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Pencil & Paper Approach to Project ManagementAP Van der Merwe Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa In proceedings of: 1998 Global Symposium on Connecting Strategic Intent with Project Management, 14-16 December 1998, New Delhi, India, pp H11/1-11. In proceedings of: SOVNET’99 International Project Management Symposium: "Project Management: EAST-WEST At the edge of the millennium", Moscow, Russia, December 1-4, 1999, with changes and titled as: Social Development Projects: A model For Successful Implementation. Published in: Management, Volume IV, Number 13-14, May 2000, pp 4-12, for the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organisational Sciences.
This paper queries the use of advanced technological aides or first world solutions in managing rural development projects in emerging market economies. This paper sets out to prove that a high degree of success can be obtained in the planning, control and execution of projects by using a four-stage project life cycle model containing a strategic level work breakdown structure and a set of twenty pre-designed forms. No use is made of any technology and only pencil and paper are used in conjunction with 40 contact hours of training, a hand-out and a text book to achieve success in time, cost, quality, scope and customer satisfaction on five development projects in rural South Africa. This approach was developed in South Africa specifically for use in the rural low-tech environment and has been in-use in South Africa for 10 years without a single known project having failed as a result of using the model.
In October 1997 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Edinburgh, an overview of project management in the context of Commonwealth projects was presented. Research by the Commonwealth Forum on Project Management (CFPM) established that a lack of proper Project Management skill was the most important factor contributing to slow development of Commonwealth Countries. CFPM is an enabling organisation designed to assist Commonwealth countries to achieve efficiency in bringing projects from concept to reality. Its objective is to develop and maintain the highest standards of expertise in people, tools and techniques, across all project oriented organisations in all Commonwealth regions. It will work internationally to boost development cycles across Commonwealth nations acting as a forum for information and innovation transfer, and good and best practice. Earlier this year (1998) in South Africa the Auditor General reported to Parliament, that a lack of Project Management skill in government departments was responsible for the slow progress being made in developing the country. While it is true that a 1st world component exists in emerging market economies, it is not true that a 3rd word component exists in developed economies. My own experience in working in different economies has proven to me that there is very little understanding in the 1st world of how things get done in the 3rd world. It is also true that most of the knowledge and theory around project management comes from the 1st world, and that there is limited success in the application thereof in the 3rd world. Mostly it has been found that the training has been: to theoretical, pushes methodology, controls the task and not the person, uses systems that do not work and have no repeatability or reuse. The 1st world by definition is Developed, the 2nd Developing and the 3rd Emerging or Un-Developed. It stands to reason that in order for the global economy to expand the 1st World should invest in the development of the 3rd. And it is exactly here that projects are failing to deliver the goods. Baroness Blackstone, Minister of State for Education and Employment in the UK, recently published an article stating; "In an increasingly global economy, Britain simply cannot afford to see its economic performance restricted by poor skills. The most successful businesses in the 21st century will be those that invest in the best-educated and trained workforce. As a consequence, the best way of getting and keeping a job will be to have the skill needed by employers. Furthermore, the concept of a job for life is no longer relevant". It is now estimated that a person will change their career from 8 to 14 times in a lifetime. When all of the Y2K problems have been solved there is expected to be a worldwide glut of information technology skills. At the same time the demand for Project Managers is experiencing an unprecedented growth of up to 700% in some countries. In Africa calls are going out for the delivery of 75 million Project Managers to help realise the African Renaissance. In Britain, Project Management is now being taught at primary schools and form part of basic life skill education. An additional 500 000 people will be encouraged to further and higher education by the year 2002. The development industry worldwide is finding that project management tools and techniques originating through 1st world knowledge based education simply does not deliver successful projects in emerging market economies. At the Global Forum on Project Management held at the 14th World Congress in Slovenia a call was made for low-tech solutions to be found in the emerging market economies to solve the problems being experienced there. This paper presents such a solution originated by the author and based on the use of pencil and paper only that has been in use for almost ten years and has not known to fail to deliver a successful project in terms of time, cost, quality, scope and customer satisfaction to date.
