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Chapter 1

Basics of Project

What is Project?

In government, the evolution of projects stems from the broad policies and programmes launched by the central and state governments from time to time. For example, a policy of preventing overgrowth of bigger cities resulted into a new programme called Development of Small and Medium Towns, and to realise the policy and programme objectives, town level projects were formulated and implemented. Similarly, under the national housing & habitat policy, different housing programmes were created with a set of broad guidelines and to implement these programmes, housing projects were formulated and implemented by the concerned authorities in the project towns. Similar is the procedure in almost all the developmental projects initiated by different ULBs, departments of government or public agencies

How do we define a project? Is it simply a set of activities leading to an end point in accordance to a preset objective? Is it possible to identify projects only in terms of goals and objectives? Do the means to achieve those objectives deserve equal emphasis? Our intuitive perception of projects and aspects of project formulation are so deep seated that we rarely confront ourselves with these issues. Several definitions exist for “Project”. Whichever specific definition we choose, nearly every project we manage will have many of the same characteristics. The dictionary lists the word “Project” as a synonym for “plan” is derived from a French word meaning “Project implies the use of enterprise or imagination in formulating an ambitious or extensive plan, Also, according to dictionary, the word “plan” is derived from a French word meaning “earlier”. The key words here are “beforehand” and “earlier”. A plan is something you prepare prior to the work to achieve specific objectives. At the most basic level, a project is actually the response to a need, the solution to a problem. Another school defines project as a one time job that has defined starting and ending dates, a clearly specified objective or scope or work to be performed, a predetermined budget and usually a temporary organization that is dismantled once the project is complete.

Project can be defined thus as “A scientifically evolved work plan devised to achieve specific objectives within specified time limit consuming planned resources.

Project Questions

Before the formulation of project, many questions to be asked by the project initiators. These questions can be summarized as follows:

• What for: The objectives of the project • How: The process, and the internal and external resources • Who: For whom, By whom – Project partners, stake holders • When: The time factor • Where: The location • What: The activity

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Analysis of Performance Problems of Officers Based on the Responses

The author interviewed 30 Staff members dealing with projects in three selected ULBs The table illustrates the non availability of required Project Formulation Staff as only 18% of them expressed the availability of staff in this category.

Table: Perception of Project Preparation Skills(Responses of 30 Officers) Response Available Available

to some extent

Not at all

Project Formulation Staff

18% 45% 27%

Sufficient Engineering/

Professional Experts

9% 30% 61%

Full-fledged Project Team

0 30% 70%

Only 30% have expressed the availability of Project Management Skills among the staff of the Municipalities. It is noted that as high as 52% have given the opinion of not having any project management skills. When asked about the use of network techniques and computer based project management soft-wares, almost 60 to 90 % of them expressed un-awareness about the techniques.

Application of Project Management Skills(Responses of 30 Officers)

As indicated in the table, about 27 % said that they have technical appraisal skills. In other appraisal components such as financial, economic and social, more than 50% have expressed

Application of Project Management Skills(Responses of 30 Officers)

0%10%20%

30%40%50%60%

70%80%

Available Available tosome extent

Not at all

Res

po

nse

s

Skills in ProjectFormulation

Use of NetworkTechniques in Projects

Use of Computer BasedProject ManagementSoft-wares

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the lack of adequate skills. About 30 to 36 % have agreed that they have skills only to some extent.

Project Appraisal Skills(Responses of 30 members) Response Available Available to some

extent Not at all

Technical Appraisal Skills 27% 50% 23% Financial Appraisal 9% 36% 55%

Economic Appraisal 9% 36% 55% Social Appraisal 12% 30% 58%

The staff was interviewed with reference to project monitoring and supervision aspects. 36 % have agreed that they have implemented at least a minimum of two projects as per the time schedule and 15% of them agreed only to some extent and remaining were negative on this aspect. Similarly, when asked whether they have implemented at least two projects without cost overrun in a year, 18% have said yes and 36% have agreed to some extent only and remaining were negative or they did not know.

About 36% of them have agreed that at least two projects were delayed by a minimum of 4 months in a year. It is interesting to note that about 48% were ready to accept that at least two projects implemented met the performance standards. The performance standards again vary depending on the type of project. Here, the performance referred to quality and quantitative parameters.

Table Monitoring and Supervision (Responses of 30 Officers)

Response Yes To some

extent No Do not

know At least 2 Projects implemented as per time schedule in a year

36% 15% 15% 34%

At least 2 Projects implemented without cost overrun in a year

18% 36% 21% 25%

At least two Projects implemented as per the performance standards in a year

48% 18% 9% 29%

At least 2 Project delayed by a minimum of 4 months in a year

36% 30% 9% 25%

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It is clear that the projects are implemented with greater degree of uncertainty in terms of time, cost and scope of the projects. It is seen that the projects have been faced with inappropriate formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

It was also discussed about the documentation or evaluation of the projects implemented. Following responses were elicited from the staff. It is seen that only 15 to 18% of them agree to have a system to evaluate and document the projects. And about 50 to 70% expressed that there is no system for evaluation or documentation of the projects.

