The Organizational Development

and System Strengthening

 Leadership & Governance
ODSS Courses
Modules Project management
Human resources management
Financial and grant management
Resource mobilisation & social
entrepreneurship
Monitoring & evaluation
Communication & advocacy
Change management
Knowledge Management
Module 2
Project Management
Session Objectives
By the end of the session, the participants will be able:

1.Define common terms used in project management

2.Identify the phases and life cycle of project management
3.Evaluate project management practices and identify areas of
improvement.
Topic One: Introduction to Project Management

January 4, 2025 5
What is a Project?
According to Kerzner, R. 2003, a project refers to a series of activities and tasks
that :
• Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications
• Have defined start and end dates
• Have funding limits (if applicable)
• Consume human and non-human resources (money, people, equipment)
• Are multifunctional (cut across several functional lines)
Judith Dwyer et al (2004) define a project as an organized, time-limited, one-off
effort towards a defined goal, which requires resources

January 4, 2025 6
Characteristics of Projects
The term ‘project’ can be best understood by exploring further the
characteristics of projects(Newton, R. 2013).

1.Temporary life span: projects exist for limited time and then cease to be.
2.Defined start and end: have defined start and end points.
3.Achieve an outcome: the outcome may be defined in terms of a set of
deliverables or in terms of meeting a set of planned objectives
4.Unique: Each project varies to some extent in terms of outcomes, resources
and context.

January 4, 2025 7
Characteristics of Projects (cont’d)
5. Team work: projects use or absorb resources: time, human resources,
money, materials. Co-ordination among the diverse areas calls for
teamwork
6. Complexity: Technology survey, choosing the appropriate technology,
procuring the appropriate machinery and equipment, hiring the right kind of
people, arranging for financial resources etc. contribute to the complexity of
the project.
7. Sub-contracting: Some of the activities are entrusted to
sub-contractors/consultants to reduce the complexity of the project.

January 4, 2025 8
Characteristics of Projects (cont’d)
8. Change: A project is not rigid in its life span. Changes occur throughout the
life span of a project as a natural outcome of many environmental factors.
9. Risk and Uncertainty: Risk and uncertainty go hand in hand with project.
10. Customer Specific Nature: the products produced or services offered by
the project are necessarily to be customer oriented.
11. Response to environments: Projects take shape in response to their
surrounding environment. For example, In Kenya, there was rapid road
infrastructure development after the launch of Vision 2030 in the year 2008.

January 4, 2025 9
Characteristics of Projects (cont’d)
12.Forecasting: the demand for any product or service that a project is going to
produce is an important aspect of a project.
13.Rational choice: Since a project is a scheme for investing resources, the
choice of a project is done after making a study of all the available avenues for
investing resources and a rational choice among the available avenues.
14.Optimality: A project is always aimed at optimum utilization of resources for the
overall development of an organization or economy.
15.Control mechanism: All projects have pre-designed control mechanisms in
order to ensure completion of projects within the time schedule, estimated cost
and having achieved the desired objectives with a high level of quality and
reliability.
January 4, 2025 10
Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
• Planning and organizational skills
• Effective time management
• Ability to solve problems in their totality
• Understanding the views of project team members
• Change orientation

Discussion Discussion
• What other skills should a project manager have? Activity

January 4, 2025 11
Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
Other qualities and skills essential in project • Ability to handle project management
management include the following: software tools or packages
• Personnel management skills • Solving issues or problems immediately
• Communication skills without postponing them
• High energy levels • Initiative and risk taking ability
• Ambition for achievement • Familiarity with the organization
• Ability to take suggestion • Tolerance for difference of opinion, delay
• Ability to develop alternative actions quickly or ambiguity
• Knowledge of project management methods and • Knowledge of technology
tools • Conflict resolving capacity
• Ability to do self-evaluation • Team building skills
• Capacity to relate current events to the project or • Resource allocation skills
project management • Entrepreneurial skills.

January 4, 2025 12
Project Management and Industrial Revolution (19th Century)
• Frederick Taylor (1856–1915), developed "scientific management projects”
during Industrial Revolutions
• Henry Gantt (1861–1919) who developed Gantt chart as a tool for project
management is considered as the father of project management
• Bernard Shriver (1910-2005), the architect of the US Air Force ballistic
missile and military space program coined the term Project Management in
1954. He became the “Father of Modern Project Management.”

