Project Management
A methodology to manage development projects for international humanitarian assistance
and relief organizations.
Project Management Phases
Projects operate as part of a system and involve high degrees of uncertainty; by using a
holistic approach project manager can integrate all the internal and external issues into their
planning. It also helps them see projects as a series of interrelated phases; by doing the
project managers have a better job of ensuring project success.
It is a good practice to divide projects into several phases, a project life cycle is a collection
of project phases; these phases vary from one industry to another, but in general they include
an initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and close phase. A project must
successfully complete each phase before moving onto the next, this approach to project cycle
provides better management control and builds the appropriate links with the general
environment.
Depending on the complexity of a project there will be a need to spend more time in the
initiating or planning phase, small projects may not require too much time planning.
Initiation
This phase is where an idea or a proposal is authorized and funded as a project. It may
include some initial planning and estimating to clarify its objective and scope. Usually
projects are started by an organization in the form of a proposal or they are initiated by a
donor agency by a competitive bidding process or a cooperative agreement. In either case the
organization makes a decision to support the project proposal.
During initiation a diagnostic and analysis of the problem has been performed and it
delineates the strategies that the project will use to achieve its benefits; additionally, the
organization has identified that the project is aligned with the organization’s strategies,
mission and vision. Major outcomes or decision from this phase is the acceptance
of the project concept and approval of the project proposal. This decision is based on an
organization’s programming principles and/or strategic objectives and takes into
consideration available resources, local needs, and government/donor interest.
Authorization of the project concept leads to the development of a formal project proposal; it
includes the documentation that supports the requirements of the funding agency. In this
phase the project may or may not be approved or accepted, or may require additional analysis
or modifications to the proposal; it is not unusual that the donor and the organization engage
in long negotiations on the final budget of the project.
The approval of the project proposal is done by the organization (if funds are internal) or the
donor when the organization responds to a bidding process such as the RFP (Request for
Proposal) or the RFA (Request for Assistance); approval of the proposal opens the project to
start the second phase of the project, Project Planning.
Planning
Once the proposal is accepted and funds have been approved the project is finally ready to
start. The first step is the development of all project plans, this phase includes two distinct
components; the development of plans that are required as part of the proposal – core
planning, and the plans to manage the implementation of the project-facilitating planning.
Enabling plans or core planning includes the detailed planning documents that were
initially produced as part of the project proposal. The project manager’s first task is to
develop in more detail the project plans including the detailed project budget and
schedule. Enabling plans are the plans to manage the scope, schedule, budget and
quality of the project.
Facilitating Plans include the development of plans to manage all the other facilitating
processes required to manage the project, these include: team, stakeholders,
information, risk, and contract management plans.
Detailed planning in many cases help discover oversights or wrong assumptions made during
the initiation phase and the project proposal. It is not unusual to find that a project proposal
was designed without incurring the appropriate feedback from the project stakeholders, or
that budget assumptions were based on old data. This is the time the project manager has to
go in detail about all components of the project and formulate the plans that will help manage
the project. Outputs from this process include a formal project management plan that
authorizes the project to begin work.
Implementation
Implementation includes taking all necessary actions to ensure the activities in the project
plan are completed and the outputs of the plan are produced. Implementation occurs once the
final project plans have been approved by the organization and/or the donor agency. The
project manager starts by forming a team and the initial expenses required by the project;
these may include the purchase of office equipment, vehicles, and other goods and services
required to start the project. Implementation includes coordinating people and other resources
required to perform the project plans and obtain the desired outcomes of the project or phase,
this phase also includes activities such as providing project leadership, developing the project
team, verifying project scope, assuring quality, producing progress reports, procuring the
necessary resources and taking corrective action. Outputs from this phase are the project
deliverables, progress reports and communications to stakeholders.
Monitoring
Monitoring is about measuring the progress of a project against its objectives, looking at
deviations from the plan and taking corrective steps to put the project back on track.
Monitoring runs across al project phases of the project life cycle. Traditionally the focus is on
monitoring the four project constraints of scope, schedule, budget and quality.
Project monitoring begins with planning and ends with evaluation, having a thorough
involvement of each step in the process. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate
level of control needed and find an equilibrium that can give the benefits without increasing
work; too much control is time consuming, too little control is too costly.
Monitoring is the constant check on the project to see if it is doing the right things at the right
time within the given resource restrictions. Project monitoring is an important element of the
project that keeps it on-track, on-time, and within budget. Monitoring also looks for new
opportunities that may have risen since the project started and that may improve the chances
to achieve the project goals. Monitoring helps verify if the intervention of the project is
producing the desired effects or benefits, it helps identify unexpected consequences,
establishes a discipline that helps monitor how the situation and the context of the project are
evolving, and how the initial assumptions of the project have changed, which contributes to
the regular adjustments of the interventions to ensure the project is a success.
Adapting
This phase refers to the process by which the project manager adapts its project management
methods and determines what works best for the project. It also refers to the changes that
need to be incorporated in the original processes, approaches, strategies and methods planned
to deliver the project interventions.
Adapting is taking corrective actions. It uses inputs from the monitoring phase that informs
what needs to be changed or modified. The original assumptions under the project was first
planned usually change and this phase helps make the necessary changes. Adapting involves
the analysis of the changes required and its impact and relevance to the project and its
constraints.
Adapting also refers to the process by which project members learn from the experience they
gain in the project. This process gives rise to increasing productivity over time and to
economies of scale. The adapting phase incorporates a lessons learning approach throughout
the project cycle; it is through a feedback loop of experience, learning and practice, that the
project can improve its interventions.
Modifying the project and making the necessary changes should occur at the end of each
project delivery, as each delivery provides an opportunity to reflect on the success or failures
and provides important lessons that need to be incorporated on the next project deliverable.
Closing
The closing phase of the project is when the project has achieved the planned objectives and
all deliverables have been produced. There could be instances that a project is closed before
all deliverables have been completed, this could be caused by changes in organizational
strategies, unavailability of funds or security conditions that make
project work impossible. During closure the project ensures that all administrative tasks have
been completed including all contracts, staff is reassigned to other projects and the project
lessons learned is developed. All project documentation is properly cataloged and its access
made available to the organization and the donor.
The last step in the closure phase includes the project evaluation, which usually may include
audit evaluations, donor evaluation, or internal evaluations conducted by the organization or
the project.
Project Management Cycle
The Project Management phases follow a cyclical approach throughout the life of the project.
The cycle represents a continuous process in which each phase provides the foundation for
the next. For example, during implementation the monitoring phase provides inputs and
changes to the original design which then modifies the implementation plans. These cyclic
natures among the design, implement and monitor phases is repeated throughout the life of
the project.
The cycle allows for a constant, iterative process by which the project is constantly monitored
and any required changes are reflected in the plans, this repetitive cycle continues until all
project activities and objectives have been delivered. The cycle approach allows opportunities
to review the original project assumptions and plans, as the project makes progress the initial
conditions could have changed making necessary for the project to change course or readjust
the original plans.
A project is not a linear process, it is cyclical with each phase receiving feedback from the
preceding: for example, during the monitoring the projects may encounter that the original
assumptions about a project
activity have changed which leads to a proposed readjustment of the plans, either in schedule
or in scope. Another example may be that some activities are no longer needed or desired by
the beneficiaries which require the project to re-initiate some parts of the planning phase.