Table : Evaluation and Documentation of Projects(Responses of 30 Officers) Response Yes To some extent No Do not

know Is there a system to evaluate the projects

15% 15% 15% 55%

Is there a system to document the success/failure experiences of projects

18% 36% 21% 25%

Any project evaluated after its implementation

15% 15% 15% 55%

Any successful project documented after implementation

15% 15% 30% 40%

The above findings have been appropriately considered as base line while preparing this book

Monitoring and Supervision (Responses of 30 Officers)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Yes To someextent

No Do notknow

Res

ponse

s

At least 2 Projectsimplemented as per timeschedule in a year

At least 2 Projectsimplemented withoutcost over run in a year

At least two Projectsimplemented as per theperformance standards ina yearAt least 2 Project delayed by a minimum of4 months in a year

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Project Management v/s Management

Project Management is the planning, scheduling and controlling of Project Activities at; P-At desired Performance Level C-At desired Cost or Budget Constraints T-On time S-Scope; while holding it as constant and using the resources efficiently & effectively C=F (P, T, S) Cost of a project is directly proportional to its performance, time and scope. Variation in any of the three factors P, T and S will result in change of cost which will in most of the cases overshoot the estimated cost. When managing any project, it is important to keep the triple constraints of time, budget and performance in mind at all times. Time is managed by keeping the team on track in terms of the schedule and meeting deadlines. Budget is managed by controlling monetary resources provided in the project financial plan. Time and money are easy to understand and relatively easy to account for. But how to manage performance? Performance is dependent on time, scope and objectives and is specific to each project. Speed, accuracy and volume (in terms of quality and quantity) are the three measures of performance. By providing real examples, we can prove that each of these three measurements is an effective method of assessing the success of a project outcome.

Management

Management is the process of designing and maintaining an Environment in which individuals working together in groups effectively accomplish the selected Aims. Managerial Functions: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Leading/Directing and Controlling It applies to any kind of organization-Business, Government Agencies, small & large organizations to profit and non-profit organizations, Manufacturing and service industries and so on;

• Applies to managers at all levels • Aim of managers is the same: to create surplus in financial or social terms • Concerned with productively implying Effectiveness and Efficiency

All managers are charged with the responsibility of taking actions that will make it possible for individuals to make their best contributions to group objectives, Resolving conflicting viewpoints necessitating the systems approach.

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Stages in a Project

Following points illustrate the stages in a project specifically relevant to Government projects

• Concept • Problem statement • Generate alternative strategies • For each strategy; • Are PCTS requirements ok? • Are risks acceptable? • Develop implementation plan • Is plan ok? • Approve the Plan? • Execute the Plan • Is progress acceptable? • All works complete?

Project methodology is really about managing change

• Change in current practices • Developing new practices • Getting people to change their behaviors • How they do their work • How they work together • How they get the work of the project done • Avoidance of paving the cow paths • PM is a mindset, a discipline that con helps your organization increase

effectiveness and put order to chaos.

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Systematic Approach to Project Management in Government

Area of Concern: People,

Consumers, Housing,

Infrastructure, Civic

Services etc.

Resources:

Natural,

Technological,

Financial,

Physical, Human

Problem:

Identification of

Beneficiaries,

Need, Demand,

Entity role,

Objectives and

Goals of Project

Output Output: Fulfill the

objectives/Goals/C

onsumer

Satisfaction?

Feedback for

corrective action

Implemented

successfully

No

Yes

Staffing

Directing

Controlling

Organizing

Planning

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Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Before a project is planned, a simple tool called SWOT analysis would bring more clarity on the capability, constraints, favorable and non-conducive factors/environment for the organization to take up the project and a format of four boxes are to be filled by the project team members.

State what you are assessing here:

Strengths (Internal)

Eg. Advantages, Capability, Technology, Knowledge, skills etc.

Weaknesses (Internal)

Eg. Disadvantages, Lack of Skills, Human Resource deficiency etc.

Threats (External)

Eg. Political, Environmental, Legislative, Poor demand, Loss of staff, finance etc.

Opportunities (External)

Eg. Policies, Political, Development, Collaboration etc.