As a point of departure let us consider a generic project life cycle with four stages progressing from project start to end, having a proposal stage, a planning stage, an implementation stage, and a closeout stage. In this model each stage has to achieve a defined end state before work can start on the next stage. (In practice some work is unofficially done on the next stage) Next we populate each stage with some generic sort of things that happen in each of the stages to form a strategic level work breakdown structure of about 10 work packages for each stage to reveal the following: (Germination of the original idea from which the project is to produce its product starts with the project champion who seeks a project manager to help him develop the idea into a project by finding a sponsor who agrees to the resource constraints.) [resource constraints = number of people, total man hours, equipment and money required]
Table 1 The percentages at the bottom of each stage refer to the accuracy of quantitative data that can be achieved for that stage using cost engineering theory. Work is completed in a logical sequential order 1-10 within the Proposal stage first. When Sponsor approval is gained, permission has been given to proceed to the Planning stage. Work is then completed in a logical sequential order 1-10 within the Planning stage. When the contract is placed Sponsors approval is sought for permission to proceed to the Implementation stage. Once gained, work is then completed in a logical sequential order 1-10 within the Implementation stage. Acceptance of the product produced and achievement of the end condition gives permission proceed to the Closeout stage. Work is then completed in a logical sequential order 1-10 within the Completion stage. Completion of the project administration places the project on the asset register and gives permission to disband the team. Table 1 represents a model for a project on one page that is continuously, incrementally improvable and has a high percentage of repeatability and reuse. If each strategic work package represents 10 Operational level activities and each operational level activity represents 10 Detail level tasks a total of 4000 detailed tasks can be controlled on one page. Exclusive use of target finishes only, negates the use of a PERT diagram and a bar chart can be made for each stage using graph paper and pencil. The stages themselves can exist at set levels of detail when that stage is entered into i.e. Proposal = Strategic level, Planning = Operational level and Implementation = Detail level. This assists rolling wave planning by eliminating long-range inaccurate plans. Because the project is dynamic and the plan is static we know the plan is always wrong. Using levels the plan exists only in the strategic level. We know the detail exists but it is not recorded onto the plan until the project actually achieves that stage of the life cycle.
Using the Life Cycle Model, forms can be developed for each strategic level work package. A life cycle can be created to represent the knowledge and skill content for each strategic work package by placing the information required and what needs to be achieved in order to complete each work package, in a specific position. By doing this one could manage the Proposal stage as a project on it’s own. Each work package could also represent a project. In one work environment where 300 000 projects a year were managed I did exactly this. I built a virtual production line where each strategic level work package was a station that had a small production line to deliver onto the main line, which delivered project proposals or contracts or completed implementation.
