MA 112 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Introduction to Project Management

Project
 Is any human activity that achieves a clear objective against a specified time?
 A project is a set of related tasks that are coordinated to achieve a specific objective in a given time limit and with
uniqueness in relation to achieving a specific objective, accomplishing a definite role within a time limit and can be
well coordinated alongside involving many people or a team.
 These peculiarities ensure that the project is completed within a stipulated time and that its performance satisfies
its intended purpose.
 A unique endeavor to produce asset of deliverables within clearly specified time, cost and quality constraints”.

Programmed
-is a set of related projects. A project program means a list of activities for a project showing the dates for starting
and finishing them can also be called a schedule.

Intervention
-is the process of involving man, money and materials in a situation in order to improve or help it.

The Intervention process involves two parties:

Interventional party - individuals involved in improving the situation into a more desired status.
a) Target party-direct beneficiaries of the activities of the project
b) Development
o It is a process of improving the wellbeing of people's living
o Standards in terms of education, health and related human potentiality.
o It should be holistic and multi-dimensional involving the participation of the people who should own the
project themselves.
o Development involves activities and programs that help people more from low to higher standards of living
as their needs are met satisfactorily.

Management
o It is the art of performing a task, maintaining its integrity and ensuring that.
o It is done and performed as desired within time, cost, budget fixed.
o Project management therefore foresees and predicts dangers and problems and plan, organize and control
activities so that projects are completed as successfully as possible.

Target
o Are the targeted results and targeted beneficiary in a project. Any project aims at affecting a particular
people with its specific results aimed to solve group's problem.
o It is important to note that a project may target a particular group in a community

Problems - Anything that can hinder

Demand -Great desire to possess something

Need -It is a desire to acquire something necessary

-Should have evaluation that are used to build on future projects

Characteristics of a Good Project

1. Is should have a time frame
2. It should have a fixed set of objectives that achieved the project seam to exist.
3. It should be flexible to allow changes that may not have an impact
4. It should be result oriented/productive i.e. It should aim at binging a change in the society
5. It requires team work i.e., the team should consist of members belonging to the different disciplines (e.g., in
construction engineers, accountants, social scientists are required.)
6. It should be made to the orders of the customers' s i.e., requirements and control within a project must be executed
as given by the customers.
7. It should be well planned (conceived) to reduce risks and uncertainties
8. It should be carried out through a series of interdependent task i.e., a number of repetitive tasks that needs to be
accomplished in a certain sequence in order to achieve the project objective.
9. The execution of the project must be controlled to ensure that the desired results are achieved. (quality)
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 10. The project must be completed within a given budget.
11. It should have activities that are tailored around a clear purpose
12. Should be consistence with the customs of the community

Types of projects
-In recent years, more and more activities have been tackled on a project basis. Project teams and project
management have become common in most organizations. The basic approaches to project management remain the same
regardless of the type of project being considered.
-You may find it useful to consider projects in relation to a number of classifications

Engineering and construction

-These projects are concerned with producing a clear physical output 1.e. roads, bridges, buildings etc.
-The requirement of a project team is well defined in terms of skills and background as well as the same procedures
that need.
Most of the problems that may confront the project team are likely to have occurred before; therefore, their
solutions may be based upon experiences.

Introduction of new systems

-These projects would include computerization projects and introduction of new systems and procedures including
financial systems.
-The nature and constitution of a project team may vary with the subject of the project. This is because different
skills may be required and different end users may be involved.
-Major projects involving a system analysis may incorporate clearly defined procedures within an organization.

Responding to deadlines and change

-An example of responding to a deadline is the preparation of an annual report by a specified date.
-An increasing number of projects are concerned with designing organizational or environmental changes involving
developing new products and services.

Other types of projects include: -

a) Normal projects
-In this case adequate time is allowed in implementation. All the phases are allowed to take the time that they
should normally take. This type of project requires minimum capital cost and no sacrifice in terms of quality.

b) Crush projects
-Here, additional capital costs are incurred to gain time. Maximum overlap of phases is encouraged and
compromised in terms of quality; savings in time is normally achieved through procurement and construction
where time is bought from vendors and constructors by paying them extra money.

c) Disaster project
-Anything needed to gain time is allowed in this project. Quality, short of failure is accepted around the dock work is
done at the construction site. Capital cost will go very high before the project time will get reduced.

NOTE: A project can either be categorized as small scale, medium or large scales. They may also fall under different sectors
i.e., public and private sectors.

IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

 Project development is the 1" phase in any project therefore it serves a very important purpose of any project.
These includes: -
 Important ideas about the project are conceived, discussed and approved by the project team.
 It helps in deciding what kind of project is most needed, given the development requirement at a particular time
and place.
 The project team can pre-determine the sources of raw materials in terms of quality and quantity.
 The size and the capacity of the project is determined
 Manpower and organizational patterns are determined
 Financial analysts is done i.e. sources of finance are determined and evaluation of financial viability is done.
 It improves the quality of life of the targeted people/parties

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PRINCIPLES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The completion of a project is the primary objective. A project must be completed 100% no lapse regard is
accepted. In this regard we need to observe the following principles: -

1) Commitment principles - An equitable commitment between principles and resources and project delivery team must
exist before a viable project is realized.

2) Success principle - The measures of a project success in terms of the processes and products must be defined at the
beginning of a project as a basis for project management decision making and post project evaluation.

3) Principles of management - Policies and procedures that are effective must be in place for the conduct and control of the
project commitment.

4) Single point response principle - A single channel of communication must exist between the project sponsor and the
project team leader for all the decisions affecting the product scope.

5) Principles of cultural evaluation - Management must provide an informed supportive cultural evaluation to ensure that
the projects delivery terms are able to work within the limits of their capacity.

6) Principle of strategy - Encompassing 1 st learning than doing in a focused set of sequential progressive phases must be in
place.

7) Transparency and accountability and report principle

8) Principle of sustainability
9) Principle of ownership and principle of needs assessment

ROLES OF A PROJECT MANAGER

I. The project manager has multiple roles to play within their work. These roles can be summarized into 3 main
categories.
II. As a chief executive
III. All projects involve the execution of a variety of activities utilizing physical and human resources to achieve specific
objective.
IV. Within a project, someone must have authority of controlling these resources and be accountable for the success or
achievements. This is usually the project manager.
V. As a chief executive the project manager is expected to make things happen by active Intervention.
VI. He/she cannot wait for changes to occur but must actually create them

As a leader
o The manager has a role of exerting authority and influence directly the people working either for the project he has
or in the local evaluation.
o He/she defines the ethics, values and the norms of the project team, establishes the atmosphere of the
project/organization and the way the various project activities are approached.

As a diplomat
o He/she negotiates the relationship between the project and its evaluation.
o Here, he/she is required to ensure adequate support of the project in terms of resources, supplies and services
o He also ensures political support without that the project is likely to fail.
o The manager's role as a diplomat requires high level of sensitivity, good negotiation skills and the ability to feel for a
situation. A successful manager should be able to understand the relationship of the project to its evaluation.

Other role of project managers

o To control and organize labor needed by the project
o To lead people and organize assignment at a given point in time
o To monitor performance, costs and efficiency of all elements of the project and the project as a whole.
o To complete the project on schedule or on time and within cost, this being the overall standards by that the
performance of the project manager is evaluated
o To solve the problems that arises in the project or within the project team.

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Functions of a project manager
A good manger also has a character-based functions and includes: -
o Developing the vision, he/she should have a sharp focus to vision and draw others to it, ensure project relevance,
set objectives and remain inspirational.
o Maintaining commitments, he/she should communicate constantly the project rational in order to rekindle the five.
o Integrator he/she coordinates activities, provides overall project system, provide complete task definitions, defines
the end and provides the performance criteria
o Change agent - in this case, he/she insist on accuracy and honesty, uses people's management skills, instills the
sense of urgency.
o Resource provider - he provides human resource, facility, finance as well as defines the resource requirement
o Conflict management - he ensures conflict resolution, smooth progress in the organization. He also anticipates
bottlenecks and problems

Role of the communication in the project management

o Identify their needs so as to suit the project objectives
o Help In Identification of resources that can help in the project
o Participate in monitoring and evaluation of the project activities
o Assist in decision making
o Resource contribution e.g., finance, human labor etc.
o To ensure sustainability of the project

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CYCLE

A cycle is a sequence of events that a project follows These events/stages or phases can be divided into several
equally valid ways depending on the executing agencies or parties involved.