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Project Integration through Short Term Action Plans/Annual Plans/Medium Term Plans

In Government Departments/ULBs/PRIs, the projects can be classified into short-term, medium-term and long-term. Normally, projects taking time horizon of 0-1 year, 1-3 years and 3-5 years and more could be identified and suitable planning has to be done in an integrated manner to maintain the continuity of implementation and avoid disjointed efforts and incomplete projects

Short Term Plan

The preparation of short term plans involves the process of identification of problems, setting objectives, Force-field analysis, Developing options, prioritization, choosing/Deciding the option, plan action, implementation, operation and maintenance. The monitoring and evaluation is a continuous process from the beginning to end. The municipalities and the Grama Sabhas have to prepare the short term action plans. Since the Ward Sabhas have not been set up in urban areas, the municipalities have to prepare the action plans. The steps in the preparation of Action Plans/Short Term Plans are illustrated in the figure below.

Medium Terms Plans (3-5 Years)

A medium term plan of 3-5 years focuses on achieving prioritized objectives. It normally comprises a number of programmes and projects which are closely tied into the commitments –institutional and investment including Government which are necessary for implementation. A medium term plan may consist of more than one action plans. A medium term plan could comprise a number of multi-sector investment plans that are drawn from different sectors such as infrastructure, poverty, housing, health etc.

Long-term Plan

It should be a statutory development plan for a period of 20 years. The district development plan should be evolved based on the action plans and medium term plans of the rural and urban areas. The medium term/multi-sector plans requiring investments of different magnitude and based on their priority are spread across a scale of 20 years. This perspective/development plan is prepared based on the action and medium term plans prepared by the local bodies and various departments. The implementation of this plan should be supported with statutory/legal support. An independent authority comprising Professional planners, Engineers, Financial experts etc., are set-up to monitor the implementation of plan. The successful implementation of the plan is dependent on full co-operation of the various stake holders, proper integration of the projects/plans, the commitment involved in the planning, convergence of resources from the multiple organizations in rural and urban areas included.

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Case Study of Projects under District Planning Committee (DPC)

As per 73rd and 74th CAA, DPC has a major role in preparing, scrutinizing and scanning of various plans and projects of the rural and urban areas. Based on this exercise, any change and modifications in the plans are incorporated by the concerned Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Gram Panchayat, City Municipal Council, Town Municipal Council or Pattana Panchayat including all the line departments.

A rapid appraisal of the DPCs by the author showed that the functioning of DPCs and the planning at present takes place in a disjointed approach in the urban and rural areas. For instance, the projects of water supply, roads, schools, or hospitals etc., are implemented by the respective municipalities or the Grama Sabhas. Discussions with the DPC members revealed that many of them are yet to understand the objectives and roles of the DPC. A DPC Cell is formed within the DPC with Chief Planning Officer, Planning Officer and Assistant Statistical Officer as members. The funds of the DPC are operated through a Joint Account of CEO and CPO of ZP. The DPC has to facilitate the respective departments and local bodies to prepare the annual, five years and 20 years plans in the district. The members also suggested the need for setting up of expert committees for different core areas/services who in turn prepare the plans. These plans could then be placed before the Grama Sabha or Ward Sabha for discussions and modifications. All the plans prepared at the individual local body level are further placed before the DPC for discussions and modifications. The short term plans(annual), medium term plans(5 Years) and the long term plans(20 Years) will have to be evolved based on the needs and problems of the local bodies covering both rural and urban areas. But, these expert committees either have not been set up or yet to start the work. The annual plans as usual are prepared at the Gram Sabha and Municipal levels. These plans do not reflect the integrated planning approach. Municipalities are also preparing the routine annual budgets without any strategic planning.

The progress and impact of the Government schemes and plans implemented by the Departments, Grama Sabhas and Municipalities will have to be assessed on regular basis by the DPC and accordingly bring any new changes in guidelines for better results. The DPC would conduct studies on various development indicators such as MMR, IMR, education level, Roads, Water supply, Diseases etc., and based on the recommendations, the local bodies and concerned departments or agencies would prepare the plans.

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Steps in Integrated Action Plan/Short Term Plan of various Projects

Medium Term Plan

…………………………….

Short Term Plan

Identify problems

Setting Objectives

Force Field

Analysis

Monitoring

and

Evaluation

Develop Options

Priorities and

Choose

Plan Action

Implement

Operate and

Maintain

Medium

Term

Plan

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Functions of Project Manager

The flow chart given above indicates that the project manager manages three circles interlinking each other surrounded by a bigger circle implying the main functions of Planning, Organizing, and Controlling etc.

