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a guide to the pmd pro1 project management for development professionals ­ level 1 22 april 2010

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acknowledgements this guide would not have been possible without the wise advice and diligent oversight of the pm4ngos working group organizational members of the working group who have supported pm4ngos in its work include world vision international oxfam gb care international catholic relief services cafod plan international mercy corps care the nature conservancy habitat for humanity international and accion international the document was developed through the support of a variety of experts who contributed to the creation review and editing of the guide among these experts we extend special thanks to chris cattaway roger steele bernie leadbeater john fisher john davidson alan harpham liz berryman and katalin hanniker whose contributions were invaluable we also extend our thanks to the many people who helped map the content of the guide to the pmd pro1 to the certification examination s question banks including felipe chaparro lynne curran eric verzuh anna kondakchyan gretchen regehr rodolfo siles geoff reiss guy sharrock amos doornbos robert sweatman marie-laure curie david palasits simon early vadim usvitsky caren conner marian abernathy and terri ise additionally we recognize the support of the staff and volunteers associated with the project management institute educational foundation whose support was central to the creation of the learning materials associated to the guide we are also indebted to many organizations whose documents and materials were referenced and adapted for use in the pmd pro1 guide we would especially like to acknowledge catholic relief services for its invaluable propack series world vision international for the learning for evaluation and planning leap documents and the european commission for aid delivery guidelines from which case study materials were used extensively in this document furthermore thanks to the international institute for learning true solutions inc and the versatile company for their generous provision of learning materials and support a complete list of references can be found at the end of the document lastly this activity would not have been possible without the inspiration and support of richard pharro and his team at the apm group it was only through their financial organizational and technical support that this effort was possible john cropper eric berg michael culligan and leah radstone guide to the pmd pro1 page i

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table of contents introduction section one 1 the project manager 2 the project life cycle in the international sector 1 7 iii section two 1 project identification and design 2 project initiation 3 project planning 4 project implementation 5 project monitoring evaluation and control 6 end of project transition appendix 1 glossary of terms appendix 2 reference list 11 34 41 56 66 79 85 88 guide to the pmd pro1 page ii

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introduction the guide to pmd pro1 provides an introductory platform-independent exploration of the principles and terminology of project management within the context of the international development sector it is intended for an audience that includes project managers and team members who are new to project management project managers and team members who are new to the international development sector international development sector professionals who intend to pursue professional credentials in project management consultants/contract staff operating in the international development sector the guide is organized in two parts section one the project manager o major roles and responsibilities of project managers o competencies and skills required of project managers o the relationship between managing projects programs and portfolios the project life cycle section two the phases of the project life cycle o project identification and design o project initiation o project planning o project implementation o project monitoring evaluation and control o end-of-project transition decisions regarding the scope of the pmd pro1 content have been made based on two principle assumptions assumption one project managers in the development sector share many fundamental challenges despite the unique organizational cultures in which they work it is widely acknowledged that the work of development organizations can vary considerably and that each organization is unique these differences are a result of many factors including organizational history administrative systems donor relationships project implementation strategies monitoring standards program considerations agriculture health microfinance housing education guide to the pmd pro1 page iii

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cultural norms geographic areas of operation operational context relief reconstruction development advocacy nevertheless while there are significant differences between organizations they all share one thing in common ­ a culture of management that pervades their work development organizations write project proposals recruit project officers implement projects monitor project progress evaluate project impact and attract support by showcasing project success this observation forms the basis of the first underlying assumption of the pmd pro1 is that organizations because of their shared culture of project management also share common challenges risks and opportunities that can be addressed through improved project management practices the pmd pro1 explores these commonalities examining the foundational skills that are will be of practical relevance to project managers regardless of the specific context in which they work assumption 2 project managers in the development sector can learn from the best practices of their colleagues working in other sectors the pervasive culture of projects is central to the way development organizations do their work this culture of project management is not limited to the field of international development sectors such as construction software development public works extractive industries and others also manage the majority of their work through projects the international development sector like these other sectors shares the challenges related to o delivering project results in the context of time budget quality scope risk and benefit constraints o managing projects that are often implemented via contractors sub-contractors and vendors and o identifying potential risks and establishing systems to avoid and address these risks and ensuring that the intended project benefits are delivered nevertheless while the culture of project management pervades many sectors several characteristics make project management in the international development sector unique and at times especially challenging for example international development projects are responsible not only for delivering outputs but also for delivering outcomes that promote social change and behavior change that lead to improvements in the well-being of the project s target populations guide to the pmd pro1 page iv

