In this project simulation, Patty wasn't the project manager but she was a significant stakeholder and team member. The project manager's job is to mediate between these two personalities. It is possible however to have a difficult project manager who may have a similar disposition to Patty. I have found that when you need to communicate a challenge that has a significant impact on the project it is best to make sure you have support from your management first. Make sure they are up to speed and agree with your recommendation before communicating to the rest of the team. In my case my manager would reach out to "Patty's manager" to soften the blow. This can allow the team to have a discussion of the different solutions and risks to the project.

I think the best strategy is to get the disagreeing parties together in a room and have a face to face meeting so that everyone can understand the full picture and determine a strategy for moving forward. A very important thing for a project manager to remember is to avoid finger pointing and try to reduce finger pointing among team members, as this does not help the project at all and causes hard feelings. If the project manager had tried to resolve this by talking separately with Patty and Malekai it would have been much more leg work for the project manager, and could have resulted in additional misunderstanding, whereas in the simulation, once Patty, Malekai and the project manager sat down together to discuss the issue with the animal study timeline, although Patty was not happy with the outcome, she understands why the animal studies are need to take so long and accepts the timeline.

In the simulation , We can have people of different approach.As a project manager we need to understand each situation of the project. 'Transparency' is really important for a successful project. we can have a project team of different power, interest, culture, Knowledge, skill, and understanding. We need to utilize the people or the team accordingly. A good communication is really important for a successful project. If is a group meeting it will be good. You can also work or arrange a meeting with the functional team that affect the growth of the project. Also it is also good to have a second opinion, If you had a communication with Dr Derek Malekai, before you submit you timelin, You can have avoided the risk in project timeline.

When it comes to a timeline change in a project, this will causing delay in the project. If you are a project manager, you need to create accurate project timeline, that will help you reach your goals as planned. A Gantt chart timeline need to be followed in the project.
In project management you need to focus on:
The list of tasks to be completed.
The dates on which the tasks need to be complete (like start and end date for example).
The expected duration of each task.
Dependencies between tasks.

A lot of things could be affected in the project if any delay happened, for example, Budget (for example) if you are spending money on pre-clinical study, so you will spend more money if the project delayed.
So, always follow the Gantt Chart.

Ial4's suggestion to consult with Dr. Malekai is correct for avoiding timeline issues about the animal study, however in this simulation, the initial timeline submitted to management was out of your control. what we can learn from this simulation as a PM is to structure your team so that any decisions that depend on the approval of a team member is only made after speaking to said team member. many people addressed transparency above, which is essential. but its not just transparency but also structuring your project time line so that you and your team double check and balance every part of the project. while the increased attention to detail my be onerous, it should prove to foster a smoother project overall.

In this simulation, there were a few paths you could take to complete the mini simulation. The first one I took, which seemed the simplest, was to have Patty and Dr. M sit together and figure out the issue. I think, overall, that is usually the best case scenario because it allows people to come together and hash things out. The reason this was even an issue was because Dr. M had previously not been presented with the information and he only came forward later in the process because that is when he found out. Having clear, direct communication lines is one of the best signs of a good project manager because if people are on the same page, it gets confusing. If the issue with the animal studies had been settled over other mediums, such as separate emails, it would have taken far longer than a simple in-person (or telephone) conversation.

However, to prevent an issue like this overall, Dr. M should have been involved since the very beginning.

In reference to your second question, there were a few outcomes, two of which I thoroughly explored. The first was that Dr. M did had his way and the project was extended. The second was the it was done in 4 months and there was higher risk because the FDA might have shut it down. I do not believe the 4 month option was worthwhile (even though it worked out this time) because the risk was too high. If the FDA had shut down the project, we'd have had to start all over again, which would have been far more costly and time consuming.

The most important thing that must be done between team member’s is communication. Changes to the timeline can be avoided if team members are constantly communicating whether via text, calls, emails, or in person. I agree with ial4 that if Patty spoke with Dr. Derek Malekai before coming up with the timeline than this whole issue could have been avoided. If a manager is being unruly or unrealistic, they need to be spoken to. They need to be told why it would not work out with facts supporting your claim. If that is not enough than maybe is would be best to replace the manager with someone else, worst case scenario.

This will definitely delay the project. Both sides can be at fault, Dr. Malekai should have presented his information earlier. This simulation showed that there is miscommunication within the project team. The research was basically condense and gave a higher risk potential. I understand that in this situation can be stressful but as professionals they cannot point fingers, and come together as a team to resolve this issue. In my opinion they should have more weekly meetings with all the project team members. They can go over all the issues they are having and find a resolution. Also if there is an issue don’t wait till the meeting, inform the entire team.

Communication is key to any project team. Therefore, it is part of the project manager to facilitate an open environment for expressions of any concerns. One should first schedule a meeting with the PM to discuss the issue and then plan accordingly. I believe from personal experience setting up a meeting or having face to face meeting is best. Expressing concerns through text or email may not allow one to get the whole point across. A group meeting is a good idea and typically the PM should host weekly or biweekly meetings to discuss progress on the timeline. It is at this time that team members should address their concerns with the team.

If the PM is being unrealistic, a meeting should be scheduled to discuss potential ideas to meet deadlines. The PM should understand however not everyone is created equal. Sometimes, the research scientist or anyone may not have a choice and will have to get the work done. If at all possible, maybe communicate and ask for help from another scientist in the department.

When having a stern project stakeholder like Patty in the simulation, it is the project manager's duty to mediate any issues in concerns. Through clear communication and open-mindedness, the team should be able to tackle any issues that may arise efficiently. Also, team members should be professional by being open-minded to hear out the reasonings of other team members because they may have more insight into a specific area of the project. The project manager can facilitate an open communication environment and conduct regular meetings with the entire team to make sure all concerns are addressed and that the overall project timeline is met.

The best way to deal with a project team member like Patty, is to get her to understand why things need to be changed and communicate to her the importance. In this simulation, we had the choice of scheduling a meeting between Patty and the research team member who was doing the study which I thought was the best way to proceed. By scheduling a meeting between team members who have differing view points on the timeline we were able to hear both sides reasoning for why they thought what they did and it helped solve the issue by getting Patty to see the side of the study coordinator and the reason why her timeline wasn't plausible.