Planning

Three stage planning process of projects in Government or Local Bodies has been explained with flow chart in the above paragraphs. Defining the project objective and developing a plan to achieve the objective by working closely with the project sponsor and the team members is the key function. In addition, "sponsors often can help secure interdepartmental cooperation and influence contractors and suppliers. This can be helpful throughout the life of the project. The project manager should include project team members in this phase. Including members of the project team in the plan development phase "ensures a more comprehensive plan than he or she could develop alone (and) gains the commitment of the team to achieve the plan. Organizing It involves identifying and securing resources that include Human, Physical, Technological, Natural and other resources. Determining tasks that must be completed, assigning the tasks to the members, delegating authority, and motivating team members to work together on the project. "Most projects do not receive unlimited resource allotments, (so) the project manager must allocate the available resources" Conflicts may arise when individuals working together come from departments with different interests and goals. "The project manager needs to watch for anyone who loses sight of project goals in favor of individual goals". A project manager who is aware of the potential conflicts and is observant will be better able to manage those conflicts

Controlling

Tracking progress and comparing it with planned progress. Progress reports should be used to measure performance as well as identify areas for improvement. "If actual progress or output falls behind planned output or unexpected events occur, the project manager has to take appropriate corrective action and replan those parts of the project" The project manager must be able to solve problems and get the project back on track

Staffing

The project manager has to select appropriate and suitable mix of efficient staff among the lot based on the need of the project. The staff should have experience and skills in the area. They should be able to perform the tasks assigned and have the affinity towards learning and correcting errors.

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Project Cycle

Following are the life cycle phases of a project

• Identification • Project Formulation • Appraisal • Implementation • Monitoring • Evaluation

Causes for Failure of Projects

It is generally seen that in most of the Government projects,2/3 of project problems are people related. You will find many project leaders demonstrate a “ just do-it” mentality. While that may be effective in some environments, this is NOT effective in managing change. There will always be conflict over goals and scope, resources and between departments. You are likely to find a lack of understanding of basic project management methods. Some people will never get along. If you ask people what factors cause problems in projects, these are the sort of things they will say:

• Undefined scope • Objectives not clear • Ambiguity in roles and responsibilities • Vague requirements • Inadequate leadership from department • Less involvement of users • Inadequate planning • Scope variation • Uncontrolled change • Inadequate monitoring and reporting • Team know it’s impossible but superiors believe it will be done • Ignoring reality, wishful thinking

Case Study: A water supply project initiated by a Municipal Corporation had 2 months delay in commencement of the project due to unclear responsibility assigned to the project manager Superintending Engineer was designated as project leader as per the project document and the project staff were supposed to work under the project leader. As the project execution commenced, the project staff have started reporting the progress to CE (Chief Engineer) who was senior in hierarchy to the Superintending Engineer. This has resulted in conflicts between the project leader and the seniors and among the project staff as there was varying commands and decisions away from the project document. The whole incident delayed the project by 2 months leading to loss of money and deviation in the scope of the project.

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• Inadequate communication

Why Projects Succeed?

Following factors contribute to successful completion of projects;

• Good project charter • Strong project management • The right mix of term players • Good decision making structure • Good communication • Team members are working toward common goals

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when undertaking any kind of project. Often project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. The effort spent in planning can save countless hours of confusion and rework in the subsequent phases. However, many people fail to realize the value of a project plan in saving time, money Following steps are followed in planning of project.

Step 1: Project Goals and Objectives

A project is successful when the needs of the stakeholders have been met. A stakeholder is anybody directly or indirectly impacted by the project. As a first step, it is important to identify the stakeholders in your project. It is not always easy to identify the stakeholders of a project, particularly those impacted indirectly. Examples of stakeholders are:

• Department sponsoring the project • The users or beneficiaries of the project outputs • The project manager and project team

Once you understand who the stakeholders are, the next step is to find out their needs. The best way to do this is by conducting stakeholder interviews. Take time during the interviews to draw out the true needs that create real benefits. Often stakeholders will talk about needs that aren’t relevant and don’t deliver benefits. These can be recorded and set as a low priority. The next step is to make the list of needs and give priority grading to the needs in the order of their importance and essentiality. From the prioritized list, create a set of goals that can be easily measured. A technique for doing this is to review them against the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound) principle, By this way it will be easy to know when a goal would be achieved. Once you have established a clear set of goals, they should be recorded in the project plan. It can be useful to also include the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.

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Step 2: Project Delivery

Specify when and how each item/task must be delivered. Add the deliverables to the project plan with an estimated delivery date. More accurate delivery dates will be established during the scheduling phase, which is next.

Step 3: Project Schedule

Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each task identified in Step 2. Work out

the following;

• The amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task. • The resource required to carry out the task.

We may have to rework the accurate date of beginning and ending of each task based on the availability of resources and time. Work breakdown structure is used to break up the task into sub- tasks to know the minute details and unknowns if hidden inside the task. Alternatively, we can use MS Project software for scheduling. At this stage, if project scheduling team has any uncertainties, do the following;

• Renegotiate the deadline (project delay). • Employ additional resources (increased cost). • Reduce the scope of the project

Step 4: Supporting Plans

Human Resource Plan

Identify by name, the individuals and organizations with a leading role in the project. For each, describe their roles and responsibilities on the project. Next, describe the number and type of people needed to carry out the project. For each resource detail start dates, estimated duration and the method you will use for obtaining them. Create a single sheet containing this information.

