles, circles, or tables, which map a project’s tasks and the overall schedule. They can be very top-level and show only the most crucial stages of a project or are more detailed and granular.

The business model canvas is a shared language for describing, visualizing, assessing, and changing business models. It describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value. Business Canvas Model encompasses nine tools that describe and assess a business model: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure.

Business Model Canvas

Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. The use of TRLs enables consistent, uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology A technology’s TRL is determined during a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) that examines program concepts, technology requirements, and demonstrated technology capabilities. TRLs are based on a scale from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most mature technology. The European Commission advised EU-funded research and innovation projects to adopt the scale in 2010. TRLs were consequently used in 2014 in the EU Horizon 2020 program. In 2013, the TRL scale was further canonized by the ISO 16290:2013 standard. A comprehensive approach and discussion of TRLs have been published by the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO).

Technology Readiness Level TRL