COMSATS University, Islamabad Pakistan

Project Planning and Monitoring

Assignment 03

By

Submitted to
Mr. Muhammad Abeer Farooq

Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence (2022-2026)

Objective: Build an Implementation Plan

 Scenario: A project has to train 300 unemployed youth in digital skills within 4 months.

Step 1 and Step 2: Six Major Activities and Responsible Persons/Teams

The project has been broken down into six major activities that will be carried out over the four-month
period. Each activity has a designated responsible person or team to ensure clear ownership and
accountability, following the RACI principle covered in the lecture.
# Activity Description Responsible Timeline
Person / Team
1 Project Setup & Hire staff, finalize Project Manager Month 1
Mobilization SOPs, sign MOUs (PM)
with venues, hold
kick-off meeting,
and procure
equipment.
2 Beneficiary Community Field Team + Month 1
Recruitment & outreach, Admin Officer
Enrolment screening, and
registration of 300
youth; collect
baseline data.
3 Curriculum Design training Technical Experts Month 1–2
Development syllabus and (Lead Trainer)
develop modules
covering digital
literacy, MS
Office, internet
safety, and
freelancing basics.
4 Training Delivery Conduct classroom Field Staff / Month 2–3
(3 Batches) and computer lab Trainers
sessions for three
batches of 100
youth each. Track
attendance weekly.
5 Assessment, Administer M&E Team + Month 3–4
Certification & pre/posttests, issue Technical Experts
Job Linkage certificates to
graduates, and
connect them to
employers and
freelance
platforms.
6 Monitoring, Weekly dashboard M&E Team + Month 1–4
Reporting & updates, monthly Finance/Admin (ongoing)
 Finance donor reports, Officer
Management issue log
management, and
budget tracking
throughout the
project.

Step 3: Three Key Risks and Mitigation Actions

Risk management is a core part of implementation. As discussed in the lecture, risks are future problems
that must be anticipated before they occur. The following three risks have been identified for this
project, along with practical mitigation strategies.

# Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigation Action Owner

R1 Low attendance Medium High Enroll 330 youth (10% Field Team
and dropout rate buffer above target).
among enrolled Assign community
youth mobilizers for weekly
follow-up. Offer a
small transport stipend
to reduce financial
barriers to attendance.
R2 Equipment failure Medium Medium Test all equipment Admin +
or lack of before each batch PM
computers/internet begins. Maintain a set
at training venues of backup laptops.
Negotiate a service-
level agreement with
venues to ensure power
backup and internet
connectivity.
R3 Key trainer resigns Low High Keep a roster of at Project
mid-project, least two backup Manager
causing delivery trainers. Store all
delays training materials on a
shared drive. Cross-
train at least two
additional staff on the
curriculum from
Month 1.

Step 4: Five KPIs to Monitor Weekly

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allow the project team to track progress and catch problems early.
As highlighted in the lecture, a project dashboard should give a quick view of the most critical
indicators. The following five KPIs will be reviewed every Friday by the Project Manager.
 # KPI Target Measurement Responsible
Method
KPI Weekly attendance ≥ 90% per week Attendance register Field Team
1 rate per batch signed daily by
trainers
KPI Cumulative number 300 by end of Enrolment and M&E Team
2 of youths trained Month 3 completion
database
KPI Dropout rate per ≤ 5% per batch Weekly M&E Team
3 batch comparison of
enrolled vs.
attending
KPI Post-test pass rate ≥ 70% of trainees Written/practical Technical Experts
4 pass assessment at end
of each batch
KPI Budget utilization Within ±5% of Weekly financial Finance Officer
5 vs. plan planned spend per report reviewed by
week PM

Step 5: Communication Flow for the Project

Clear communication prevents the 'working in silos' problem that the lecture identifies as one of the
main reasons projects fail. The communication flow below shows how information moves from the
ground level up to management, and how issues are escalated.

From Field Team Project M&E Team Finance/Admin

Manager
Reports to: Sends daily Compiles Validates Submits budget ↓
activity report weekly data; flags status report every
to PM dashboard; issues in Issue Friday
shares with Log
M&E and
Finance
Frequency: Daily Weekly (every Weekly Weekly + Monthly
Friday)
Escalation: Any unresolved issue is logged in the shared Issue Log → reviewed by
PM within 24 hours → escalated to senior management if not resolved
within 48 hours → monthly summary report sent to donor/management.

The project will hold a weekly team meeting every Friday, as recommended in the lecture's best
practices. All problems are to be reported quickly without fear, building a culture of transparency and
fast problem-solving.
Step 6: One Likely Implementation Problem and How to Solve It
Problem: Significant dropout of beneficiaries in Batch 2 and Batch 3
After the first batch is completed, word may spread among prospective trainees about the difficulty level
or time commitment of the training. Many unemployed youth face real financial pressure, and the
opportunity cost of attending a 4-week full-time course instead of doing daily wage work can lead to
high absenteeism and dropout rates in later batches. This could jeopardize the project's ability to meet its
core target of training 300 youth within four months.
Solution: Retention strategy with incentives, peer mentors, and rapid follow-up
To address this problem, the following measures will be put in place:
• Enroll 330 youth at the start (10% buffer) so that even with some dropout, the 300 target is still
met.
• Introduce a small completion stipend (e.g., transport allowance) tied to attendance, reducing the
financial opportunity cost for participants.
• Assign peer mentors from Batch 1 graduates to support and motivate Batch 2 and 3 participants,
as peer influence is one of the strongest retention tools available.
• The M&E team will flag any participant missing two consecutive sessions in the weekly
dashboard. The field team will follow up within 24 hours using the Issue Log protocol.
• Host a graduation ceremony and job fair at the end of Month 4, advertised from Day 1, so
participants have a clear, motivating goal to work toward throughout the training.