Chapter three

Qualities in project
Implementation and management

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 Summary
 This session covers the aspects of project
implementation and management from
activation onwards, including factors that affect
project implementation.
 Project management as a concept is
considered.
 The characteristic of a good project manager
are discussed.

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 Contents
 Introduction to Project Implementation
 Project Activation
 Project Operation
 Approaches to Project Implementation
 Project Implementation Plan
 Factors Affecting Project Implementation
 Project Management Defined
 Aspects of Project Management
 Characteristics of a good Project Manager 3
 Project Implementation
 Process whereby “project inputs are
converted to project outputs”. May be looked
at as:
 Putting in action the activities of the project.
 Putting into practice what was proposed in
the project document (i.e. transforming the
project proposal into the actual project.)
 Management of the project or executing the
project intentions.

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 Project Implementation (cont.)
 Implementation is usually done by implementing
agency (organization) that prepared the project and
received funding for it.

 Other organizations that participate in the

implementation of the project
 by way of collaboration, say by according good working
relationship, extending technical advice or seconding their
staff to the project are referred to as co-operating
agencies.

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 Project Implementation phase
involves:
 Project activation, and
 Project operation

Project activation
 This means making arrangements to have the
project started. It involves coordination and
allocation of resources to make project operational.
Project operation
 This is practical management of a project. Here,
project inputs are transformed into outputs to
achieve immediate objectives. 6
 Project operation and
maintenance
Operation and maintenance
 To attain value and maximum returns, the
district/municipality or the beneficiaries organize
for the facility to have the project properly
managed and maintained regularly.
 An operation and maintenance manual is
prepared by the contractor and handed to the
district / beneficiaries.

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 Approaches to project
implementation
Top-down approach
 Implementation mainly done by agencies from
outside the community with limited involvement by
the beneficiaries.
Bottom-up approach
 Beneficiaries implement the project. Outside
agencies may provide the financial resources and
technical assistance.
Collaborative participatory approach
 Both top-down and bottom-up approaches to
project implementation are applied in the process. 8
Project implementation plan
(PIP)

 If PIP not carried out during the project

design process and embodied in the
project documents, it is carried out at the
project activation stage.

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Project implementation plan
includes:
a) The project implementation schedule

This is concerned with:

 What activities can produce expected
project outputs?
 What is the sequence of these activities?
 What is the time frame for these activities?
 Who will be responsible for carrying out
each activity?
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Project implementation plan
includes:

 The following methods may be used to

answer the above questions:
 Gantt chart
 Critical Path Method (CPM) or Net work
analysis
 Project Evaluation and Review Techniques
(PERT)
 Simple formats
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What is a GANTT Chart?
 The Gantt chart is also referred to as the
progress chart.
 It is a chart showing the timing of project
activities using horizontal bars.
 It is one of the techniques of project
scheduling, which depicts the frequency of
activities and determines the period of time
for implementation.

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How to determine a GANTT chart
 Determine the parts or implementation
phases of the project and the sequence in
which the associated activities shall be
carried out
 Then estimate the amount of time required
for each activity
 List the activities that can be carried out at
the same time and identify those to be carried
out sequentially

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How to construct a GANTT chart
 Time represented on the horizontal axis, and
activities on the vertical axis.
 Bars are entered to indicate the time period
allocated for each activity and the state of
progress at any particular point in time.

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Example: Maize farming project
Activity

 Marketing

 Threshing

 Harvesting

 Weeding

 Planting

 Preparing seedbed
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Time period/ months

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The Simple Format

ACTIVITY STARTING ENDING COST RESPONSIBLE REMARKS

DATE DATE PERSON
- Preparing seed bed
- Planning
- Weeding
- Harvesting
- Storage
- Threshing
- Marketing

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Practical
Develop
 a Gantt chart
 Simple Format
project implementation schedules in relation
to the identified projects in the project
identification session.

