1.

Have some readings on Logical Framework (LF) approach to project

planning and prepare a brief summary report (page limit: 3- 5 pages).
Beside, read the case presented below and complete the log - frame table as
instructed.

Case on Logical frame work:

Read the case carefully and develop the logframe or the project design matrix.

This is an example to help you understand how the Logical Framework Approach can be used to link
organization strategy to program and project planning. We have called the organization in the example
XYZ.

XYZ is an NGO that is involved in community development. XYZ was set up to offer practical
development assistance to communities. It is particularly concerned about the more isolated communities
where poverty is threatening the lives of people. Much of its work so far has been providing information
and advice. However, many in the organization feel this has been too ad hoc. They believe XYZ has been
responding to requests from all over the place rather than working consistently with communities so that
they can make a significant contribution to helping communities develop. The staffs have decided they
need to rethink their organizational strategy. This is how they went about it.

They prepared for the planning process and worked out who should be involved. They decided to include
key contacts from communities they had provided ad hoc assistance to in the past. One of these was
Village ABC in the Central Ethiopia. After XYZ had prepared for the planning process by analyzing the
key stakeholders to identify who should be involved and how and whose needs, interests and concerns
should be prioritized, they began the planning process.

They analyzed the needs of these isolated communities by working with the community organizations
from a number of communities, including Village ABC, to collect information on the problems and issues
they face. They then analyzed the information and needs identified through this research by:

 Analyzing the stakeholders involved and specifically the perceived needs and interests of their
target community – the most impoverished members of the community who are mostly women.

 Analyzing the key problems and issues to understand their causes and effects.

 Analyzing their own experience of development work and what they have learned.
  Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of their organization and what it was capable of
achieving and what it was not.

They had some fairly hot debates before they came to agreement in each area of the analysis. Once they
had done this, they spent a fairly long time discussing what their goal and purpose should be. The needs
of these communities seemed so complex and their own capacity to make a difference seemed so limited
in comparison. Their discussions on the causes and effects of the key problems and issues had, however,
made the members of community organizations feel energized. They assured XYZ that if they had access
to reliable information, a concrete project that the community could work on immediately and support for
ongoing mobilization and organization of the community they could make good progress. The analysis of
stakeholders had also enabled everyone to see that there were also a number of other groups they could
draw on for assistance, both in government and outside.

At first many staff argued that the purpose of their work should be to ensure that the people living in
isolated communities have the resources necessary for sustainable social and economic development. In
the end they came to the conclusion that, although they would like to have this as the purpose of their
organization, they could not realistically achieve this on their own. This would have to be the longer-term
goal to which XYZ could only realistically make a contribution.

The goal that was finally agreed was, "The people in isolated rural communities have access to the
resources they need for sustainable rural and economic development."

The purpose they decided on was, "People living in isolated rural communities have access to reliable,
relevant information and advice and a centre around which to organize in order to access their rights as
citizens and improve their social and economic situation."

XYZ’s own strengths and capabilities were really related to providing information and assistance. XYZ
recognized that, if their contribution was to be useful and relevant to the communities, the communities
would need to be a key partner in the process of identifying what information was most needed. They also
believed that, if their work was to be sustainable, they must be able to eventually hand over the advice
centre to the full control of the community. In order to have any serious impact themselves, they would
need to be able to move on to assisting other communities establish advice centers while ensuring that
those they had worked with continued to have access to information on request. The communities’ own
strengths and capabilities would be crucial. In the stakeholder analysis, they had recognized that the
communities had many resources to draw on but that the community organizations were often still too
small, fragmented and new. An advice centre would be useful as a basis to unite community organizations
and to mobilize community resources and assistance from government and other potential partners.

This had been a difficult and messy discussion but at the end of it, all those involved felt excited at the
possibilities. Members of XYZ’s staff had been able to work out differences of opinion on their role in
development work. The representatives of the community organizations felt far more comfortable. They
had been unsure of XYZ and what its agenda was. Now they felt they knew them better, understood their
intentions and felt part of the process. They had found the process of collecting and analyzing the
information useful. It had given them new ideas on what they could be doing with XYZ and on their own
to improve their lives.