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international development projects aim to address complex problems of poverty inequality and injustice international development projects are managed in an array of challenging contexts limited resources high risks complex procurement networks unstable political/financial environments project implementation is often managed through a complex array of stakeholder relationships partner agencies government ministries community-based organizations contractors global consortia the process of the approach is often as important as the outcomes themselves participation rights-based approaches transferring knowledge and learning to the target population is a priority during each and every phase of the project the challenge facing development organizations is to recognize the value of cross-industry tools techniques and standards of project management and to apply them within their context high-quality comprehensive project management practices are indispensible to helping organizations manage organized focused effective and efficient projects more specifically strong project management helps ensure that projects are completed on time on budget and within the scope and quality prescribed by the project implementation plan ­ despite the complex and challenging contexts within which they are managed beneficiaries receive optimum value from project investments and projects achieve the objectives and goals to which they aspire projects adapt flexibly to the difficult environments in which they work i.e insecurity scarce resources high risks multiple stakeholders managing changes that enhance the ability of the project to achieve its results projects meet the accountability commitments to beneficiary communities donors and other key stakeholders guide to the pmd pro1 page v

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section one chapter one the project manager role and responsibilities of the project manager the purpose of project management is to plan organize and manage resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals outcomes and outputs starting from this definition the project manager is responsible for ensuring the overall success of the project this does not mean however that the project manager is personally responsible for completing the project work in fact this is seldom the case in the development sector instead the responsibility of the project managers is to ensure that the work of the project is carried out to perform this responsibility project managers will need to work closely with an array of stakeholders to complete the work of the project these stakeholders might include members of the project team implementing organizations governmental non-governmental and others contractors community groups and others these stakeholders must work together to design implement and control all aspects of the project like many sectors project managers in the international development sector often are required to manage stakeholders with whom they have no formal hierarchical relationship it is not unusual for stakeholders within a single project to have different ethnicities languages cultures and even nationalities the challenge of managing groups within this context can be especially difficult design and assign work packages of work to others monitor their performance and check the interfaces between them and other work packages ensure that team members understand what they need to do when it is due and when the project manager needs to intervene identify project risks and set project expectations correctly address project challenges resulting from poorly planned schedules inadequate budgets or unclear project scope resolve internal conflicts among the project team it is ultimately the project manager who is accountable if a project team has poor morale and is missing deadlines competencies of effective project managers as one would expect the skill level a project manager needs to effectively manage a project will vary in accordance to the size complexity and risk of the project take for example the two projects outlined below guide to the pmd pro1 page 1

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size complexity project one $us 5,000 objective build three latrines activity light construction calendar one month communications village members and donor personnel volunteers quality norms ministry of health guidelines risks onset of bad weather insufficient volunteer labor project two $us 930,000 objective rehabilitate community health system activities construction training procurement systems behavior change calendar three years communications:10 communities ministry of health donors implementing partners personnel local ngos community health workers government ministry staff quality norms multiple standards currency fluctuations political instability funding sources are unreliable procurement challenges clearly the two projects above differ substantially in terms of size complexity and risk however despite these differences both would benefit from a project-based approach in order to ensure that the activities are comprehensively identified prioritized and sequenced the time schedule is thorough and identifies the inter-related elements of the project plan procurement processes for both materials and contractors are identified and implemented communications norms for appropriate stakeholders are in place and executed personnel systems exist for staff volunteers and implementing partners risks are anticipated and monitored a system is in place to ensure that the projects meet acceptable quality standards and a change management process is in place and managed nevertheless while projects of all sizes can benefit from a project-based approach that does not mean that all project managers can competently manage any project regardless of size complexity and risk project managers will need to gain experience and deepen their knowledge attitudes and skills in all project management competency areas as the projects they manage progressively evolve in terms of their complexity value and risk so what are the competencies knowledge skills attitudes and behaviors that project managers require to manage successful development projects while multiple competency guide to the pmd pro1 page 2

