©2025 WashU Medicine
©2025 WashU Medicine
Pe sonal P ojec Managemen
Hen y Bu gess
P inciples o building a pe sonal p ojec managemen wo k low as a Resea ch
So wa e Enginee
These a e my own opinions and expe iences and may no ep esen he iews o my employe .
©2025 WashU Medicine
Agenda
Pe sonal P ojec Managemen
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 2
Wha is Pe sonal P ojec Managemen (PPM)?
Why is PPM impo an ?
P inciple 1: You wo k low should wo k o you
P inciple 2: Complexi y is an enemy o e ec i e wo k
P inciple 3: Don’ be a aid o mimic indus y
P inciple 4: Take ad an age o any independence
P ac ical applica ions o PPM
©2025 WashU Medicine
©2025 WashU Medicine DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 3
Abou Me
Backg ound and ca ee pa h
•So wa e Enginee II in he B ain De elopmen and Diso de s
Labo a o y a WashU
•Bachelo s o Enginee ing (‘21), Mas e o Enginee ing
Managemen (‘26)
•G ew up in Aus alia, eloca ed o S . Louis in 2021
Unde g adua e Resea ch Resea ch Assis an So wa e Enginee II
MEM Deg ee
2020 2021 2025
©2025 WashU Medicine
B ain De elopmen and Diso de s Lab
S udying how b ain ci cui s o m du ing de elopmen and how hese ci cui s media e beha io
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 4
Human Co pus Callosum
Dysgenesis
Cellula and molecula
mechanisms o ea ly b ain
wi ing
Ac i i y-dependen
mechanisms o ea ly b ain
wi ing
Resea ch Themes P ojec s
As he only Resea ch So wa e Enginee in my lab, how do I
manage mul iple p ojec s, and c ea e so wa e wi h complex
equi emen s ha is eliable and ep oducible?
F on -End Full-S ack VR
©2025 WashU Medicine
©2025 WashU Medicine DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 5
Wha is Pe sonal P ojec Managemen (PPM)?
The ac i e managemen o an indi idual’s gene al asks and specialized asks
•Pe sonal p ojec managemen wo ks alongside exis ing p ojec managemen sys ems
•Keeping ack o he cu en s a e o wo k o ha e a e ie able men al model
•PPM “ ools” a e any so wa e o me hods o managing hese asks
Gene al Tasks Specialized Tasks
Highly indi idual, less speci ic scope, ewe
s akeholde s
Tied o a p ojec o goal, de ined scope o wo k,
speci ic skills equi ed
©2025 WashU Medicine
©2025 WashU Medicine DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 6
Why is PPM impo an ?
1. h ps://www.mckinsey.com/indus ies/ echnology-media-and- elecommunica ions/ou -insigh s/yes-you-can-measu e-so wa e-de elope -p oduc i i y
2. h ps://newsle e .p agma icenginee .com/p/measu ing-de elope -p oduc i i y
3. h ps://hb .o g/2021/01/p oduc i i y-is-abou -you -sys ems-no -you -people
P o essionally Pe sonally
•So wa e Enginee p oduc i i y is ha d o
measu e using con en ional me ics [1][2]
•O ganiza ion and p oduc i i y a e ela ed [3],
good PPM enables o ganiza ion
•Innume able ools, pla o ms, and echniques
a ailable o p ojec managemen
•E ec i e and s a egic PPM is an exe cise in
knowing you sel
•Empowe s you o be he mos p oduc i e you
can be wi hin you cu en con ex
•Nu u es echnical e sa ili y and u he s
p o essional de elopmen
©2025 WashU Medicine
P inciple 1: You wo k low should wo k o you
Making ou wo k lows RSE-cen e ed
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 7
•Do we ha e an in e ed pe spec i e o p ojec managemen ools?
•How much o ou way o wo king is in luenced by he ools we use?
•Handheld ools a e e gonomic o a eason
•E ec i e PPM wo k lows a e shaped by and suppo ou ways o wo king
•Wha i we don’ ha e con ol o e he ools we use?
•Does e e y wo k i em ha e a place?
•Can I e u n o my desk omo ow and con inue whe e I le o ?
•Se bounda ies o equi ed ools wi hin you PPM wo k low
Goal: Re- ocus ou PPM wo k lows o he ac ual needs o RSEs
©2025 WashU Medicine
P inciple 2: Complexi y is an enemy o e ec i e wo k
“Li e is eally simple, bu we insis on making i complica ed.” - Con ucius
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 8
•P ojec managemen ools a e useless i you don’ use hem
•Tools a e used because you ei he ha e o o wan o
•T adeo s mus be made be ween cus omizabili y and simplici y
•Risk A: Using highly cus omizable ools o e simple al e na i es
•Risk B: Using simple ools whe e obus s uc u e is equi ed
Cus omizabili y
Simplici y
Goal: Incen i izing e ec i e PPM h ough minimizing complexi y
•A signi ican mo i a o o wan ing o use a ool is con enience:
•Can I unde s and how o use his ool as pa o my PPM wo k low?
•Is i lexible enough o mee my ways o wo king?
©2025 WashU Medicine
P inciple 3: Don’ be a aid o mimic indus y
Inspi a ion o in luence?
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 9
•Success ul and highly p oduc i e o ganiza ions ha e ma u e p ojec managemen s uc u es
•O ganiza ions o scale lean on e ec i e p ojec managemen o be success ul
•We can ake inspi a ion om hese wo k lows wi hou being in luenced by hem
•E alua ing an indus y wo k low:
•Wha ools do hey use?
•How much wo k (buy-in) is equi ed om he indi idual?
•How do hey in eg a e hese ools wi h hei code and o he s anda ds?
Goal: Isola e genuinely good ideas om he noise o opinion o he s a us quo
©2025 WashU Medicine
©2025 WashU Medicine DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 16
In Summa y
Fo Re lec ion
•How do you app oach pe sonal p ojec managemen ?
•How could you apply some o hese P inciples o
s eng hen you wo k low?
P inciple 4: Take ad an age o any independence
P inciple 1: You wo k low should wo k o you
P inciple 2: Complexi y is an enemy o e ec i e wo k
P inciple 3: Don’ be a aid o mimic indus y
©2025 WashU Medicine
Acknowledgemen s
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE 17
B ain De elopmen and Diso de s Lab
Linda Richa ds (PI), Ryan Dean, Ti any Ea le, Lynda Wilmo ,
Su anjana Pal, Na han Mundell, Jona han Lim, Em an Hossen,
Fujun Chen
Collabo a o s
Joe Ba nby, Robin Fié e , Da e B ownell
Educa ion
Ga y Bake
LinkedIn: Hen y Bu gess (@hen yjbu g)
Gi Hub: Hen y Bu gess (@hen yjbu g)
Email: hen y.bu gess@wus l.edu
Le ’s Connec !
B ain De elopmen and Diso de s Lab
Gi Hub: @B ain-De elopmen -and-Diso de s-Lab
Websi e: h ps://si es.wus l.edu/ icha dslab