They then moved on to deciding what objectives they would need to set to ensure they achieved this
purpose. They used their analysis, particularly of XYZ’s own capacity as an organization, to develop the
following concrete objectives.

 The systems, processes and contacts necessary to ensure access to reliable advice are in place at
our offices within one month and updated on the basis of needs identified by the pilot projects.

 Pilot projects are completed and handed over in Village ABC and …..(they named 4 other rural
villages) within two years.

 10 rural communities are identified and projects completed within 4 years.

 A basic information file covering all relevant legalization, regulations and services and including
copies of forms is available for use within four months.

 All staffs have undertaken the necessary self-development work based on identified gaps in their
skills and knowledge within two months.

This is what their summary of the different levels of objectives and the other three aspects of planning
(indicators, sources of information and important assumptions) of their organizational strategy looked
like. Based on the above information, complete part of the (insert the goal, purpose, objectives,
activities and resources in the following table) the log frame or the project design matrix presented
below.
Objectives hierarchy/narrative Objectively verifiable Source of Important
summary indicators verification/ Assumptions
Information

Goal :

Purpose:

Objectives:

Activities: Resources (Insert here    

some of the resources
 you think relevant for
activities that you have
identified):

2. You are a newly appointed project manager with a project

management consultancy. Your first assignment is to manage project of
the programmed replacement of a production line in a local factory.
The production line assembles electronic components. In order to
minimize disruption to production, the upgrading works are to take
place in several phases (work packages). Each phase of the work
involves closing down the production line, stripping out parts of the
line and replacing that section with new equipment. The main people
involved in the project management process are:

 the project manager;

 the production manager (responsible for production output)
 external electrical and mechanical engineers, as design consultants;
 external specialist contractors, as installers and commissioners;
 external specialist domestic and nominated engineering subcontractors;
 external specialist suppliers (of all equipment);
 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE);
 local authority inspectors (LAIs).

A total of 50 employees work on the production line. These people will

be temporarily laid off on full pay while the line is closed down for
upgrading. The contractor and design engineers have indicated that it
should be possible to complete the works in nine phases (work packages),
each requiring a one-week shut down.
For each phase, the main work elements will be the following:

 Shut down production line (production manager).

 Remove old section (main contractor).
 Upgrade and test electrical supplies (engineering
subcontractors).
 Install new production line section (main
contrakctor).
 Commission and test (main contractor
 Approvals and acceptance (HSE, LAI, production
manager).

The factory owners clearly wish to keep downtime to a minimum. It is

therefore very important that good quality-management systems are
put in place in order to avoid any errors or problems that may lead to
delays or interruptions that could have been avoided. Another early
requirement is the development of a schedule in order to allow time
estimates to be made for each work package and for the project as a
whole. Schedules can typically be based on either the critical path
method (CPM) or the program evaluation and review technique (PERT).
Table below shows PERT values for the various work packages that are
involved in the project.

Work Optimistic Most likely Pessimistic

package estimate estimate estimate
(Months) (Months) (Months)
A-B 4 8 12
B-C 4 12 20
B-D 8 12 16
B-E 8 16 24
C-F 4 20 32
D-F 8 16 24
E-F 8 16 24
F-G 4 12 20
G-H 8 12 16
Required:

a. Develop a precedence (network) diagram for the project

b. Compute path slack for each path and interpret each slack

c. Compute variances for each path and determine variance for a

project.

d. Compute ES,EF, LS, and LF and slack time for each work package

e. Assume the Board of the Company is a bit pessimistic about the

completion of the project within the expected (projected) completion

time and requires you to give the latest (maximum) time the project

will take if 95.45% degree of confidence (or probability) is considered

to capture the presumed risk. What will be the project’s completion

time under this scenario? (Hint: You can make normal distribution

assumption)