As mentioned in Dr.Simon’s lecture on managing a research project, there are several key steps to follow if you are going to complete it successfully. The Initiating Phase would consist of a lot of the literature searches and background knowledge compiled once a project has been decided on. In many cases there may have already been similar experiments conducted, so they can be used as templates which you input the parameters specific to your own project. The Planning Phase would probably consist of putting writing your research protocol. This would include the methods to complete the experiment along with all the materials you will need. A Gantt chart and budget breakdown would be created as they are crucial in organizing your project. Like any other project, after you start conducting it, you will have to monitor it as well and be ready to intervene if problems arise. These may be labs which are miles and miles away from you, so you must be willing to commit more resources to be able to travel to different sites. The Closing Phase will also be standard in that you summarize the protocol results and end all contracts which were signed in the beginning of the experiment. Clearly, these basic project management techniques can be applied to a wide variety of projects, from anything like constructing buildings to testing drugs on mice.