Project management

and
project cycle management
Project Cycle Management
-----
A short training course in project cycle management for
subdivisions of MFAR in Sri Lanka

MFAR, ICEIDA and UNU-FTP

Ministry of Fisheries and Icelandic International United Nations University Fisheries

Aquatic Resources (DFAR) Development Agency (ICEIDA) Training Programme (UNU-FTP)
Sri Lanka Iceland Iceland
 Content of the lecture
• What is a project?
• How does project management benefit you?
• Project cycle management (PCM)
• PCM tools
• Project managers
 Learning objectives

• After this lecture participants will understand

the basics of project management, know the
role of project manager and principles of
project cycle management
 A project
• What is a project

– Defined start and end, specific scope, cost and

duration

– A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a

unique product, service or result

– A series of activities aimed at bringing about

clearly specified objectives within a defined time
period and with a defined budget
(EU Aid delivery methods)
 Benefits of project management

• Project management was developed to save

time by properly planning a project and
considering all relevant factors which may
affect its outcome

• The benefits have been proven - it saves

time and money - and generates a more
successful outcome …. if guidelines are
followed
 How does project management
benefit you?
• You will have goal clarity and measurement
• Your resources will be coordinated
• Your risks will be identified and managed
• You will increase the possibilities of time savings
• You will increase the possibilities of cost savings
• You will increase the possibilities of achieving the
agreed outcome
• You will increase the possibilities to deliver projects
successfully
 Improved quality

• Decision-making routes and processes are

clearly defined
• Deadlines, costs and resources are
controlled systematically
– All processes in the project management activity chain
are coordinated to ensure they remain in harmony with
one another
• The result will help you to get:
– more speed
– greater flexibility
– improved quality
 What project management helps
you to achieve
• Plan tasks in project
• Avoid dependencies problems
• Reduce risks
• Track progress accurately
• Organize project process and timeline
• Improve stakeholder - staff communication
• Improve management of stakeholders’
expectations
• Complete within budget and on time
 Project success factors
• Stakeholder involvement
• Executive management support
• Clear statement of requirements
• Proper planning
• Realistic expectations
• Smaller project milestones
• Competent staff
• Ownership
• Clear vision and objectives
• Hard working and focused staff
The triple constraint

Quality
Project Cycle Management (PCM)

• PCM
– Is a methodology for the preparation,
implementation and evaluation of projects based
on the principles of the logical framework
approach

– It describes management activities and decision-

making procedures used during the life cycle of a
project (key tasks, roles and responsibilities, key
documents and decision options)
Project cycle management (PCM)

• Is useful in designing, implementing and

monitoring a plan or a project
• A clear concise visual presentation of all the
key components of a plan and a basis for
monitoring
• It clarifies:
– How the project will work
– What it is going to achieve
– What factors relate to its success
– How progress will be measured
 The project cycle
Programming

Evaluation Identification

Financin
g
decision
Implementation Formulation

Financing
decision
 The three PCM principles
• Decision making criteria defined at each phase

• The phases in the cycle are progressive

• Project identification part of structured

feedback
 PCM is result based
• PCM requires the active participation of key
stakeholders and aims to promote local
ownership

• PCM incorporates key assessment criteria

into each stage of the project cycle

• PCM requires the production of good quality

key documents in each phase to support
decision making
 PCM helps to ensure that
• Projects are part of the country policy
objectives
• Projects are relevant to the real problems of
target groups / beneficiaries
– Clearly identified stakeholders (primary
target groups and final beneficiaries)
• Projects are feasible (objectives are realistic)
– Clearly defined coordination, management,
financing arrangements, monitoring and
evaluation
• Benefits generated by projects are likely to be
sustainable
 PCM tools
• The logical framework approach

• Quality assessment criteria

• Institutional capacity assessment

• Economic and financial analysis

• Promoting participatory approaches

 Time management

• Defining project activities

• Activity scheduling
• Create and controlling the
project activities

• An inch of time cannot be bought for

an inch of gold." - Chinese proverb
 Time management grid
Urgency

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2
Important but not
Urgent and important
urgent
Importance

"Firefighting" "Quality time"

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Neither urgent nor
Urgent but not important
important
"Distraction" "Time wasting"

There's an old joke when it comes to project management time:

'The first 90 percent of a project schedule takes 90 percent of the time. The last 10 percent
takes the other 90 percent of the time'
Managing the scope of the project

• Project scope management constitutes 'the

processes to ensure that the project includes
all of the work required, and only the work
required, to complete the project successfully.‘
• Project scope has several purposes:
– It defines what work is needed to complete the
project objectives
– It determines what is included in the project
– It serves as a guide to determine what work is not
needed to complete the project objectives
– It serves as a point of reference for what is not
included in the project
 Role of a project manager
• The role of a project manager is affected by
the one-shot nature of the project
• The role of a project manager is difficult when
team members are still linked to their
permanent work areas
– Members may be assigned to several projects
simultaneously
• Managers must rely on their communication
skills and powers of persuasion
 Project manager attributes
• Leader & manager
• Facilitator, coordinator
• Communicator
• Credibility: Technical/
Administrative
• Work under pressure
• Goal-oriented
• Innovator
• Versatilist
• Knowledgeable about
the organization
• Political sensitivity
• Conflict: sense,
confront, resolve
• Can deal with stress,
chaos, ambiguity
• Planning and follow-
through
• Ethical dilemmas
Project manager attributes

Versatilist

Specialist

Generalist
 Project manager duties
• Reports to senior management
• Communicates with users
• Plans and schedules
• Obtains and allocates resources
• Controls risks
• Manages people
• Coordinates
• Implements quality assurance
• Controls the budget
• Delivers results
 Project teams
• Diversity of knowledge needed
• Cross-functional
• Self-directed
• Often ad-hoc or temporary
• Often distributed (geographically)
• Start and end dates
 Project personnel skills
• Technical
• Political
• Problem-oriented
– (vs. discipline-oriented)
• Goal-oriented
• Flexibility, adaptability
• High self-esteem
– can handle failure, risk, uncertainty,
unexpected
– can share blame and credit
 Governmental projects

• Legal constraints on government projects

– Laws, statutes, ordinances, directives, regulations,
budgets, and policies
• Accountability to the public
– Accountable to legislative & judicial bodies,
interest groups, the press and the public
• Utilization of public resources
– Objective is not higher ROI, but public good
 Project governance
• Risk planning
– Balancing risk avoidance and risk acceptance
• Life cycle management
– From concept to replacement
• Strategic change
– Balancing the solution and the ability to utilize
• Value management
– Adopting consistent processes, building in quality
and adding value
 Project management
methodology scope

• What is a methodology
– The way we do things around here !
– Communication, consistency, understanding,
accountability
• Project management vs. other activities
• This way project management uses the same
approach for all situations
 References
• British Standard 60971, 2000:2
• European Commission (2004). Project Cycle
Management Guidelines. Downloaded 1st March
from:http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/qsm/documents/p
cm_manual_2004_en.pdf