Q: Project management practice is also very important to today’s modern economy because it integrates business processes, systems and organisations
2016 budget and planning:
The successful management, implementation and completion of the capital projects in the 2016 budget is in the planning. Recipe for failure and disaster is if the planning for the projects is poor or inadequate. I don’t have a complete insight into the types of projects that are in the budget but whatever they are I assume a lot of thought would have gone into them as far as planning and implementation are concerned.
But history proves otherwise. Governments have not been known to excel in planning and ultimately bring envisioned projects into reality. A very important knowledge area that should be taken seriously during the planning process is risk management. A proactive project manager is usually a successful one. The primary focus of a manager is not to react to problems and challenges but to prevent them before they crop up. An area where this attribute can be put to good use is in risk planning and management.
Risks are either negative or positive and their management is of utmost importance and must be given high priority when it comes to project management. Risk management, according to business dictionary definition, is the identification, analysis, assessment, control, avoidance, elimination or minimisation of unacceptable threats or opportunities. For any serious project a risk management plan must be put together. This plan must address risk management methodology, risk registers, risk thresholds and tolerance, threats and opportunities, risk identification and response strategies, roles and responsibilities of the project team members, budget (contingencies and management reserves), risk categories, risk tracking and reporting and information collection techniques to mention a few. If a project is to succeed, risks and uncertainties must be given adequate attention as they can cripple the execution of such a project.
Another important knowledge area is Quality Management. Most government projects are of very poor quality. Extra care should be taken to ensure that executed projects are of excellent quality that can be compared with international standards. Poor quality jobs or projects mean more rework and that costs more money and time to fix with some of the projects being sometimes or ultimately abandoned. A quality management plan is needed and should be drawn up during the planning process.
2016 budget and monitoring and control:
Subsequent to proper planning and implementation of the projects commences, monitoring and control of such projects is of great importance and should be carried out simultaneously. Most capital projects are out-sourced to contractors and they might want to cut corners. The onus is on the government through the project management office to constantly show up at project sites and make sure that the jobs being executed are done according to specifications and what is in the project management plan. Change requests are also better handled this way. It is pertinent to note that if a project has been planned appropriately and execution closely follows what is in the plan, there are less control efforts.
Project management office:
There is need for project management offices in government departments and ministries. This is very important for any serious government or organisation. The creation of a project management office (PMO) by an organisation centralizes and standardizes the management of projects and programmes across the business and government departments. The project management office can be controlling, supportive or directive and are usually departments within the various organisations. Having a functional PMO prevents business and government agencies/departments from embarking on projects that have the likelihood or a high percentage of failure by applying strict project management metrics and defined key performance indicators from the onset.
According to a 2010 Project Management Institute (PMI) white paper on the value of project management and controls, Intel the global IT giant in Santa Clara, California, USA drastically reduced project cost, length and improved project delivery within similar budget restraints and bolstered customer relationships. As contained in the same white paper, since Intel launched its IT project management office (PMO), the company has steadily increased the number of projects released while budgets remained flat, thanks to better project management, shorter timeframes and a more robust system of tracking.
Poor project management practices can have disastrous consequences and will surely derail an otherwise carefully thought out business process. This is very apt considering our history of managing projects big or small. Project failures can be avoided by proper planning and putting into practice metrics and standards established at the top management/portfolio level. Having a PMO in place as well as senior management buy-in and support, is very essential for the practice of disciplined project management in an organisation. Bureaucratic bottlenecks and delays are reduced to the minimum resulting in projects being finished on time, budget and within scope. Also change management procedures are done much faster.
Project management practice is also very important to today’s modern economy because it integrates business processes, systems and organisations. Change, as the only constant thing, can be effectively managed by a strong project management culture. Also risks (negative, positive, known and unknown), quality (qualitative and quantitative), cost, communication, stakeholders (negative and positive), procurement, time and human resources can be proactively and effectively managed with sound project management principles. Lessons learned and knowledge gained from previously executed projects are also very valuable and they come in handy for future projects.
The practice and general use of project management is developing and rapidly gaining momentum. The relationship that exists between organisational project management and business value continues to grow. Exposure to and training in project management forms the basis of this relationship. The project management maturity model for most Nigerian businesses and government departments is on the poor side and they need to be greatly improved.
Ayodele Akingbade