Table 2 NOTE: Table 2 cannot be referred to as a methodology as it is a container of the processes required to complete each strategic level work package. Each form comes with a set of notes containing instructions and examples on how to fill in all the spaces. Form’s 1-6 were audited by KPMG for content when this model was used by the Electricity supply commission of South Africa to successful in increasing the delivery of rural township elerectification projects from 200 000 connections per annum to over 600 000 connections per annum. All of the forms cannot be reproduced here but the content of each is discussed as follows: Mind Map The shape of the mind map mirrors the brain's natural structures, and traces the logical links between ideas. It also combines pictures, words, colours and dimensions to stimulate different areas of the brain, allowing it to link the information in various ways to the existing structures in the mind. Life Cycle This forms the basic model for assembling information in order to compile a strategic level work breakdown for a project.. A fifth stage representing the commercial life cycle is added to note maintenance, refurbishment issues. The Strategic Plan becomes the primary means to communicate the projects intention to all. It is the concept put on paper so changes can be made to improve delivery. Form One: Project Registration The form 1’s are used to give permission to spend time on the feasibility study, to document requests and set up the five year plan for capital expenditure. Generally speaking a project entering a Form 1 will not be for the current years expenditure. This Form is used to get a unique registration number for the project, to estimate the requested budget for the project in the year that expenditure will be required and to assign a Project Manager and Champion to the project Feasibility Study Formal feasibility is conducted to explore all possible options for implementation of the project, to achieve a clear understanding of the SWOT issues involved, to produce enough information to rank the options so that clear objectives of the way forward can be obtained. Use the "Strengths/Weaknesses" fields to enter details of the factors over which you have control. In the "Opportunities/Threats" fields you should enter a list of the external factors that you should be aware of. These fields can then be used as input for the Critical Success Factors (Risk Analysis) form. When exploring the options as many ideas as possible should be explored to render the best solutions. Risk Analysis Form At this stage only project related risks can be evaluated such as environmental, funding, regulations, geographical, political etc. Product related risk such as poor design, failure of third parties, inappropriate solutions etc. can only be assessed in the planning stage. As many risks as can be thought of is filled in. Use a separate sheet for Product related risks. The Risk Analysis form (Critical Success Factors) is an analytical tool which will help you prepare to react to happenings and events which, whilst out of your control need to be kept in mind and prepared for. The likelihood of these events occurring will vary, as will their influence on your project. As a rule of thumb you should concentrate on planning for the eventualities that are probable or possible and will have a massive or strong effect on the project. Communications Plan The project environment consists of two main groups of stakeholders: those 'internal' to the project with direct responsibility; and those 'external' who are affected by the project or have an interest but are not part of the main project team. The behaviour and performance of the 'internal' stakeholders are, theoretically, controlled and predictable. However, the stakeholders of the 'external' group, are free to behave in any way they choose with no regard for the project. To understand how these stakeholders will behave it is necessary to fully appraise their level of power, interest, predictability, knowledge, skill and information needs. The project manager and team need to draw on the full range of communication methods and media to communicate successfully with both the internal and external stakeholders of the project environment. The plan should include contingencies for dealing with possible detractors and to include those with pertinent skill and knowledge in the team so that communication is managed as proactively as possible. Form 2: Project Budget Allocation No further work is to be done on the project until the sponsor signs the Form 2. The Form 2 is used to give permission to spend money or time to complete the detailed design of the project and to increase the accuracy of the estimated cost of the project. Generally speaking a project entering a Form 2 will not be for the current years expenditure, Form 2 is also used to set the three-year plan for capital expenditure. Start-up Meeting Checklist For a systematic approach to start-up to be successful, the participants must understand the objective of the process at any stage, and must be aware of the specific outputs needed to achieve the necessary level of understanding. These objectives are to:
These objectives in turn influence the emphasis of the work of the project team which is:
