[06.06] Project Management_ A Guide to Researchers V2.pdf

The Few

Which class of people "makes things happen" in the context of project management?

The Many

Which class of people "watch things happen" in the context of project management?

The Majority

Which class of people "have no idea what is happening/what happens" in the context of project management?

Project

What is defined as "a temporary endeavor with a beginning and an end to create a product, services, or result?"

The process of using inputs to carry out activities in order to achieve previously defined objectives

What is the Project process?

Program

What is defined as "A series of projects in a sector, sub-sector, or region that are linked together by a clearly defined concept?"

Misinterpretation of the needs of the people to be served

What is one reason why projects fail related to community needs?

Failure to understand the setting in which projects must function

What is one reason why projects fail related to context?

Setting unrealistic goals

What is one reason why projects fail related to objectives?

Inadequate planning

What is one reason why projects fail related to preparation?

Absence of alternative courses of action

What is one reason why projects fail related to contingency plans?

Inability to identify and respond to problems

What is one reason why projects fail related to problem management?

Failure to mobilize reluctant individuals and groups

What is one reason why projects fail related to stakeholder engagement?

Vision and long-term goals are vague or concealed

What is one reason why projects fail related to project direction?

Plan is seen at the end product not the impact and outputs

What is one reason why projects fail related to measuring success?

Roles, procedures, and methods are not clear

What is one reason why projects fail related to team organization?

No attempt made to evaluate the project/approach works

What is one reason why projects fail related to assessment?

Meet scope and schedule

What is one way projects succeed related to constraints?

Optimize budget

What is one way projects succeed related to costs?

Build team confidence and morale

What is one way projects succeed related to human factors?

Scope, Schedule, Budget

What are the three constraints of Project Management?

Overall purpose, Objectives, activities, and tasks that have to be carried out to produce the outcome

What is included in the Scope constraint?

Time frame in which project objectives are expected to be completed

What is included in the Schedule constraint?

Associated costs, How costs are allocated

What is included in the Budget constraint?

Explains the rationale or justification for the project

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding its necessity?

Explains how much the project’s immediate goal is expected to contribute to national development

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding its national value?

Explains what will be expected of the project if it is successfully completed

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding expectations of success?

Explains for whom the program is intended to

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding beneficiaries?

Explains what the project must produce (outputs) to create the conditions for the objectives to be reached

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding required results?

Explains through which actions (activities) these outputs are produced

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding necessary actions?

Explains what resources (inputs) are needed to produce the outputs and the objectives

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding required resources?

Explains who will implement the project (management responsibilities and structures)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding management?

Explains how the project will be executed (modes of operation)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding mechanisms/steps?

Explains within which time period the outputs and the objectives will be reached (timeframe)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding deadlines?

Explains risks and that which must be present to ensure project success (assumptions)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding external factors?

Explains where the project will be situated (institutional setting and relevance of location)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding location?

Explains whether the project is able to be implemented and what other options were considered but not taken up (feasibility and alternative strategies)

What characteristic must a well-designed project possess regarding viability?

Project Management

What is the application of skills, knowledge, techniques to activities to meet objectives?

A collection of recommended processes

What is project management described as, rather than a strict methodology?

Initiate the Project

What is Phase 1 of Project Management?

Plan the Project

What is Phase 2 of Project Management?

Execute the Project

What is Phase 3 of Project Management?

Close the Project

What is Phase 4 of Project Management?

Monitoring and Evaluation

What phase is sometimes included but will not be covered in the lecture?

The project must be defined and approved

What is the first step in Phase 1 (Initiate the Project)?

Feasibility of the study

What must be considered in the first phase, including the ethics review?

Background information, research, and other pertinent data should be reviewed

What information must be reviewed in Phase 1?

Project goals should be determined and aligned with those of the institution/organization

What must be aligned in Phase 1?

The project plan

What is the deliverable for Phase 2 (Plan the Project)?

A schedule detailing all the project-related activities, a budget, human resources, non-material resources, and how they conduct it

What does the project plan contain?

Carrying out the project plan

What is the main action in Phase 3 (Execute the Project)?

Measuring progress and monitoring any changes from the plan

What are two ongoing actions in Phase 3?

Communicate deadlines and activities

What must be communicated in Phase 3, especially to stakeholders like the Department of Health?