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models exist for project managers the pmd pro1 model organizes competencies into four areas technical ­ these are often referred to collectively as the `science behind project management can the project manager identify select and employ the right tools and processes to ensure project management success leadership/interpersonal ­ often referred to collectively as the `art of project management for example how does the project manager communicate inspire and resolve conflict personal/self-management ­ the project manager s ability to self-manage for example can the project manager effectively prioritize manage time and organize work international development specific ­ the ability to apply the technical leadership/interpersonal and personal/self-management competencies in the context of international development projects for example can the project manager identify select and employ the right tools and processes that are unique and specific to the international development sector needs and also within the cultural context of the project in addition to these four general competency areas project managers should also possess the competency to work effectively within the culture of their own organization can the project manager navigate his/her specific organization s management framework organizational culture business processes/systems and human resources networks the organization s culture defines its identify brand and distinguishes it from other organizations managing similar projects illustrative elements for each of the four competency areas competency area technical illustrative elements proactively manage scope to ensure that only what was agreed is delivered unless changes are approved through scope change management comprehensively identify the activities required to ensure that project deliverables are achieved manage the overall schedule to ensure work is assigned and completed on time and within budget define and collect metrics to give a sense of how the project is progressing and whether the deliverables produced are acceptable identify track manage and resolve project issues proactively disseminate project information to all stakeholders identify manage and mitigate project risk establish procurement systems to manage materials contracts and project logistics ensure that project deliverables are of acceptable quality vision the `big picture of a project within an organization portfolio champion the project promoting buy-in communicate vision ­ setting reasonable challenging and clear expectations for people and holding them accountable for meeting those expectations provide timely and helpful performance feedback to team members facilitate team building so that people work together well and feel motivated to work hard for the sake of the project and their other team members leadership/interpersonal guide to the pmd pro1 page 3

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personal/selfmanagement international developmentspecific communicate proactively verbal and written including active listening motivate team members to willingly follow direction and achieve goals organizational skills attention to detail ability to multi-task logical thinking analytical thinking self-discipline time management understand the values and paradigms that influence the project management process in the international development sector rights-based approaches integrated human development participation etc understand the perspectives roles and loyalties of the different stakeholders involved in development projects understand and navigate complex development environments work effectively with an array of implementing partners understand how multiple projects can jointly contribute toward intermediate outcomes and higher-level goals cope with the unique pressures and stresses often encountered in international development environments exhibit cultural sensitivity when working with project team members and stakeholders address safety and security concerns/risks associated with the project understand risk management and provide appropriate contingencies in changing circumstances to succeed project managers need to develop their competencies in each of these four areas as project managers responsibilities increase from relatively simple projects to more complex projects the requisite knowledge skills and behaviors in each of these competency areas will need to increase commensurately furthermore one of the most nuanced abilities that project managers develop over time is the art of knowing what alternatives exist to address a challenge budget over-runs team conflicts ambiguous roles shifting schedules unanticipated risks and identifying which competency tool/skill/process would be most appropriate to address the unique needs of each situation managing projects managing programs and managing portfolios within the development lexicon the terms `projects programs and portfolio are used frequently the definitions of these terms however are seldom consistently used and in many cases the terms are used interchangeably in the absence of a rigorous definition of these terms the roles and responsibilities of the project manager as they relate to each of these levels of management are unclear and subject to misinterpretation guide to the pmd pro1 page 4

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project management is the discipline of planning organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful delivery of specific project goals outcomes and outputs the primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals outcomes and outputs while honoring the preconceived project constraints related to scope budget schedule and quality the project manager is responsible for ensuring the overall success of the project and seeing that deliverables arrive on time on scope on budget and within acceptable quality levels program management is the process of managing a group of related projects in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available through managing them individually programs unlike projects are often managed via centralized management which aims to coordinate a group of projects to achieve the program s strategic objectives and benefits program management is especially important within the development sector because projects managed via a coordinated program have the potential to realize change or benefits that would be impossible if they were managed separately some areas of potential program alignment include 1 geographic area ­ projects often work side by side in the same region or throughout the country and one of the central concerns of a program manager will be how the resources of multiple projects working in the same geographic area can be leveraged to have a greater impact than each would have in isolation most frequently programs work in a single country although opportunities exist for multi-country or global programs 2 sector intervention areas ­ while projects generally tend to work in a single sector with a shorter time frame programs often encompass multiple sectors and work within a longer time frame 3 objectives ­ by coordinating the goals and objectives of multiple projects through a coordinated program an organization has greater potential to achieve the higher level goals towards which it strives 4 funding ­ it is not uncommon for single organizations to work with multiple donors in a single geographic or sectoral area by coordinating projects in a single program organizations can leverage more from its resource base of funding sources 5 target populations ­ organizations often overlap between targeted populations for projects in different sector areas health water education etc coordinating these projects in a program allows the organization to link them via common indicators and shared resources 6 management ­ while the staff of individual projects will focus on implementing the activities that contribute directly to the outputs and outcomes within their scope at the program level managers will focus on the challenge of coordinating projects best leveraging resources of multiple projects and increasing the impact of the program guide to the pmd pro1 page 5