January 4, 2025 13
Case Study
Read the following case study and be ready to discuss the questions:
James and Janet are residents of Jilani community. Janet is a teacher in one of the primary schools
while James has just retired, having worked as a civil servant in a neighbouring county. Janet is
concerned about the high number of pregnancies among adolescent girls which results in low school
completion rates. She is also concerned about the high number of pre-unit children who miss class
due to illness. Female genital mutilation is another common practice in her community. Initiates are
deemed by the community to be ready for marriage.

In his former job, James learnt valuable lessons and approaches of addressing harmful traditional
practices that he could apply in Jilani community. James therefore decides to form a Civil Society
Organization (CSO) with potential funding from a donor organization. Janet, on the other hand, decides
to form a Community Based Organization (CBO) with potential funding from a church organization to
address adolescent pregnancies and early childhood illnesses.

January 4, 2025 14
Case Study
Discussion Questions

1.Based on Jilani case study, identify two projects that

Janet and James can implement within a year. Discussion
2.Also list five management functions that you would Activity
apply when implementing the project if you were hired
as the project manager.

January 4, 2025 15
Topic One Summary
• In this topic, you have learnt about the common terms used in project
management. You have also learned about characteristics of a good
project. You also looked at the qualities of an effective project manager and
the set of skills that are required to deliver successful project results.
• In the next topic, you will learn about the Phases of Project Management
and its Deliverables.
Topic Two: Phases of Project Management and its
Deliverables.

January 4, 2025 17
Basic Principles of Project Management
1. Justification: Every project should lead to a worthwhile return on
investment. you need to understand the benefits that a particular project will
bring, before committing yourself to any significant expenditure.
2. Defined roles and responsibilities: Everyone working on a project should
understand the nature of their involvement to whom are they accountable
3. Manage by exception: Project funders should avoid direct running of
projects and instead allow free hand for the project manager to concentrate
on this area.
4. Manage by stages: Break the project into smaller stages. Each stage
marks a point at which the project sponsor will make key decisions.
January 4, 2025 18
Basic Principles of Project Management
5. Focus on products: It is important for you to think carefully about the
products, or deliverables that clients and customers require before a project
begins.
6. Learn from experience
7. Tailor to suit the environment: Whatever project management
methodology or framework you favour, it must be tailored to suit the needs
of your project.
8. Projects are temporary
9. Consider risks
10. Decide whether or not the project should happen
January 4, 2025 19
Basic Principles of Project Management
11. Cost, time and quality are co-dependent
12. Know what’s not permissible: as a project manager, to know the legal,
regulatory and operational environment in which a project operates. This
will help you adhere to the requirements that govern the project from donor
government, community and beneficiaries perspective.
13. Develop a project plan with clear activities
14. Celebrate success

January 4, 2025 20
Phases of Project Management

1. Project Initiation / identification

2. Project Planning / formulation
3. Project execution
4. Project Closure

January 4, 2025 21
Phases of Project Management
Phase 1: Project Initiation / identification

Establish Terms Set up project office/

Develop a case of Reference Work environment

Undertake feasibility Appoint project team Perform phase

study review
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 1: Define project scope, goals and objective
o Assess the needs and resources of the target group and the local environment.
Carry out a needs assessment, prioritize needs, and decide what to do.
o Define the project’s scope by identifying and developing:
 Project justification: why the project, who are the beneficiaries, benefits. From the Jilani case study one may
develop a project justification to reduce childhood illnesses by a certain margin or eliminate female genital mutilation
(FGM) and child marriages by a certain timeline.
 Project objectives: set SMART objectives
 Description of project: describe why, who, what, when, how and with what.
 Project deliverables: output, outcome, impact of the project?
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 1: Define project scope, goals and objective