Communications Plan

Create a document showing who needs to be kept informed about the project and how they will receive the information. The most common mechanism is a weekly or monthly progress report describing how the project is performing, milestones achieved and work planned for the next period.

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Project Manager’s Role

Keeping a project management team running smoothly can be a challenge, especially when budgets are lean and expectations are high. Every manager needs to figure out the best way to lead and motivate, but a few baseline principles will keep you pointed down the right path. Following are some of the important roles a project manager has to perform;

• Leadership

Analytical thinking - the ability to understand overall visions, as well as minute details.

• Organizing

The ability to prioritize work. You have limited time and resources to deliver your project, so you need to work smart. Manage your time carefully, use “To Do Lists” to priorities your work. Limit the number of meeting you have and keep telephone calls short. Only work on prioritized tasks. If something arises that is non- critical then keeps a record of it and move on.

• Communication

The ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and regularly.

• Interpersonal

The ability to develop a relationship with each team member in order to know what motivates them

• Problem-Solving

The ability to anticipate problems, recognize them when they arise, and solve them quickly and efficiently

• Finance and Resources

The ability to mobilize and manage financial and other resources

• Technical savvy

Being able to apply and use appropriate technology

• Politicking

Being able to communicate and manage the politicians having differing opinions

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• Team building

The ability to interview and choose team members with the proper skills and knowledge Being able to develop team spirit and cooperation among the team members

• Praising

Praise the efficiency and achievements of members

• Pausing

Listen carefully and don’t react immediately

• Punishing

Give feedback with negative facts and then spell out the punishment

If roles and responsibilities of Project Manager and the Team members are not clear many problems will result:

• ultimate source of authority unclear • people will not do what they need to do to make the project successful • not clear who can decide what • others' roles unclear: you don't know who to talk to, poor communications • unauthorized projects start: nobody's job to authorise projects • lack of accountability: there's little incentive to do things properly • resources aren't committed: nobody is held to account for breaking resource

commitments • unclear objectives: project objectives are not owned by anyone, everyone has their

own opinion, moving target, potential failure

So, before any project begins we must ensure amongst very many other things:

• a clear management hierarchy exists for the project • each person has a defined and agreed set of responsibilities • people will be held accountable by their line manager for performing their project role

Project Managers in Government departments and agencies have a varied profile and their functions range from accidental project managers’ to full time professionals. Whenever, the project is important and huge, the project manager is experienced and takes a practical approach to getting the project across the goal- line. Ad-hoc best efforts are the norm. However, because the project manager is usually involved in a number of activities and is short of time, an accurate view of progress and issues across projects is not available. However, the project plan is usually too detailed, so progress reporting is done using word and spreadsheets to provide highlights. In the absence of tools like bar chart/network/MS project/CAM techniques, often the project manager misses the control over the progress.

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A register is meticulously managed in a spreadsheet and emailed to project participants when updated, say, after the weekly or fortnightly meeting. What is difficult, without a lot of administration overhead, is ensuring assigned actions are clearly communicated and followed up so that obstacles to progress are efficiently removed. Where actions are missed or forgotten, delays of two weeks or a month can occur, and project momentum will be lost. Because of schedule slippage, resource management can be inefficient. Where shared resources are used, lack of ongoing updates on support requirements again means progress is slowed because key resources are not available-or resources are blocked off to do work when the delivery team is not yet ready. Any “ahead of schedule” situations often lose their hard-won advantage because the “baton” cannot be handed over. Risk management usually not done at all, and each project is a “one-off”. Manual progress reporting is subject to inaccuracies and is labour intensive. In addition the lead time between the commencement of report preparation and review means that senior staffs are making decisions based on ‘old’ information. While report formats may be standardized, the content and focus varies considerably from manager to manager. While an experienced project manager often completes projects successfully, this success cannot easily be replicated or shared. Especially where skilled contract staffs are used to manage the project, their knowledge is not transferred to less experienced managers, which is a lost opportunity. That is, the knowledge, skills and learning’s from a project are usually ‘retained’ with the project manager and their team. In another example, if agency A has successfully completed a project and agency B is embarking on a similar project, then there will be many benefits if agency B has access to agency A’s project knowledge and process. Savings will be achieved by agency B, particularly in the areas of project plan development, risk will be significantly reduced by starting with a template, and project success will be more dependent on processes than on a key person. The opportunities for an improved project management are:

• Provide complete view of the project • Use the actual project schedule as the input to management • Run issues registers inside the project structure, and allow all participants to

selectively but directly access and contribute to the register • Communicate resource requirements so as to ensure optimum utilisation • Provide easy to use risk management tool, directly connected to the project • Automate reporting-running reports against project data that takes little effort and

produces accurate, comparable detailed and consolidated reports • Use templates that contain process and risk knowledge to initiate projects

Tips for Project Manager Know Your Role While you may be the leader of the project team, your primary concern must be the team itself. Even if you’re a hands-on manager, remember you’re also there to coach, evaluate and mentor. Make time to attend to each of these areas regularly.