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portfolio management oversees the performance of the organization s collection of project and programs portfolios are generally managed by a senior team at the highest level of an organization or a specific business unit of an organization regional office or headquarters portfolio management is not concerned with day-to-day project tasks but focuses instead on selecting initiating and managing the overall collection of projects in a way that addresses the strategic objectives of the organization portfolio management often includes choosing which projects not to do which to start earlier or which to stop doing in order to optimize the strategic fit of the projects being undertaken to fulfill the organization s mission most often portfolio management is not the responsibility of the project manager however this does not mean that project teams do not need to concern themselves with issues related to portfolio management the resources available to invest in projects are often limited or scarce and various parts of the organization may be in competition for those resources the portfolio management process therefore attempts to prioritize and balance opportunities and risks against demand and supply for resources in such a way that the organization s objectives are met given this competition for limited resources project managers and their teams should be able to articulate where their projects support the strategy of their organization and contribute value to the organization s programs and/or portfolio guide to the pmd pro1 page 6

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section 1 chapter 2 the project life cycle in the international development context the project life cycle many development organizations have developed models that outline their interpretation of the life cycle of their projects these project life cycle diagrams although similar in terms of their phases and intended purpose generally differ in terms of design and terminology this image for example represents the life cycle design for the food and agriculture organization fao and is just one approach that international development organizations employ to communicate their project life cycle designs in this case the cycle is represented by a series of interconnected loops other organizations have developed project life cycles that are represented by other shapes including circular models linear models or modified spiral models while recognizing that project life cycles differ between development organizations the pmd pro1 concurs that the underlying value of project life cycle models regardless of their particular design is that they serve as a framework that helps to 1 define the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end 2 identify the processes that project teams must implement as they move through the phases of the project life cycle 3 illustrate how the project management life cycle can be used to model the management of projects and 4 model how projects work within an environment of `constraints where changes to any one constraint will result in consequential changes to the other project parameters for that reason the guide to the pmd pro1 subscribes to a generic project life cycle model for development projects that model serves as the framework for the contents of this guide this generic project life cycle model is not meant to replace other models nor serve as a standard for the sector instead it is a learning aid that helps explain the phases of project life cycle management the relationships between these phases and the responsibilities of project team guide to the pmd pro1 page 7

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members through the entire project cycle the pmd pro1 generic project life cycle model includes six phases project identification and design project initiation project planning project implementation project monitoring evaluation and control end of project transition the importance of a balanced project management approach it is extremely important to ensure that the management of a development project retains a balanced focus on the full spectrum of phases in the project life cycle from project identification and design through initiation planning implementation monitoring control and the end of project transition while this observation might seem intuitive often projects are imbalanced in their focus on a single phase or group of phases of the project life cycle while neglecting to develop capacity in other project phases for example many development organizations tend to invest a disproportionate level of resources in the following areas guide to the pmd pro1 page 8

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project design ­ as a result of the challenging environments in which they work and the complexity of the problems which they aim to address international development organizations tend to invest in tools processes systems and skills for program and project design these investments aim to increase their capacities to assess situations analyze data identify theories of change formulate objectives and explain the underlying logic that might include multiple inter-related projects these processes often take place before the official approval of a project and in some organizations are treated as a separate project with its own set of phases more frequently however the project identification and design phase becomes a process group of its own and is a project phase area in itself monitoring and evaluation ­ whether it be as a result of pressure from donors or the admittedly difficult task of attributing correlation and causality between project outputs and social change development organizations have made efforts to develop the capacity to measure the impact of their project investments an extensive body of knowledge exists regarding best practices on indicators minimum standards monitoring practices evaluation approaches and more furthermore this body of knowledge is supported by communities of practice training events and technical units focused on strengthening capacity in this area in fact these areas of project management are of such importance into the culture of project management that they are known by the acronym dm&e project design monitoring and evaluation this heavy emphasis on project dm&e in development projects is positive in many ways it reflects the commitment of organizations in the sector to fully understanding the problems they address the logic behind their intervention and the systems with which they measure their progress the heavy emphasis on project dm&e also underscores the particularly strong capacity international development organizations have in these three areas a capacity that is often more deeply developed in the development sector than it is in organizations managing projects in other sectors nevertheless while strong dm&e are necessary elements of the project life cycle they are not sufficient to assure project success to succeed projects must be managed through an approach that is both balanced and integrated organizations must develop their capacity in each of the project life cycle phases this same observation holds for any scenario where a project disproportionately focuses on one area which is consider of particular importance while under investing in other critical phases of the project life cycle for example a project could skip over the identification and design phase and jump directly into project planning other projects might be exceptionally well designed and planned but not executed with comprehensive rigor and control each of these mistakes can guide to the pmd pro1 page 9

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