Policy note. This handbook is a living document and does not replace official NMSU, College of Engineering, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Graduate School, funding-agency, immigration, employment, or university policies. When conflicts arise, official policies and written funding/appointment letters take precedence.
Repository Templates
Starter repositories on GitHub that give new lab projects a consistent structure. Use them as the starting point for new code or presentation repositories.
- hsi-lab-template-code — Python project starter with the standard layout, CI, tests, linting, and reproducibility scaffolding.
- hsi-lab-template-presentations — Branded talk and poster templates (PowerPoint plus Overleaf/Beamer) on the NMSU palette.
The rest of this page collects document and workflow templates you copy into an existing project.
Project Charter
Use this as the first project document. Fill it once at project start with your PI. The Project Work Plan workbook is the living task tracker that the timeline points to; the Project README is the in-repository version of the reproducibility plan.
# Project Charter
Status:
Last updated:
## People
PI:
Student/researcher:
Collaborators:
## Funding / Support Source
Grant, assistantship, fellowship, startup funds, course credit, or unfunded exploratory work:
## One-Sentence Goal
## Research Question
## Why It Matters
## Scope and Non-Goals
This project will do:
This project will not do:
## Expected Outputs
- Paper:
- Dataset:
- Code/tool:
- Presentation:
## Success Criteria
Done looks like:
## Data, Compliance, and Ethics
Data sources:
Raw data storage location:
Access restrictions:
License/citation:
IRB / data-use agreement / export-control / community considerations:
## Initial Methods
Key prior work or references:
## Reproducibility Plan
Repository:
Environment file:
Small test case:
Final output/archive location:
## Timeline
First 2 weeks:
First month:
Semester milestone:
Target conference/journal:
## Top Risks and Mitigation
Risk 1:
Mitigation:
Risk 2:
Mitigation:
Risk 3:
Mitigation:
## Authorship and Ownership Notes
Expected lead author / author order:
Authorship criteria:
Data and code ownership:
Reuse or extension after the student leaves:
If the student departs before completion:
Acknowledgments:
## Next Actions
Project Work Plan Template
Use this workbook to turn advising conversations into a visible project plan. It is most useful at the start of a project, when a student needs to break a broad research direction into concrete tasks, data needs, meeting follow-ups, issues, and next actions.
Download the project work plan template
The workbook includes:
- A project task tracker with task, sub-task, note, issue, meeting date, and status columns.
- A status key:
ON-HOLD,START NEXT,IN-PROGRESS, andCOMPLETE. - A data source tracker for data type, collected data, source, notes, and status.
Project README
# Project Title
## Purpose
One paragraph explaining the research question and intended output.
## Data Sources
List sources, access notes, licenses, and download dates.
## Environment
Explain how to create the software environment.
## Reproducing Results
List exact commands or notebook order.
## Repository Structure
## Contacts
Meeting Notes
# Meeting Notes: Project Name
Date:
Participants:
## Updates
## Decisions
## Blockers
## Action Items
## Next Meeting
Paper Review Checklist
# Internal Review Checklist
- [ ] Main claim is clear.
- [ ] Research gap is specific.
- [ ] Methods are reproducible.
- [ ] Figures are readable.
- [ ] Results support the conclusions.
- [ ] Limitations are explicit.
- [ ] References are current and relevant.