Documentation from each step, deliverables the project yielded, reviews from each team member, lessons learned

What are the key deliverables of Phase 4 (Close the Project)?

Review of the budgeted amount

What financial action is done in Phase 4?

Getting people to think wisely and rationally before acting

What is one objective of the planning process?

Deliberate, rational process that involves the chain of action that are formulated to achieve specific objectives at some future time

What is the planning process defined as?

Advanced thinking as a basis for action (future)

What is the nature of the thinking involved in the planning process?

Logical Framework Approach (LFA)

What project planning instrument was used in the late 1960's?

Objective Oriented Project Planning (ZOPP)

What project planning instrument was used in the early 1980's, adopted by European countries?

Analysis and Project Planning

What are the two phases of ZOPP?

Stakeholder Analysis, Problem Analysis, Objective Analysis, Alternative Analysis, Assumptions

What five elements are involved in the Analysis phase of ZOPP?

Project Planning Matrix (PPM)

What is the output of the project planning phase (of ZOPP)?

Why the project is carried out, What the project is expected to achieve, How the project is going to achieve its results, Factors crucial to the success of the project, Which data are needed to assess the project's success, What the project would cost

What six elements does the PPM summarize?

Project’s logical structure and its major quantitative data

What two things does the PPM show?

Plausible, consistent, and still feasible

What three qualities does the PPM force the planner to constantly check about the project design?

Deciding on the project and in executing it

What is the second way the PPM is useful, besides planning?

Overall Goal

What variable of the PPM tells us the higher objective(s) which the project is expected to contribute to?

Project Purpose

What variable of the PPM describes the intended impact or the anticipated benefits the project is expected to achieve and only contributes to the overall goal?

Results/Outputs

What variable of the PPM is expressed as objectives which the project management must achieve and sustain?

Activities

What variable of the PPM is necessary to achieve the results/outputs and is expressed as actions?

Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVIs)

What variable of the PPM shows important characteristics of the objectives and the performance standard expected to be reached?

Means of Verification

What variable of the PPM tells us where to obtain the data necessary to prove the objectives defined by the indicator has been reached?

Important Assumptions

What variable of the PPM requires project management to continuously monitor and influence external factors which may adversely affect the attainment of the stated objectives?

Specific, Measurable, Attributable/Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound

What does the acronym SMART stand for regarding good objectives?

Quantitatively and qualitatively

How must Measurable objectives be assessed?

To the goal and purpose

To what must objectives be Attributable/Attainable?

Use strong verbs

What technique should be used in writing good objectives regarding action?

Do not use verbs that are activities

What technique should be avoided in writing good objectives?

State only one result

What should each objective state?

Make sure the objectives at one level are not sub-objectives of each other

What must be ensured regarding the hierarchy of objectives?

Focuses on the activity and seems very loaded

What is wrong with the objective: "To establish ANC classes for pregnant women in barangay health posts and provide outreach transportation services so that women can attend"?

Not very specific; the result they want to show is not very clear; verbs used are not very strong

What is wrong with the objective: "Improve the quality of FP services by training midwives in counseling"?

Overarching objective

How is the objective "Improve immunization coverage of children" described in the example?

Stated in terms of quality

What must be true about writing good output statements regarding standards?

It must be clear that certain outputs are prerequisites for others (ordering)

What must be clear about writing good output statements regarding sequence?

They must clearly relate to the component objective and are necessary for its achievement

What must be true about writing good output statements regarding relevance?

They must be feasible with resources available (inputs)

What must be true about writing good output statements regarding viability?

Set goal, purpose, and objectives

What is done as a team in the first round of keeping the big picture in view?

Work individually

What is the nature of the work for outputs and activities in the PPM process (after the initial team meeting)?

Work as a team

What is the nature of the work for reviewing/confirming outputs and activities?

Address issues along the way and implement the project within the time schedule created

What are two reasons why assumptions and risks must be considered?

A positive statement of a condition (event, decision) that must be met

What is an Assumption?

External factors which are outside the control of the project

What are assumptions regarding control?

Stated in terms of the desired situation

How are assumptions generally stated?

A possibility that the expected outcome is not achieved

What is a Risk?

A negative statement of a condition (event, decision) that might prevent results from being achieved

How is a risk generally stated?

Arises out of uncertainty

What causes risks?

Implementing the research project in a disaster-prone area

What is an example of a risk related to location?

Economic, political instability

What is the assumption related to the Goal of improving health status in the example?