Running a Digital Project at an Academic Institution: Working with Researchers Whose Time Is Their Most Valuable Asset

Project managers leading a design project at an academic institution like the Weizmann Institute face a unique work culture: senior researchers are key stakeholders in the project, yet their time is extremely limited. They spend most of their day on research, publishing papers, and advising students. A one-hour discovery meeting is a significant ask of them, and project management has to adapt itself to this culture. In the projects I worked on for the Weizmann Institute, the working methodology was built on "Minimum Time, Maximum Output." Instead of open-ended meetings, I prepared a detailed work packet for each meeting that summarized the decisions made so far and presented exactly the decisions that needed input. The researchers could respond, approve, or suggest changes — and get back to their research. In addition, we developed an "Async Approvals" methodology using Figma. Instead of requiring a meeting for every decision, researchers could review design proposals at their own convenience, add comments in Figma (Comments), and approve or reject them asynchronously. This approach saved dozens of meeting hours and allowed the researchers to stay focused on their research. For project managers in academic institutions, research hospitals, or pharmaceutical companies with leading R&D teams, the insight is: adapt your project methodology to the work culture of your stakeholders. Forcing a classic high-tech methodology onto academic researchers won't work. Flexibility in your tools and in asynchronous work is the key to success.