Responsibility Chart Form It is imperative that the TEAM is made up of those who are to perform the work in delivering the product that the project is to produce. It goes without saying that the people who have the required skill will not be available. Therefore it is important that the team be made up of people who are interested and that providing them with the knowledge and skill will secure them to the project. (Concept of life long learning) The facilitator begins by asking who will volunteer for taking responsibility for the strategic level work packages. The person who volunteers is then asked to breakdown the activity to the operational level. Next volunteers are requested for the broken-down activities and THEY determine the duration time of the activity. In this way the mistake of recording the demanded duration of the task is avoided and the available time of the person is taken into account. Project Overview and Schedule Form (Bar Chart) From the responsibility chart copy the strategic and operational work packages onto the project schedule, then mark the target end date on the schedule. Next subtract the duration given on the responsibility chart from the target end and mark the schedule, then colour in the space between the two marks. Prospective Client Checklist This form is used to investigate the availability of those aspects of the project deemed feasible and viable i.e. who has it, how much do they want for it, and what are the procurement considerations. This helps the design team to include items in the specification that they know are available and of which the cost estimate can now be improved to about 80% accurate. Progress Meetings At progress meetings, progress is checked and problems are dealt with using the 6 fundamentals of control against the responsibility chart and progress report. A common error made in project management is for the progress report / meetings to discuss the accuracy in recording history. Not enough attention is given to predicting future events. The maxim follows: There are only two you can do about the future: You can watch it happen or you can make it happen. By planning and reporting on future events only, one avoids the mistakes of the first and present solutions for the second. Meeting Checklist Before, during and after meetings this list is used first to set the agenda, participation, location and start time. During the meeting the list is used to note the discussion and record the decisions made. Actions are transferred to the Activities checklist of those concerned. Problem Solving Based on Mind Mapping approaches this form helps to define the problem, establish the decision criteria, generate alternatives and to come up with a preferred solution. Negotiation Similarly, the negotiation form is based on Mind Mapping and considers "Them", "Us" and "Solutions" to be used before, during and after negotiations to help bring about a successful contract for the delivery of the product during the implementation stage of the project. Form 3: Project Capital Vote Approval No further work is to be done on the project until the sponsor accepts the Form 3. The Form 3 is used to firm up on the quantitative estimates for the delivery of the product of the project. This provides a hold point for the project around which the commercial issues are finalised. Acceptance of the Form 3 gives permission to spend money and time to complete implementation and derive the benefit of the project. A project entering a Form 3 will be for the next year’s expenditure, Form 3 is used to set the one year plan for capital expenditure. Activity Checklist Each person who has accepted responsibility for completing a work package, activity or task (i.e. Strategic, Operational and Detail Level) fills in an activity checklist recording expected duration, delegation and target end. This checklist is used to schedule the work into the daily plan to ensure that time is allocated to performing the task and to eliminate the discrepancies that exist between the time demanded by the activity and the time available by the person who has to perform the task. Detail Task Cards The operational level responsible person issues and keeps track of the people and tasks at the detail level during the Implementation Stage. These cards can also be seen as a job card and are issued to specific people to perform and complete detailed level activities. Tight control is required during this stage and checks need to be made to see that time is scheduled in the diary of the detail responsible person for the task that needs to be performed at the appropriate priority level. Form 4: Beneficial Operation The form records the Beneficial Operation of the product produced by the project by:
The form is also used to summarise Project Approvals against expenditure by recording a summary of all the capital vote approvals and additional approvals in accordance with the various revisions of the Form 3’s submitted. Form 5: Completion Checklist Form 5 is used to close the contract and close the administration of the project. Scope is verified a project report is written and the final meeting is called. At the final meeting, performance can be discussed and lessons learnt can be recorded. The project manual / report is compiled, the team disbanded and the project is closed. Form 6: Project Close Form 6 is used to place the value created into the asset register. Post Project Evaluation Form The Post Project Evaluation Form can now be completed and filed for future reference.
A major error at this point is to allow modifications of installed plant to delay the closure of the project. Modifications, refurbishment and replacement should be seen as separate projects that occur in the commercial operation stage of the life cycle that the project has now entered.
