2. A project
• What is a project
– Defined start and end, specific scope, cost and
duration
– A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result
– A series of activities aimed at bringing about
clearly specified objectives within a defined time
period and with a defined budget
(EU Aid delivery methods)
3. Benefits of project management
• Project management was developed to save
time by properly planning a project and
considering all relevant factors which may
affect its outcome
• The benefits have been proven - it saves
time and money - and generates a more
successful outcome …. if guidelines are
followed
4. Project success factors
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Stakeholder involvement
Executive management support
Clear statement of requirements
Proper planning
Realistic expectations
Smaller project milestones
Competent staff
Ownership
Clear vision and objectives
Hard working and focused staff
6. Project Cycle Management (PCM)
• PCM
– Is a methodology for the preparation,
implementation and evaluation of projects based
on the principles of the logical framework
approach
– It describes management activities and decisionmaking procedures used during the life cycle of a
project (key tasks, roles and responsibilities, key
documents and decision options)
7. Project cycle management (PCM)
• Is useful in designing, implementing and
monitoring a plan or a project
• A clear concise visual presentation of all the
key components of a plan and a basis for
monitoring
• It clarifies:
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How the project will work
What it is going to achieve
What factors relate to its success
How progress will be measured
9. The three PCM principles
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Decision making criteria defined at each phase
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The phases in the cycle are progressive
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Project identification part of structured
feedback
10. PCM is result based
• PCM requires the active participation of key
stakeholders and aims to promote local
ownership
• PCM incorporates key assessment criteria
into each stage of the project cycle
• PCM requires the production of good quality
key documents in each phase to support
decision making
11. PCM helps to ensure that
• Projects are part of the country policy
objectives
• Projects are relevant to the real problems of
target groups / beneficiaries
– Clearly identified stakeholders (primary
target groups and final beneficiaries)
• Projects are feasible (objectives are realistic)
– Clearly defined coordination, management,
financing arrangements, monitoring and
evaluation
• Benefits generated by projects are likely to be
sustainable
12. Time management grid
Urgency
Quadrant 2
Urgent and important
Important but not
urgent
"Firefighting"
"Quality time"
Quadrant 3
Quadrant 4
Urgent but not important
Neither urgent nor
important
"Distraction"
Importance
Quadrant 1
"Time wasting"
There's an old joke when it comes to project management time:
'The first 90 percent of a project schedule takes 90 percent of the time. The last 10 percent
takes the other 90 percent of the time'
13. Role of a project manager
• The role of a project manager is affected by
the one-shot nature of the project
• The role of a project manager is difficult when
team members are still linked to their
permanent work areas
– Members may be assigned to several projects
simultaneously
• Managers must rely on their communication
skills and powers of persuasion
14. Project manager attributes
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Leader & manager
Facilitator, coordinator
Communicator
Credibility: Technical/
Administrative
Work under pressure
Goal-oriented
Innovator
Versatilist
• Knowledgeable about
the organization
• Political sensitivity
• Conflict: sense,
confront, resolve
• Can deal with stress,
chaos, ambiguity
• Planning and followthrough
• Ethical dilemmas
is a unique set of coordinated activities, with a definite starting and finishing points, undertaken by an individual or organization to meet specific objectives within defined schedule, cost and performance parameters (British Standard 60971, 2000:2)
Even though project management gives you set of tools to schedule and organize, there are many factors that need to be considered if projects are to be successful. It is not a magical solution
Project management does not do the work for you, but helps you to be specific and organized without losing the overview of what you are doing and why.
Importance of project management
With limited resources, project management can be very important by:
Increasing productivity
Boosting efficiency
Making the most of every resource
Making sure that deadlines are met
To increase the chances of positive outcome, project managers have to think about all of the factor that can influence positive outcome and the threat of failure, Tomorrow we will discuss and give you hands on practise on how to use set of tools that analyse different factors of outside- and internal elements that are useful for project management.
Project management success indicators
Project is completed within time, cost and quality requirements
Will make:
Sponsor/beneficiary satisfied
Minimal scope or mutually agreed to scope changes
No adverse impact/interruption to regular work flow of the organization
No change to the corporate culture
Project cycle management - PCM
PCM describes management activities and decision making procedures used during the life time of a project
Tasks
Roles
Responsibility
Key documents
Decisions options
The EC has adopted PCM as its primary set of project design and management tool based upon the Logical Framework Approach
We will have special lecture on the logframe matrix that is used to decide further activities (after we have done proper analysis)
The cycle is generally divided in 5 phases:
Programming
Identification
Formulation
Implementation
Evaluation and audit
The project cycle
Follows the life of a project from the initial idea through to its completion
Provides a structure to ensure that stakeholders are consulted
Defines key decisions, information requirements and responsibilities at each phase
Tomorrow we are going to talk about the tools that are used in the implementation-stage to analyse important factors that influence the project and stakeholders
Before you evaluate what project you would like to implement, you will have to apply certain criteria on how to choose a project. And making shore that they will be able to serve certain role in the overall objectives that are stated in the mission/vision of a institute.
To be able to find out what an organization or an institution is capable of performing we need to analyse them. This is for example being done right now here in Sri Lanka by FAO (the team of Richard Banks)
If people are put in a project group, how do you make them work on the project as well as making them perform their normal duties as well?
Be flexible jet firm
Here it would be good to name an example from Sri Lanka – e.g. How did you manage to work on the project of making this course?
Project manager has to be able to fulfil the needs and demands of the project
Specialist
Deep skills
Narrow scope
Peer-Recognized
Unknown outside domain
Generalist
Shallow skills
Broad scope
Quick response
Recognized in other Domains
Versatilist
Deep skills
Wide scope of roles
Broad experience
recognized in other domains