DESIGNING A WORKABLE PLAN FOR MY DISSERTATION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject

Total Quality Management
 INTRODUCTION
The knowledge area of time management typically refers to the skills, tools,
and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects
and goals. To become an effective time manager, you should be able to clearly
understand the activities of the project and have the necessary skill set to plan,
schedule, and control a project timeline. In designing a workable plan, remember the
saying, "whatever it takes to help you write your magnum opus with a positive
attitude and on schedule." This can include time management, financial planning,
effective interaction with an advisor and committee, and management of dissertation
activities. Under ideal conditions, you will facilitate your own progress if you can lay
out a written plan for your work, much as a professor writes a course syllabus
including specific dates and the work planned for those dates. This gives your work
a structure that can serve as a guide. Even if unforeseen trouble arises - your own
illness or a family member's, a job change, etc. --you will still have a concrete,
written plan to return to.
A plan for time management is an excellent starting point, something you can
do even as you are refining your proposal. More often than not, students seriously
underestimate the amount of time required to complete a thesis or dissertation. You'll
find it helpful, therefore, to make specific time estimates of various stages of your
work, even if your estimates are subject to change. You may also find it helpful to
discuss time management with other degree candidates to grasp more clearly how
much time may be required.

 Identify the activities that you will pursue in the presentation of your dissertation
a. Topic search & proposal
b. Drawing up a questionnaire (make a list as specific as "preparing
instruments" and "testing instruments")
c. Piloting of the study
d. Undertaking interviews and transcribing material
e. Further search of the literature for prior research (broken down by journals,
books, other dissertations, government documents, etc.)
 f. Background reading and textual analysis
g. Statistical analysis and tabulating results
h. Dissertation Writing
i. Editing and proofing of each chapter
j. Compiling a bibliography
k. Finalization of the Dissertation Paper
l. Presentation/Oral Defense of the Dissertation Paper

 Prepare a timeline in person-months

 Identify activities that are:
1. independent
a. Topic search & proposal
b. Search prior research
c. Planning
d. Record your results
2. dependent
a. Drawing up a questionnaire
b. Further search of the literature for prior research
c. Background reading and textual analysis
d. Statistical analysis and tabulating results
e. Editing and proofing of each chapter
f. Compiling a bibliography

3. can be undertaken simultaneously

a. Piloting of the study
b. Undertaking interviews and transcribing material
c. Dissertation Writing
d. Presentation/Oral Defense of the Dissertation Paper
e. Visiting libraries

 Identify the minimum and maximum time allotted to complete the effort.
The time minimum time allotted each activity is one day such as topic search,
thinking of a topic, finding adviser, undertaking interviews etc. and maximum time
may take a couple of months for the transcribing material, statistical analysis and
tabulating results, visiting libraries, interviewees and dissertation writing.

 Identify time management controls

1. Know what is important. Clearly define the most important aspects of your job--
the effort that generates key results. Focus on the 20 percent that generates 80
percent of the results.
2. Prioritize and make "To Do" lists. Now that you know what is important about
your job make a master weekly "To Do" list. Write a "A," "B," or "C" next to each
item based on importance. At the beginning of each day make a daily "To Do" list.
 Stop and think--which item absolutely must be completed today? This does not
include items you'd like to get done today, but only the item(s) that have to be
completed today.
3. Avoid the "feel like its." Poor time managers base their actions on their feelings
and moods. Effective time management is more about habit than feelings. Good
time managers do what is important first, regardless of their feelings. As Nike
says, "Just Do It!"
4. Schedule your dissertation writing for your peak energy period. During your
peak energy period focus your mental and physical resources on the crucial part
of the dissertation.
5. Toss it or file it. Follow the rule to touch paper only once. Know what is
important and throw away every piece of paper you don't think you will need. If
you want to keep it spend 10 seconds filing that important paper now rather than
30 minutes searching for it later.
6. Use folders to prioritize your work; sub-divide files. If you have paper files
use colors folders to see which jobs need your immediate attention.
7. Be realistic and stay flexible. One way to set yourself up for a panic attack is to
plan an unrealistic amount of work for one day/week/etc. Use your common
sense to recognize when you have over-scheduled yourself. Don't get so
organized where you become unapproachable.
8. Schedule time for you. Schedule a "personal time" appointment on your
calendar each day. If someone wants to see you at that time, just say, "I'm sorry, I
have an appointment then." Whether you use this for personal reflection or as a
few quiet minutes to catch your breath or simply time to think, it's a legitimate use
of time. And you will still get as much, if not more, done.

 Identify and propose measures or standards to ensure quality of intermediate and

final outputs.

1. Define the Activities

 This step requires you to define the tasks, milestones, and other
activities needed to complete the dissertation. Start with a basic definition of
each task and fill in the details as the project gets fleshed out.

A Gantt chart is a simple and quick way to outline the entire project.
Use the Gantt chart to add tasks and their estimated timeframes. Don't worry
about dates at this point, but rather focus on the time it will take to complete
each individual task.

2. Sequence the Activities

Once the activities have been defined, you can start putting the
activities in order. Without worrying about dates, order the activities in a way
that makes the most sense to you. Create subtasks as needed and organize
the dissertation in a logical manner.
Once you have the activities in order, add dependencies to each task.
Using dependencies, rather than dates, will help you see the true timeline of
the dissertation. The design activity is a prerequisite to the development
activity. If the design activity is completed later than expected, the
development activity will also be pushed out to a later date.

3. Plan your research carefully.

Remember that it takes time to set up interviews, receive and analyze
questionnaires. However, a thoughtless move (e.g. not undertaking a pilot
study, not backing up material) can very quickly ruin months of work. You
might work best at the last minute but you can’t expect others to fit in with
your time frame. Always write up what you did as soon as possible after you
did it (and date it).

4. Estimate Activity Resources

This step is one of the more challenging steps because it requires you
to assess the supply and demand of each resource/person and how it relates
to your dissertation. Do you have enough resources to complete the
assignment as scheduled or do you need additional resources?

5. Develop and Control the Schedule

Devise a visual representation of your dissertation/project, whether a
Wall-chart, Gantt chart or Network diagram.
6. Follow the format of the dissertation paper.
It is a good idea to decide on the look of your document at the outset, too,
to avoid discovering at the end that you have a number of conflicting
styles. The font size, spacing and page margins might be determined.
7. Outline each chapter before writing.
You'll find your writing will be more coherent and cohesive. Remember
that a first or even second draft won't be perfect, and that's ok. Just get
started, and edit later.
8. Record all important details related to the dissertation.
At the output end, you need to keep a record of all the potentially useful
items you discover. Make sure you keep all the details necessary for the
Bibliography that will appear at the end of your dissertation. In fact, if you
get in the habit of recording these details in the required format at the
time, you’ll avoid hours of painstaking work at the end.