Communications can present the greatest risks to a project, as such, most funding organisations will require you to create a communications plan with your project.

There is the need to write in any project you do. What needs to be written, and how much of your time it takes will be different for everyone, but most scientists will underestimate how much of their time will be spent writing.

Projects are defined by three main constraints – time, cost and quality. Managing the budget is part of the third stage of project management documentation to mitigate project risks.

The first step in risk planning and management is identifying the risks.

In science, you have to accept that you will always have critics, and not everyone will agree with your point of view.

In Australia, the conduct of research involving humans is governed by various state legislation, which links to the NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and the Australian Code for Responsible Conduct of Research.

Networking involves talking to other people. In the context of science, this could mean talking to people with different perspectives, ideas and expertise – even if they are not a scientist.

There will always be more than one audience that will be affected by your project and its outcomes.