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Understand the Value of Your Employees/ Team Members You can’t accomplish your team’s objectives by yourself, so work hard to help your employees do their jobs or tasks. Remove obstacles, work through glitches, and fight for the resources you employees/members need to achieve desired objectives/milestones. Keep Fairness in Mind Avoid playing favorites or putting your own ambitions above those of your team, because people are quick to sniff out words and actions that are unfair or self-serving. You’ll still need to make unpopular decisions from time-to –time, but you’ll retain your team’s respect. Treat your Employees like Adults Few things undermine respect and enthusiasm as quickly as being criticized, disciplined, or embarrassed in public. Allow employees the courtesy of carrying out sensitive discussions in private, give them the benefit of the doubt when mistakes occur, and never lose sight of their individual career goals, Extract Each Member’s Strengths and Leverage them By utilizing an employee’s natural strengths to their full potential, you’ll not only allow the employee to feel a tremendous sense of value and accomplishment, you’ll also be giving your team the benefit of those skills. Encourage Achievement When an employee accomplishes a tough task or really pulls out a win, seize on it. Let the rest of the team know about the accomplishment, look for other ways to repeat the success on future tasks or projects, and keep an eye out for opportunities that would allow the employee to help mentor others to achieve similar results. Give and Receive Feedback based on facts Without it, your employees will become frustrated that their efforts aren’t paying off, and you’ll be equally annoyed because your team isn’t reaching its potential. Focus on Long-term success Don’t expect employees to learn new skills, modify behaviours, or improve their performance overnight. Instead, work on small changes here and there, and you’ll find solid long-term results. Use Mistakes as a Learning Tool Once you’ve worked with the team to correct an error, shift your focus to helping them understand how the mistake occurred, what signposts they missed originally, and how they can avoid repeating the same mistake later.

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Realize That You Aren’t an Expert in Everything If you have a team member with more expertise in a particular area, don’t try to hide or mitigate it-celebrate it! Successful teams combine each member’s specific talents into a high- performing whole, and any ego or insecurities you bring to the table will only undermine that. Delegate, and Then Get Out of the Way By allowing your employees to do their jobs, you'll instill in them greater confidence and a higher degree of accountability. You'll also be supporting their efforts to increase their skills and improve their decision-making capabilities. Be a Cheerful Leader Motivate your team with constant encouragement towards common goal.

How should the Project Team be?

Project formulation starts with identification of project team. Project leader/manager should have full authority over the project. Appointing two parallel authorities/leaders on the same project may lead to chaos in decision making. Therefore the project authority has to be carefully identified and the project team have clear job chart before a project is formulated. A well formulated project is the one which presents a much unbiased picture of the project idea in more clear-cut terms with regard to all the above factors. The project authorities should use the information generated through the formulation exercise to identify the deficiencies and gaps in the formulation and take remedial measures ahead of time. The task obviously requires experts with a variety of talent working together particularly engineers, architects, sociologists, economists, together with such other specialists as required. Project formulation, therefore, has to be a team effort where each member of the team brings to bear on the project idea his own expertise and helps in evaluating the strong and weak points of the project. It is a total approach towards the development of a project idea into an investment proposition wherein all the aspects of the project are carefully evaluated and developed.

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Tips for Project Meetings Everyone dislikes meetings that drag on. So your job is to make it focused, highly driven and to add a sense of purpose. If you do this, then you’ll boost team motivation and morale. Here are 5 tips to help you... Tip 1: Plan wisely To make sure you get the most out of your meetings, you need to plan them wisely. Prior to each meeting, write down 3 outcomes that you want from the meeting. Here are some examples:

• "I want the team to know we're on track" • "I want any issues or risks to be raised" • "I want them to feel valued and motivated"

Then you need to work out how you're going to achieve your goals. The next few tips will help you with this... Tip 2: Open and close carefully People most remember the opening and the closure the most. So open and close your meetings carefully. When you open the meeting, tell them what the purpose of the meeting is, what you want to get out of it and why it's important. When you close the meeting, tell them what has been agreed / achieved in the meeting and the next steps going forward. Tip 3: Control the conversation/Discussion You need to be in complete control of the meeting at all times, to ensure that:

• The meeting follows the agenda • You never get stuck on a single issue • One person doesn't dominate it • Everyone has their say •

Arrange meeting/sitting room. Raise your voice a little to add presence. Jump in frequently when people talk too long. Be polite but strong. Control the meeting as a coach would control a football team - by constantly watching, listening and directing the team. If possible, ask someone else to record the minutes. This gives you the time needed to control the conversation so that the agenda are met. Tip 4: Park it and move on Often in meetings, a single issue can consume the majority of the meeting time. If the issue is not related to your specific meeting, then tell the team to "park it and move on". Record the issue on a whiteboard or paper and address it with the relevant team members separately after the meeting. This keeps your meetings short and focused.