Activity
• Using the Jilani Case Study, help either James or Janet develop a
project justification, objectives, brief project description and indicate
anticipated project outcomes or deliverables. Develop this in your
notebook.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 2: Identify the tasks to be done to
achieve the project objective
This step involves breaking down the project into
specific individual components or tasks or
activities that can be completed independently of
other tasks. This approach facilitates resource
allocation, assignment of responsibilities, and
measurement and control of the project. This is
further described in the figure on tasks, sub Figure on tasks, sub tasks and activity projection
tasks and activity projection.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 3: Develop a schedule
A schedule contains the following:
• A list of all activities,
• The duration of each activity,
• A sequence (order) of activities.
To depict the schedule, use a Gantt chart.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 4: Determine the required resources
You will need to conduct a resource needs assessment for each activity.
The following types of resources are needed for project implementation:
• Finances
• Technical assistance
• Human resources
• Material goods and consumables
• Free service
• Facilities and equipment.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 5: Develop a budget
• At this step, you should cost every activity that has been identified. If a
cost, such as rent, would be incurred whether or not the project was
going on, it should not be included. Allocate costs on the basis of
proportional applicability to the project, for example, time spent and
space occupied.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 2: Project Planning / formulation
Step 6. Develop a project plan

Figure summarizing the steps in developing a project plan.

Phases of Project Management
Build Results/
Deliverables
Phase 3: Project Execution/Implementation Perform
Monitor Phase review
Processes undertaken in project implementation &
Control

Perform Perform
Time Risk
Management Management

Perform Perform
Cost Issue
Management Management

Perform Perform
Quality Procurement
Management Management

The diagram alongside illustrated the processes Perform Perform

Change Acceptance
undertaken in project implementation Management Management
Perform
Communications
Phases of Project Management
Phase 3: Project Execution/Implementation
The following activities takes place during the phase:
Building results / deliverables:
 Involves the actual work of conducting the activity up to the expected standards to yield desired
results.
Monitor and Control:
 While the implementation process is producing results /deliverables, a series of management
processes are conducted to monitor and control activities being undertaken. This include:
a) Time management: a process within which time spent is recorded and properly managed to
focus on results and not “being busy”.
b) Cost Management: The process by which costs incurred are formally identified, approved and
paid. Expense forms are completed and approved and recorded within an expense register.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 3: Project Execution/Implementation
c) Quality management
 This is the level of conformity of results to the expectations of the target group. It is the process
by which the quality of results / deliverables is assured and controlled for the project using quality
assurance and quality control techniques. Quality reviews are frequently undertaken and results
recorded in a quality register.
d) Change Management:
 Is the process by which changes to the project’s scope, results / deliverables, timescales or
resources are defined, evaluated and approved prior to implementation.
 The project manager must manage change within the project successfully by understanding the
key issues and processes requiring change, documenting the benefits and costs of adopting the
change and developing / formulating a plan for implementing change.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 3: Project Execution/Implementation
e) Risk Management:
 The process by which risks to the project are identified, quantified, and managed
during the project
f) Issue Management:
 Is the process by which the issues currently affecting the ability of the project to
produce results are managed. Each issue is evaluated and a set of actions
undertaken to resolve the issue at hand.
g) Procurement Management:
 The process by which product is sourced from an external supplier through purchase
orders.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 3: Project Execution/Implementation
h) Acceptance Management:
 The process by which results produced by the project are reviewed and
accepted to have met the specific requirements.
j) Communications management
 The process by which formal communications messages are identified, created,
reviewed and communicated within a project. This can be done through project
status report.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 4: Project Closure
This includes the following activities:
• Determining whether all of the project completion criteria have been met
• Identifying any outstanding project activities, risks or issues
• Handing over all project deliverables and documentation to the customer
• Cancelling supplier contracts and releasing project resources to the
business
• Communicating the closure of the project to all stakeholders and
interested parties.
Phases of Project Management
Phase 4: Project Closure
Key questions on project closure are;

 Did it result in the benefits defined in the terms of reference?

 Did it achieve the objectives outlined in terms of reference?
 Did it operate within the scope of the terms of reference?
 Did the deliverables meet the criteria defined in quality plan?
 Was it delivered within the schedule outlined in the project plan?
 Was it delivered within the budget outlined in the financial plan?
Phases of Project Management
Phase 4: Project Closure
The three aspects of project closure are:
i. Project Documentation
ii. Financial closure:
o Project account closure
o Contract closure
iii. Project Handover
Topic Two Summary
• In this topic, you have learned about the project initiation, planning,
evaluation and closure. You learned in detail about project planning and the
various plans that are required during the various phases of a project.