Theory of protect management cycle

o Stakeholders can define project management as the realization of concepts and goals through efficient, effective,
transparent, accountable and responsible administration of any given activity.
o All stakeholders should be regularly consulted in matters affecting a project to ensure coordination of project
activities.
o Project management cycle implies a process oriented to project management system covering the whole project
cycle from project conception to project conclusion.
o It involves a combination of the various project cycle phases with corresponding management tasks. It is an effective
decision-making process to ensure certain action occurs at the right time within the life of a project.

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1) Project conception
o At this stage an idea regarding a required intervention in a specific area to address unidentified problem is formed
or developed through discussions by local leaders in a community and specialists as needs bases issues and
crystallized into a proposal.
o The projects can therefore be conceived based on market demand, resource availability and opportunity to make
profitable used of available resources, technology, natural calamity and political consideration

2) Project identification
o This stage refers to the process where all potential projects arising from ideas crystallized in the 1 st stage above are
determined.
o An Individual or communication representative to an agency capable of identifying an institution to provide the
necessary support to realize the expectation may submit the information in the proposal for project
conception.
o The type of information provided at this stage is usually general and descriptive

3) Project preparation
o This stage involves a more thorough exercise of collecting data and Information on the proposed project.
o At this stage of the cycle, the objective of the project is defined and alternative solutions described.
o The project preparation contains the design of a set of operational proposal i.e., technically, financially and
economically feasible. The decision is made on the scope of the project on location, size, site etc.

4) Project appraisal
o This involves a further analysis of the proposed project. At this stage a critical review of the proposal is undertaken.
The systematic and comprehensive review is usually undertaken by an independent team of experts in
consultation with the stakeholders of the project.
o This provides an opportunity to re-examine every aspect of the project plan to assess whether the proposal is
justified before large sums of money are committed.
o They appraisal may also change the project plan and develop a new plan.

5) Project selection
o After appraisal, a viable or a suitable project proposal is chosen for implementation based on the priorities of the
stakeholders and the available resources. For instance, treasury may impose ceiling on ministries with a big portfolio
of investment calling for prioritization of core and lower priority project.

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6) Negotiation and financing.
o Once the project to be implemented is agreed upon for donor funded projects, discussions are held on funding and
associated aspect of funding 1.e. conditionality for grants, repayment period and interest rates if loans are
borrowed.
o They must also discuss the flow of funds, contributions from stakeholders and beneficiaries and if there is any co-
financing or not. These results in an agreement document of the project that binds all the parties involved
during the implementation of a project.

7) Planning for implementation

o This is the stage either before actual implementation or before the start of a new implementation phase of the
project. The exercise is conducted at the level of a project and involves implementers, the funding agency or all
stakeholders.
o The exercise involves enabling the project management to address the important implementation issues 1.e. project
objectives, financial arrangement, the scope of the project, the implementation schedule etc. given the
overall resource structure and the working evaluation.
o The likelihood of further changes occurring either in design or in physical and policy evaluation to affect the project
is also discussed during the exercise, the team should clearly define the objectives and the hierarchy of objectives.

8) Implementation stage
o This is a crucial stage of any project since the objective of the earlier effort in the stage above was to have project to
be undertaken. At this stage activities of the project are actually carried out and funds are disbursed to facilitate the
activities. The management should ensure that the project is carried out according to design.
o However, depending on the physical and policy evaluation, this may be needed for responsibility in response to
ground.
o Monitoring of progress and reporting therefore becomes crucial.

o Implementation is a process of refinement or learning from experience and can actually be considered as a "min
cycle" within the larger project. The implementation forms the life of a project. The Investment period refers to
when major project investments are undertaken and it could take 1-3 years depending on the nature of the project
from the time it is terminated.

9) Monitoring and reporting

This should be an ongoing activity during implementation. The beneficiaries, through implementing staff, the supervising
staff and the project management staff can carry out the monitoring.
The aim should be to ensure that the activities of the project are being undertaken on schedule to facilitate implementation
as specified in project design.
Any constraints in operationalizing the design can quickly be detected and corrective action taken. This would enable the
management to be proactive rather than being re- active in correcting mistakes during implementation.

10. Evaluation
o This state involves a systematic review or examination of success and failure in the project experience during the
project life in order to learn how to plan better.
o This implies that evaluation is a continuous exercise during the project life and is much related to project
monitoring.
o Evaluation can also be undertaken when the project is at the first step in a re-planning effort.
o Careful evaluation is also undertaken before any follow up project. Evaluation can be done internally or by external
reviewers. Some organizations have a monitoring and evaluation unit. The main aim of evaluation is to determine
the extent to that the objectives are being realized.