CHAPTER SIX
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION,
MONITORING
AND
EVALUATION
INTRODUCTION
The importance of implementation phase of a project is not
over emphasized b/c:
a nicely designed project may fail or
the
expected
benefit
may
not
be
realized
due
to
poor
implementation.
Implementation:
begins immediately after the final decision on the project
&
ends when it starts rendering the benefits foreseen.
It is a point at which:
conclusions are reached and
the decisions made are put into action.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management is a discipline in which people
work together for a common goal.
It involves:
planning,
organizing,
staffing,
directing and
controlling to achieve a specified objective of the project.
The project team should:
prepare an implementation schedule and
work for it to put the project into action.
This schedule also serves as a yardstick against
which performance can be evaluated (controlling).
It can be used to evaluate the physical process per
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time, cost and/or effort
Project Planning
When a project become larger and complex,
informal planning has to be substituted by formal
planning.
Without effective planning, there may be chaos.
Its
important functions.
It provides a basis for organizing the work on the project
and allocating responsibilities to individuals.
It is a means of communication and coordination b/n all
those involved in the project.
It induces people to look ahead.
It instills a sense of urgency and time consciousness
It establishes the basis for monitoring and control.
A comprehensive project planning covers the
following activities.
Planning the project work.
activities relating to the project must be spelt
out in detail and
they
should be scheduled and sequenced
properly.
Planning the manpower and organization.
The manpower required for the project must
be estimated and
the responsibility for carrying out the project
work must be allocated.
Planning the financial aspects of the project through
budgeting.
Planning the information system.
Tools/Technique Project Planning
The two important tools of planning are:
Gantt Chart and
Network techniques.
a. The Gantt Chart- is a pictorial device in which the
activities are represented by horizontal bars on the
time axis.
b. The network techniques: the activities, events and
their
inter-relationships
network diagram.
are
represented
by
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Project Control
It is the dominant concern of the project manager.
Project control involves:
a regular comparison of performance
against
targets
a search for the causes and deviation, and
a commitment to check adverse variances.
Effective
control is critical for the realization of
project objectives.
Yet,
control of projects in practice tends to 7be
ineffective.
Basic reasons for infectiveness of project control:
Characteristics of the project:
People problems such as:
most of the projects are large, complex &
involving many organizations and people.
This results the task of control difficult.
lack of experience
Lack training
competence and inclination to control projects.
Poor control and information system:
the poor quality of control and information system.
The main weaknesses in control and information system
are:
Delay in reporting performance
Inappropriate level of detailness of the data
Unreliable information.
Project Monitoring
It is a timely gathering of information on project
inputs,
outputs
and
complementary activities that:
record the progress of a project towards
the achievement of its objectives.
Monitoring is not a one-time activity rather it is
done throughout the life of the project.
It compares the actual outputs and inputs with the
expected..
Monitoring result should alert:
project managers and
policy
makers
to problems
requiring
corrective action.
Monitoring can be done through:
field visits and
interviews.
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Project Evaluation/ Variance Analysis
It is primarily concerned with comparing the actual project
efforts and impacts against the established standard/plans
to determine the variance.
Mostly it is considered as a post action.
But, it can be considered as both ongoing and ex-post action
of the project's control effort.
The ongoing evaluation is done throughout the life of the project
But, the ex-post evaluation is an action taken at the final
performance of the project.
Evaluation takes longer time than monitoring.
It also requires more specialist skills
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PRE-REQUISITES
IMPLEMENTATION
FOR
SUCCESSFUL
PROJECTS
1. Adequate Formation
Often project formulation is deficient b/c of:
superficial field investigation
Poor assessment of input requirements
omission of project linkages
poor judgments b/c of lack of experience and expertise
deliberate
over
estimation
of
benefits
and
under
estimation of costs & etc
Therefore, managers must take care to avoid deficiencies.
So that the appraisal and formulation of the project is:
thorough,
adequate, and
meaningful.
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2. Sound project organization
3. Proper implementation planning
4. Advance action
5. Timely availability of funds
[Link] equipment tendering and procurement
7. Better contract management
8. Effective monitoring
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WHY DO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FAIL?
In most developed countries, the failure rate of
projects out weigh those, which are successful.
Some basic reasons for project failure.
Poor project planning and preparation
Delay in implementation
Cost and time over runs
Shortage of raw materials
Shortage of skilled manpower
Lack of coordination among different project
Lack of community participation in project planning 14and
implementation.
