of the decision-makers and budget managers for the duration of the work? Whether or not problems were uncovered, share your findings with your director and collaborators; the objective of this phase is to build a consensus to proceed with no further changes Expect the Unexpected How flexible is your research plan? Have you allowed yourself the freedom pt your strategy in light of unanticipated out comes? This happens frequently and is not always bad news Unexpected results might require slowing down the process or stopping altogether until a new path can be selected. Perhaps whole elements of the work might be skipped. In any case you should plan on midcourse corrections in your schedule. You cant always eliminate these redirections, but if you plan for them you can avoid many unnecessary surprises. There are likely to be multiple paths to the desired outcome. If the unexpected occurs, consider categorizing problems as either technical or global. Tech nical problems are usually procedural in nature. The data obtained are either unreliable or untenable. In the former case the gather ing of data may need to be repeated or the procedure optimized to the new conditions in order to increase data reliability. In the later case the procedure may prove to be inadequate and an alternative needs to be found. a global problem is one in which reliable data point you in a direction far removed from the original plan Technical problems are ultimately the responsibility of the prin cipal investigators, so keep them informed. They might provide the solution, or refer you to another resource. Sometimes these prob- lems can take forever to fix, so an upper limit should be agreed upon so that long delays will not be an unpleasant surprise to the other participants. Delays can be the source of much resentment among team members but should be considered an unavoidable ce of research Global problems might require more drastic rethinking The challenge for the investigator is to decide what constitutes a solvable technical glitch and what comprises a serious threa to the overall objectives. Experience is the best guide. If you have handled similar problems in the past, then you are the best judge. If you haven't, locate someone who has In any case communicate your concerns to all involved parties as early as possible Preparing for Success in the Laboratoryof the decision-makers and budget managers for the duration of the work? Whether or not problems were uncovered, share your findings with your director and collaborators; the objective of this phase is to build a consensus to proceed with no further changes. Expect the Unexpected How flexible is your research plan? Have you allowed yourself the freedom to adapt your strategy in light of unanticipated out￾comes? This happens frequently and is not always bad news. Unexpected results might require slowing down the process or stopping altogether until a new path can be selected. Perhaps whole elements of the work might be skipped. In any case you should plan on midcourse corrections in your schedule. You can’t always eliminate these redirections, but if you plan for them, you can avoid many unnecessary surprises. There are likely to be multiple paths to the desired outcome. If the unexpected occurs, consider categorizing problems as either technical or global. Tech￾nical problems are usually procedural in nature.The data obtained are either unreliable or untenable. In the former case the gather￾ing of data may need to be repeated or the procedure optimized to the new conditions in order to increase data reliability. In the later case the procedure may prove to be inadequate and an alternative needs to be found. A global problem is one in which reliable data point you in a direction far removed from the original plan. Technical problems are ultimately the responsibility of the prin￾cipal investigators, so keep them informed.They might provide the solution, or refer you to another resource. Sometimes these prob￾lems can take forever to fix, so an upper limit should be agreed upon so that long delays will not be an unpleasant surprise to the other participants. Delays can be the source of much resentment among team members but should be considered an unavoidable consequence of research. Global problems might require more drastic rethinking. The challenge for the investigator is to decide what constitutes a solvable technical glitch and what comprises a serious threat to the overall objectives. Experience is the best guide. If you have handled similar problems in the past, then you are the best judge. If you haven’t, locate someone who has. In any case communicate your concerns to all involved parties as early as possible. Preparing for Success in the Laboratory 3