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 Project implementation plan
(cont.)

b) The role of the implementing agency

 The specific responsibilities of the key staff during
project implementation and monitoring are
outlined.

c) Beneficiary participation
 The involvement of the beneficiaries in planning
and implementation and what is expected of them
is spelt out.
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 Project implementation plan
(cont.)
d) Organizational structure and staffing
Here the following are sought:
 Project structure for purposes of management
 Qualifications and skills for the staff
 Job descriptions and specifications for the staff
 Technical assistance if needed

e) Financial management
This looks at funds management, accounting period,
financial reports and statements and how often they
will be made? 19
 Project implementation plan
(cont.)
f) Reporting system
This looks at who will be reporting to whom and
how often. There is need to design standard
reporting formats.
g) Sustainability
The concept of sustainability is based on belief that
project should result in benefits that have lasting
effect. Project should be sustained beyond the life
of funding - especially if it is a grant.
Project should not exhaust the available resources
like raw materials and labor. 20
Project implementation plan
(cont.)
Time control and remedial action
Time taken to implement project activities is one
measure of successfulness of supervision or
monitoring of project implementation.
Supervisor pays particular attention to time control
measures, time scheduling and its supervision, time
extension and postponement, damages for non-
completion and defect or warranty period.

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Project implementation plan
(cont.)
Supervision of implementation of project
schedule
This involves a set of checks and balances to ensure
that the schedule is being adhered to.
To ensure that the time schedule is being adhered to,
the project activity time listing can be of great
importance.

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 Project Activity Time Listing
Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Progress
code Description duration earliest time latest time remark

Start Finish Start Finish

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 Practical

 Using the Project Activity Time Listing,

develop a Project Activity Time Listing table
in relation to the Identified project in project
identification session, and fill it in.

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Factors affecting project
implementation

 Factors that lead to  Factors and problems

success of projects that lead to failure of
 Political Commitment projects
 Simplicity of Design  Financial Problems
 Careful preparation  Management problems
 Good management  Technical problems
 Involvement of
beneficiaries/community  Political problems

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 Factors affecting project
implementation
Other typical implementation problems
 Poor scheduling of projects leading to delays in imp.
 Poor scheduling of projects leading to delays in
implementation.
 Misallocation of funds
 Delay and sometimes lack of counterpart funding
 Lack of accountability and transparency
 Bureaucracy in decision-making.
 Selfishness/nepotism/favoritism by some project
managers. 26
 Factors affecting project
implementation
Other typical implementation problems (cont.)
 Weak monitoring systems
 Natural catastrophes like drought, earthquakes,
landslides, and hailstorms.
 Policy changes
 Migration of beneficiaries
 Lack of team work
 Lack of incentives for implementers.
 etc
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 Project management
Management may be defined as;
 Getting things done from the available resources,
the way you want them to be done.

Project management defined

 Project Management is an all-embracing term
covering the management of every detail of a
project (Project cycle) and may be defined as, “the
process of planning and directing a project from its
inception to its final completion”. 28
Project management (cont.)
Project management decisions - a necessary
function for setting up a project. It is concerned with:
 Forecasting
 Setting objectives
 Policy making
Planning - determines success/failure of project. It
has three (3) main aspects:
 Programming
 Scheduling and
 Budgeting 29
 Project management (cont.)
Project control - To control is to compare
actual with planned achievements and take action
to correct any adverse deviations. It involves:
 Plans of Operation
These are the result of the planning process of Project
management.
 Review and Updating
Review is necessary to determine whether the project is
proceeding according to plan or not. Updating is
recording the state of the project as shown by the
reviews, or of making amendments. 30
 Project management (cont.)
Project Action - When review has shown a
project to be deviating from plan, action is
required to restore the operation to its planned
characteristics.

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Characteristics of a good
project manager
A good project manager should:
 have working knowledge in several fields
 be able to understand general managerial
problems
 have active interest in training and
developing subordinates
 be able to delegate some tasks to
subordinates

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 Characteristics of a good
project manager (cont.)
A good project manager should:
 know the project and understand its objectives
 know the systematic process for managing
projects
 be able to answer the following questions:
 What is the project for?
 Why is it required?
 Whom does it serve?
 How is it justified?
 How is it going to be used?
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