40 Contact hours of training is provided of which 24 (module 2, 4 & 5 below) are essential to start using the system. The training is presented in five, 8-hour modules and can be presented in a variety of ways. I have found that presenting from 12h00 to 20h00 for five consecutive days the most beneficial. Mixed cultural and educational level groups have experienced no difficulty in assimilating the information with groups covering a range from basic literary skill to PhD in the same room at the same time. Space does not permit a detailed discussion on the content of each module but an outline of each days training follows: Module One: Business/System Introduction and objectives Setting up the Business System Prioritising activities Mind Mapping The DataBank™ section Practical communication Time management issues Four-phase planning The Monthly Plan The Daily Plan Summary and questions Module Two: Project Management Theory
Module Three: Project/System™
Module Four: Project Simulation
Module Five: Advanced Practise
6. The Projects Three programs of 10 projects each have been set-up to test the model and to develop it into a product for public consumption. Each program is in a different country and different economy representing emerging markets, developing markets and developed markets. As the emphases here is placed on emerging markets only that programme will be discussed. Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Western Districts Council, a second tier government organisation responsible for development of a former Homeland now incorporated into South Africa is reported to be the poorest district in SA was chosen for the testing of the model. Conditions there would test the viability and usefulness of the model at the extreme lower end of the market. At present Five projects are being completion. These are: TITLE: Bathurst TRC: Trappes Valley: Provision of water for 11 Houses PROJECT TEAM: Dido & T. Pillay VALUE: ± R60 000.00 DURATION: 6 Weeks LOCATION: Trappes Valley, ± 10km north of Bathurst and ± 190km from Port Elizabeth. BENEFICIARIES: Trappes Valley Community: 11 Families STAKEHOLDERS: Bathurst TRC Councillors, Trappes Valley Community, Spoornet, Western District Council, Adjacent land owners. DESCRIPTION:
TITLE: Refurbishment of Clubhouse & Sports Facilities PROJECT TEAM: G Waggiet & Vethan David VALUE: ± R100 000.00 DURATION: 6 Weeks LOCATION: Enon and Berseba, ± 15km east of Kirkwood and ± 100km from Port Elizabeth. BENEFICIARIES: The Youth & Sports Enthusiasts living in Berseba and Enon and neighbouring towns which fall under the jurisdiction of the Kirkwood TRC STAKEHOLDERS: Berseba Community, Enon Community, Kirkwood TRC, Western District Council DESCRIPTION:
TITLE: Construction of Garage at the Thornhill Clinic TEAM: Piet Snyman & Mike Kwenaite VALUE: ± R40 000.00 DURATION:6 Weeks LOCATION: Thornhill ± 50 Km from Port Elizabeth on the N2 BENEFICIARIES: Community of Thornhill, as well as Department of Health STAKEHOLDERS: Thornhill Community, Department of Health, Hankey Transitional Representative Council, Western District Council, DESCRIPTION:
TITLE: Provision of Water to Squatters at Berseba PROJECT TEAM: Hoffie Meiring & Sam Somngesi VALUE:± R60 000.00 DURATION: 6 Weeks LOCATION: Berseba, ± 15km east of Kirkwood and ± 100km from Port Elizabeth. BENEFICIARIES:± 40 Families living in Berseba, forming part of the Berseba Community, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Kirkwood TRC. STAKEHOLDERS: Berseba Community, Enon Community, Kirkwood TRC, Port Elizabeth TLC (Manager of Water Purification Plant on Council’s behalf), Western District Council, S.R.I.B., Kirkwood TLC DESCRIPTION:
TITLE: Erection of a Model house: Colchester PROJECT TEAM: M. Preece & J.J. Badenhorst VALUE: R15 000.00 DURATION: 6 Weeks LOCATION: Colchester Township, approximately 30km from Port Elizabeth on the road to Grahamstown BENEFICIARIES: Member of Colchester Community still to be identified. STAKEHOLDERS: Colchester Community, Western District Council, Port Elizabeth TRC, Eastern Cape Housing Development Board DESCRIPTION:
Comments from the project teams There was an immediate improvement in the management of personal time and on the second day of the course a vast improvement in time management, handling of interruptions and communication had taken place. The project management theory was comprehensive and contributed to a general understanding that successful project management was dependant on the management of people and not on the management of tasks. The system covers more loopholes than anything we have used to date. It was shocking to see how few aspects we actually covered on our projects up till now. I would never have thought that a pencil and paper system could be so comprehensive. Our projects are now better planed with the correct emphasis placed on detail at the correct point in the project life cycle. The form dealing with Communication management and stakeholder analysis has revolutionised the way our projects are now progressing. In fact we are using this approach on all of our projects now. The system has caused us to look at the way we are delivering development projects and we are now re-engineering our Council to follow the guidelines set out by this model. A revolution has taken place in the delivery of projects by this council. They are now able to deliver project at speeds that could not even be imagined before. Accuracy of time and cost has greatly been improved and most importantly acceptance by the communities and stakeholders of the projects delivered has been gained. A Miraculous solution.