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Tip 5: Keep it action orientated Projects are all about "getting things done". So make sure that where possible, every discussion results in an action to be completed. Focusing on the actions that are needed, is a great way of reducing the length of meetings. They know what they have to do, how and by when. And they will have the tools needed to succeed.. Basic Questions

1. List down the steps in Project Management? 2. Describe any project you have been associated with? 3. Describe any 5 factors essential for effective project management?

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TEMPLATE (Indicative)

Basics of Project

• Define the Purpose of Project Briefly state the purpose of project/ beneficiary/social needs to be satisfied and the methods by which satisfaction of those needs will be determined.

• Objectives Define quantitative and measurable objectives. Objectives of project shall be specific, measurable, and realistic and time bound

• Output :Milestones at different stages and or on the completion of project

• Outcome: Overall benefits of the project. Justify how outcome could be achieved • Scope :Specifications and standards that are adopted and variables if any during life

span of the project

Checklist of a project

a) Within time Yes/No

b) Within cost Yes/No

c) At the desired performance/technology level Yes/No

d) Using the assigned resources effectively and efficiently Yes/No

The six resources identified by most organizations are

o Money Yes/No o Manpower Yes/No o Equipment Yes/No o Facilities Yes/No o Materials Yes/No o Information/technology Yes/No

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Project Manager and Team

As a rule, Project Manager (PM) has full authority and is responsible and accountable for all aspects of the projects Scope of Project Authority.

• Planning : • Organizing : • Staffing • Directing • Controlling • Executing

Checklist of Internal Responsibilities of Project Manager/Authority

a. Approve all cost and schedule-related planning documents. b. Approve all organizational work and WBS. c. Control or delegate control of all resources. d. Establish budgets and needs e. Establish policies and strategies f. Evaluate all technical personnel g. Monitor and report all project performance including the approval of monthly progress

reports and cost summary reports. h. Evaluate trade-offs prior to major decisions and approve any deviations to approved plans. i. Assist Team/Team leaders in choosing alternative courses of action to resolve problems. j. Identify project issues requiring formally documented decision and resolution, k. Monitor and assure that all corrective actions are completed in the specified time.

Project Roles and Responsibilities Project Staff Specify the number of staff required by skill level preferably in format given below, the project phases in which the numbers of personnel and types of skills are needed, the source of personnel and the duration of need. Resource Gantt charts, resource histograms, spreadsheets, and tables may be used to depict the staffing plan by skill level, by project phase

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POSITION ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Manager PM coordinates risk identification, assessments, contingency planning, and the maintenance of the risk

Project Engineer Tracking of technical progress and mitigate any risks due to technical issues. Maintaining MB, monitoring of Contractor , issuing notices for lapses etc.

Accounts/Finance Manager Maintenance of accounts, finance, expenditure progress, statements etc.

Administrative Officer The Project Manager’s administrative and financial support staff whose responsibilities include budget tracking, purchasing, and various contract items.

Team member -1 Quality control As assigned

Team member -2 Data base As assigned

Team member-3 Stores and logistics

As assigned

Etc.

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Project Management - Check Sheet NOTE: Amend this Check Sheet to suit your project

A: PROJECT - INITIATION

1 Is the project in line with the strategic plan?

2 Has the project received sign off by sponsor or project Authority?

B: PROJECT - DEFINITION

1 Project definition?

2 Are roles explicit and documented? 3 Are levels of authority clear?

4 Have you carried out a stakeholder analysis and planned accordingly?

5 Have you assessed risks and put a plan into action to monitor them?

6 Are you clear what is driving the project Quality, Cost or Time

7 Have clear project review procedures been established?

8 Has planning started for a start up workshop ?

9 Team selection - have you got the correct mix of skills and professional

experience?

C: DELIVERY PLANNING

1 Have you broken the project down into

its component parts – work breakdown 2 How accurate are your estimates?

3 Have you developed a milestone chart or produced a Gantt chart?

4 Have you developed an overall project budget? Have you sought advice from

financial experts

Y

N

COMMENTS 5 Have you identified the critical path for the project?

6 Have you developed a communications plan and included its component parts

into the Gantt charts?

7 Are you continuing to carry out risk analysis throughout the project?

8 Are quality standards high? How do you know?

D: DELIVERY 1 Have you identified the appropriate type

of control 2 Project reporting – are you clear who

reports what and to whom and how? 3 Do you have a clear procedure for

managing change? 4 Have you developed a planned versus

actual schedule? How up to date is it?

