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\bf 36-726: Statistical Practice\\
\em On working with your investigator
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\noindent
In your stat practice project, you are taking on a new role that many
of you are unfamiliar with: you are working as a kind of collaborator
with the faculty investigator who brought his or her project to the
class.  This is a professional relationship: you must show appropriate
courtesy, respect and etiquette in all aspects of this relationship.
That means both social courtesy and the intellectual respect of {\em
both} working hard to understand what your collaborator (the faculty
investigator) wants and needs, {\em and} communicating clearly and
courteously your best advice, feedback and analysis for the project.

Please note the following guidelines for working with your
faculty collaborators:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Plan to meet with them about once a month.  Some projects may
   naturally lead to more frequent meetings but you shouldn't meet any
   less than once a month.  Be sensitive to the schedule of your
   collaborators, in frequency of meetings (and all things).

\item  Schedule meetings well in advance.  ALWAYS be up front, courteous
   and flexible about scheduling meetings, and ALWAYS be on time for
   meetings.

\item  Be professional, polite and courteous at all times in meetings
   (with your teammates, and with your scientific collaborator).  Your
   collaborators are accustomed to and are expecting professional
   collaborators.  This doesn't mean you should be meek.  It means you
   should be socially graceful.  For example, it is possible (and
   necessary, across scientific and academic cultures) to be graceful
   while digging to get to the bottom of intellectual,
   organizational or other questions.

\item ALWAYS have paper and pencil (or laptop if you are good at using
   one) out during meetings, and ALWAYS be taking copious notes.
   Scientists and other professionals love to talk about their work,
   so you won't have any trouble getting them to talk.  Afterwards,
   study and organize your notes, so you know what to follow up on (or
   not) in future meetings, email, phone calls, etc.  The times your
   collaborators will get impatient if they have to give the same
   lecture twice or three times.  On the other hand, engaging an old
   issue with new or deeper questions or in new directions is an
   activity your collaborators will enjoy.

\item Find out how your collaborators like to communicate between
   meetings.  Some are more tuned to email, some are more tuned to the
   phone.  Be sensitive to how often your collaborators want to be
   contacted between meetings.  Some people like questions saved up in
   batches that only come occasionally, others like to address each
   little question as soon as you think of it.  People who like one
   style typically don't like the other.  Be flexible yourself and
   adapt to your collaborator's style.
\end{enumerate}
Always feel free to come talk to me about about any aspect of
the project.  We will set up regular meetings for you and me in the
spring, but don't wait for our regular meeting if you are concerned or
uncertain about anything (social, scientific, statistical, etc.).
Drop by my office or send email.  If I don't know the answer I'll
help you find it.\\

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Brian Junker \\
132E Baker Hall \\
268-8874 \\
brian@stat.cmu.edu
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\bf Summary of Some Important Points on Consulting 
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\small

\begin{itemize}\tight


\item {\em Welcoming Setting / Body Language / Social Interaction}
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item Setting the agenda, and allowing for flexibility

\item Accomodating client's communication style / thinking style
\end{itemize}

\item {\em Gathering Information}
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item  Open-ended, natural language questions, vs. closed and/or
technical questions
\item When technical terms are unavoidabe, explain them and make sure
they are understood in the client's terms
\item Paraphrasing/summarizing client's input -- make sure client
agrees that he/she has communicated!
\end{itemize}

\item {\em Client as Collaborator}
\begin{itemize}\tight

\item Presenting or surfacing problems for client to solve, without
providing support for solving them
\item Leaving client uninvolved in
decision making.

\item Anticipating and solving problems for client, and/or providing
support tools to help solve problem, e.g.:
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item Institutional resources (when this makes sense)
\item Computational tools consumable by client
\item Summaries of information consumable by client
\end{itemize}
\item Maintaining client involvement in intellectual enterprise and
decision making.

\end{itemize}

\item {\em Delivery of Statistical Information}
\begin{itemize}\tight

\item help client understand the
   information you are communicating, or the process or product that
   you are proposing or reporting on
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item Explain terms
\item Use visual aids
\item Use computer aids
\item Use other aids
\item Use client's background
\item Etc.
\end{itemize}
\item Deliver information formatted so that audiences with different
   needs can easily consume it -- negotiating about needs helps!

\end{itemize}

\item {\em Negotiating}
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item  Clarifying and defining the project:
 tasks, goals, schedule, budget, possible uses of data
   (by both sides!)
\item Clarifying the responsibilities and commitments of both sides
\item Clarifying the expectations of both sides -- e.g., presenting examples
   of what each side hopes to get from the relationship
\item {\bf This is ongoing throughout the project, not just at one
   meeting!}
\end{itemize}

\item {\em Closing}
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item Summarize tasks/responsibilities/expectations of
client and consultant.
\end{itemize}

\item {\em Breakdowns}
\begin{itemize}\tight
\item Occur because expectations are not verbalized,
agreed upon, or simply not met.
\item They happen in every consulting project
\item Learning how to recognize and resolve them is an important
skill!
\item {\bf If you maintain lines for negotiation and frank discussion
of problems as they arise, big breakdowns at the end are less likely.}
\end{itemize}

\end{itemize}



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