The study has concluded that a pencil and paper approach to managing rural development projects where members of the community with different political, cultural, religious and educational standards, who are members of the project management team as well as the implementers of the project deliverables, can result in successful projects. 40 contact hours of familiarisation with project management theory and use of the system was all that was required to bring about a major change in stakeholder management and in managing people who are managing the work to bring about success in the delivery of projects even in very difficult communities where no success had been achieved before. Most importantly the use of the model has resulted in an understanding of project process dynamics across 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world components brining the project management as well as the project implementers into a new found relationship with one another, causing the projects to be delivered on time, cost, quality, scope and to customer satisfaction. ************************** The model/system was subsequently audited on four working projects by Earnest and Young and found to be the "preferred approach to management of life critical Year 2000 compliance projects." For the South African Governments Transportation Department. ************************** References Clark FA, Lorenzoni AB, Applied Cost Engineering, New York, Marcel Dekker, 1985. Bhattacharya A/Pangestu M, The lessons of east Asia, Washington: World Bank, 1993. Cloete F, Local government transformation in South Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik, 1995. Duignan P/Gann LH, Eastern Europe the great transformation, Stanford: Hover Institution, 1992. Gibson JL/ Ivancevich JM/ Donnelly JH, Organisations: Behaviour, Structure, Processes, Texas: Business Publications, 1985. Goldratt EM, It’s not luck, England, Gower Publishing, 1994. Haimann T/Scott WG/Connor PE, Management, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Handy CB, Understanding Organisations, Great Britain: Penguin Books, 1981. Johnsom G., Scholes K., Exploring Corporate Strategy, Cambridge, University Press, 1993. Kerzner H, Project Management, New York: Van Nostrand, 1984. Lessem R., Global Management Principles, New York, Prentice Hall, 1989. Lim R, Public disputation, power, and social order in late antiquity, California: University of California, 1995. March GJ/Simon HA, Organizations, New York: Wiley, 1958. Musgrave RA/Musgrave PB, Public finance in theory and practice, Singapore: McGraw-Hill, 1989. Naschold F/von Otter C, Public Sector Transformation, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1996. Reiss G, Programme Management Demystified, London: E&FN Spon, 1996. Ro C, Public administration and the Korean transformation, Connecticut: Kumarian, 1993. Rosen HS, Public Finance, Boston: Irwin, 1992. Schein EH, Process Consultation Volume 1, USA: Addison-Wesley, 1988. Schein EH, Process Consultation Volume 2, USA: Addison-Wesley, 1988. Thompson AA/Strickland AJ, Strategy formulation and implementation, Boston, BPI/Irwin, 1989. Turner JR, The Handbook of Project-Based Management, Great Britain: Mc Graw Hill, 1995. Turner JR, The Commercial Project Manager, Great Britain: Mc Graw Hill, 1993. Van Der Merwe AP, Multi Project Management, in International Journal of Project Management, August 1997. Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 223-234. Quinn JB, Intelligent Enterprise, New York: The Free Press, 1992. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMI standards Committee, Boston: Project Management Institute, 1996. Body of knowledge, Association for project managers, Buckinghamshire, 1996. British Standard 6079:1996 Guide to Project Management, British Standard Institute, 1996. Project Management Handbook, Cleland DI/King WR, (Ed) New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988. Policies for public service transformation, Cloete F/Mokgoro J, (Ed) Cape Town: Juta, 1995. The great experiment, Castles F/Gerritsen R/Vowles J, (Ed) Singapore: KHL, 1996. ******************** |
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