• You are making good progress and I hope you are able to apply some of
these concepts to implement your projects. In the next topic, you will learn
about evaluating project management practices which will assist you
appraise your project to determine if they are on course to achieve their
targets and identifying bottlenecks.
Topic Three: Evaluating Project Management Practices

January 4, 2025 39
Evaluating Project Management Practices
In this topic, you will learn about the tools you can use to evaluate the
performance of your project, establish quality assurance and compliance
mechanisms relating to your project.

This topic comprises of two (2) sub-topics.

• Best practices of successful projects
• Quality assurance and compliance in project management.
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
Successful projects may be anchored on some of the best practices below:
1. Document project requirements
It is important to document the features, design, functions, tasks and scope
of a project in a project plan to ensure that there is clarity right from the
beginning about the goals and objectives to be achieved.
2. Prepare realistic budget estimates
Good practice would entail checking with professionals and technical
experts to guide on the costing. Another way to get these budget estimates
is to check with previous projects or similar projects in the same sector.
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
3. Develop a project brief:
A project brief often contains project objectives, scope, deliverables, time of
implementation, resources and contacts of implementation organization.
4. Establish a clear project plan
A project plan is a vehicle to achieve the goals of a project. Adhere to it and
focus on the major milestones to be achieved.
5. Mind your team’s workload
Job descriptions, job aides, standard operating procedures, working tools
and instruments are important towards motivating staff performance.
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
6. Clarify project roles and responsibilities
• Ensure that there is always a person who is accountable for results. This is
done using the acronym RACI which stands for Responsible, Accountable,
Consulted and Informed.
7. Communicate with project teams
• Projects must establish open communication channels and feedback
mechanisms to facilitate project delivery.
8. Monitor task progress
• A simplified way is to develop a scorecard which measures progress at agreed
intervals.
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
9. Manage risk: The common ones include the following:
• Financial risk
• Delayed project delivery risk
• Performance risk
• Governance risk
• Strategy error risk
• Operational risk
• Market volatility risk
• Legal and regulatory risk
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
Risk Management Activity

• Discuss how you can manage the various risks in Discussion

project management. Activity
Evaluating Project Management Practices
Best practices of successful projects
Risk analysis Risk Likelihood Scale of Severity
Acceptable Tolerable Generally not
It is always important to acceptable
identify a risk or potential
risk, analyse it and
identify possible remedial Not likely
measures. This is Low Medium Medium