5 Tolerance – have you an agreed tolerance figure?

6 Variations?

E: CLOSEDOWN AND REVIEW

1 Post project review has been planned? 2 Learning identified?

3 Is the project still delivering the benefits intended?

4 Is there a case for abandoning the project – off schedule or delivered a

significant part of it? 5 End of project review reports are

produced and circulated?

Y

N

COMMENTS

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Note 1: The template is indicative and can change depending on the type of project taken up and it is instructed that variations need to be suitably adopted appropriate to each project. Note 2 The readers have to compulsorily complete the following quiz in order to test their minimum competency on the first chapter on Basics of Project

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QUIZ

CHAPTER 1

1. Cost in a Project is a function of a. Time b. Scope of the project c. Performance d. All of the above

2. Which of the following is not a main project objective? a. Quality. b. Cost c. Structure d. Time

3. Project management has the functions of a. Planning b. Scheduling c. Monitoring & Control d. All of the above

4. What should the project manager do? a. Try to find some productive work for these staff members in the project and leave

them on the team b. The best thing is to do nothing. The customer will not realize the problem anyway. c. Try to find a responsible person for the over-assignment who can be made

accountable. d. Take the two people off the team immediately and arrange for the refund of the

excess charges to the customer.

5. You have been criticized that certain specifications in your Scope Statement do not pass the test for SMART objectives. What are SMART objectives?

a. Objectives specified in far more detail than necessary for a execution of a successful project.

b. Easily achievable objectives which help you reducing the pressure on yourself and the team.

c. Objectives that should be achieved in order to attain formal recognition by both the customer and the project sponsor.

d. Objectives that are described using specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related specifications.

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6. Management relates to a. Working together to achieve selected aim b. Staffing, Organizing, Directing, Coordinating c. Not concerned with performance d. a and b

7. Systematic approach to project management in government deals with

a. Need, Demand & Problem identification b. Fulfilling the objectives & Goals c. Managing resources optimally d. a, b & c

8. Which of the following is not a main element of the project management process? a. Plan. b. Estimation. c. Systems design d. Schedule e. Monitor

9. What is true for modern project management? Project managers need... a. ... to have a strict standing in negotiating b. ... to show experience in tricking business partners c. ... to be team players and facilitators instead of "bosses" d. ... to be strongly linked to local traditions

10. Project life cycle has following phases a. Identification of the problem b. Formulation & appraisal c. Implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation d. All of the above

11. Which of the following statements describes best the relationship between project phases and the Project life cycle?

a. The Project life cycle includes the time when the project is performed and the expected product lifespan after that

b. In project management, the sequence of project phases and phase gates is often referred to as Project life cycle.

c. The Project life cycle is regarded as a sequence of project activities while phases are defined to control overlapping activities.

d. The Project life cycle describes how iterations of project management processes are used when a project schedule is developed

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12. Project fail, because a. No clear objective b. No clarity in roles among the projective c. Just do it approach d. All of the above

13. A project manager spent some days to create a multi-page document which he

called Project charter. The document should have been issued by the project sponsor. The sponsor found the document outsized and asked for a condensed document. Which of the following is not normally an element of the Project charter?

a. The authority level of the project manager b. Detailed control account and work package descriptions c. The business need that the project was undertaken to address d. High-level risks

14. Why project succeed a. Good project plan b. Good project charter c. Right mix of team & decision making d. All of the above

15. A project will be successful when a. Needs of stakeholders have been met b. Outputs in terms of quality & quantity are met c. Only when cost is not overrun d. a & b

16. While managing the project, project manager has to a. Listen carefully other team members b. Develop team spirit c. Discourage achievements of team d. a & b

17. Government projects usually experience a. schedule slippage b. No availability of resources at right time c. Poor risk management d. All of the above

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18. A project management team has subcontracted work to a service company. Which of the following tools is the best choice to assure that this company will be able to meet the quality requirements of the project?

a. Quality audit b. Deliverable inspection c. Fixed price contract d. Service level agreement

19. Improved project management a. Requires risk management tools b. Documentation & Register maintenance c. Effective communication plan d. All of the above

20. If a government agency A has completed a project & agency B is proposing a similar project a. Agency B should have access to agency is A’s project knowledge & process b. Agency B can derive benefits of A’s project if access is allowed c. Agency A should not share its experience to others d. a & b

21. Project manager has to a. Know the role of self & team members b. Give & Receive feedback based on facts c. Ignore mistakes during project implementation d. a & b

22. Project leader/ Manager should have a. Full authority over the project b. Limited authority over the project c. Parallel authority over the project d. No authority

23. Project meetings a. Follows meeting agenda b. Should have clear outcomes c. Open & Closing to be carefully done d. All of the above