outlined in the table. Possible

Low Medium High
Probable
Medium High High
Risk Analysis Table
Quality assurance and compliance in project management
Quality assurance
The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines Quality Assurance (QA) as
the planned and systematic activities implemented in a quality system so
that quality requirements for a product or service will be fulfilled. In the
project design and implementation section, you covered many quality
assurance processes and steps in the project management cycle and the
deliverables for each step. Ensuring that you achieve the desired output in
each of these steps is an aspect of quality assurance. A useful quality
assurance tool that enhances quality in a project is a monitoring and
evaluation plan; this is discussed in detail in another module.
Quality assurance and compliance in project management
Quality assurance activities
Quality assurance activities applied in projects include the following:
i. Process checklists
ii. Process standards
iii. Process documentation
iv. Project audit.
Quality assurance and compliance in project management
Quality control
Quality control refers to techniques and activities used to verify that the
developed product or service is in conformance with the requirements.
The following are examples of quality control activities:
i. Inspection
ii. Verification of deliverable
iii. Support supervision
iv. Peer reviews.
Quality assurance and compliance in project management
External compliance requirements
External compliance requirements include the following:
1) Professional body requirements such as regulated professionals
2) Statutory requirement including deductions such as National Hospital
Insurance Fund and National Social Security Fund
3) Environmental agencies such as National Environmental Management
Authority (NEMA) licenses
4) Financial requirements such as audit and tax compliance
5) Business permits.
Quality assurance and compliance in project management
Internal compliance requirements
Internal compliance requirements include the following:
1) Internal compliance requirements include the following:
2) Reporting, both technical and financial reports
3) Achieving results or milestones
4) Internal audit
5) Funding and donor guidelines for funds-specific interventions.
 Project Failure
o Despite significant inputs of human, financial and material resources, many
community-based projects fall short of expectations. Many projects fail to
achieve their stated outputs or, if achieved, they are not sustained; target
groups do not benefit in the manner intended; project costs are escalated;
and implementation dates slip or are abandoned.
o Some projects totally fail to contribute to the priority needs of the intended
beneficiaries, community or country.
o These failures are attributed in part to poor project management and
organizational weaknesses.
 Project Failure (cont’d)
Some of the causes of project failure we need to guard against include:
o The overall context is not analyzed or considered systematically enough
o The interests and ideas of the relevant stakeholders are not sufficiently
included or examined
o The objectives and expected results and outputs in combination with the
foreseen time frame are too ambitious
o The planning process and implementation of the project are not executed
by the same partners
o Underestimation of unexpected and therefore ‘unplannable’ events leave no
flexibility
Topic Three Summary
You looked at some of the best practices of successful projects which include Document
project requirements, prepare realistic estimates and budget projections, Develop a project
brief, Establish a clear project plan, Mind your team’s workload, Clarify project roles and
responsibilities, Communicate with project teams, Monitor task progress, Manage risk,
Maintain project scope to extent possible, Document project processes and Develop
leadership skills.

You also looked at Quality assurance and compliance in project management. Quality
Assurance (QA) is the planned and systematic activities implemented in a quality system so
that quality requirements for a product or service will be fulfilled. Quality assurance activities
applied in projects include Process checklists, Process standards, among others.

Projects should also conform to external and internal compliance requirements.

Module Summary
In this module, you have learnt about what project management is, its features and
importance. You have also learned about the three phases of project implementation,
including the steps and processes in designing, implementing as well as close out of a
project. You also covered the project planning steps as these influence project
implementation.

Finally, you learnt about evaluating project management practices including best practices for
successful project implementation and quality assurance and compliance in project
management. I hope you enjoyed the module. Remember to apply what you have learnt in
managing projects in your organization.
References
• Chadra, P. (2007) Planning, analysis: Selection, financing, implementation; and review (6th ed.).
New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill
• Cracknell, B. (2000) Evaluating development aid: Issues, problems and solutions New Delhi: Sage
Publications
• Touwen, A. (2001) Handbook for Projects: Development Management and Fundraising
Switzerland. International Federation of University Women
• Turner, J. R., & Simister, S. J. (2006) The project management handbook New Delhi: Gower
Publishing Limited.
 GLOSSARY
• Project management: an organized undertaking for managing projects. It involves scientific use of current tools, technologies and techniques in
planning, financing, implementing, monitoring, controlling and coordinating activities or tasks to produce desirable outputs in line with set
objectives within confines of time, cost, scope and quality
• Management: process of setting achievable goals and accomplishing them while utilizing age-old management functions that include planning
organizing, staffing, directing and controlling
• Programme: a set of related activities or projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits that hitherto will not be achievable from
managing projects individually
• Project: a set of activities having clearly defined timelines, committed resources and measurable outcomes that are all coordinated to create a
specified product or service
• Project outcomes: changes that happen as a direct result of a project. These changes could make a difference to the environment, to the
community or to the people who benefit from the project
• Project sponsor: a senior manager who signs off on the resources, defines the objectives and evaluates the outcomes. A project sponsor is also
known as an executive sponsor or a project champion
• Project conceptualization: refers to the thinking through a project before any implementation activity takes place to ensure the project is sound
and all other processes have been rationalised and documented in form of a work plan, budget or monitoring and evaluation plan
• Project goals: high level statements that provide an overall context for what a project is trying to achieve or accomplish and should align to
organization or business goals
• Project objectives: lower level statements that describe specific, tangible products and deliverables that a project should deliver
• Quality assurance: the process of auditing and analysing systems which produce a product or service in order to improve outputs or outcomes
Thank you