This presentation provides an overview of SPHERE, a web based project management system for development, emergency and conservation programs. For more info visit www.sphereworld.org or write to info@sphereworld.org.

1. Overview A decentralized project management system for development and emergency programs

3. Several organizational levels/units are involved (strategic, tactical and operational), arising different information requirements

4. Numerous implementation partners involved – inconsistent planning and reporting

5. Lack of proper analysis of information flows and of structured workflows

6. Large amount of unstructured information; normally the tools used to handle it are structurally inappropriate (e.g. Excel)‏

7. Several reporting formats to be followed at the same time (e.g. corporate, donor, partner, etc)

8. Considerable resources are spent for monitoring of operations, still lack of efficiency. Common Issues

10. Logical: the strategies and activities

11. Temporal: implementation period, reporting frequency

12. Geographic: where the implementation is taking place

13. Financial: resources and budgetGiven the prevailing conditions in which interventions are implemented, efficient but simple information management tools are needed Need for simple tools

14. There are several project management software on the market The great majority is designed to manage business or construction projects and prove to be ineffective when applied to development and emergency interventions because: too detailed and require a very fine level of planning and monitoring of project resources follow a project cycle typical of commercial initiatives do not explicitly use the Logical Framework and Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVI) for planning and reporting The few existing software targeted specifically to development and emergency are focused on a central level (headquarter or government) rather than field level operations: e.g. AMP SPHERE is a unique tool for bridging the information gap between field operations and program management Need for simple tools

16. Ideal in projects where more implementing partners are involved

17. Based on the Logical Framework Approach

18. Focused on supporting all the phases of project

19. Several project can be managed at the same time

20. Easy to use – designed for challenging operating conditions

21. Web based – no software installation required for end users

22. Released as an open source product, licensed with GNU General Public License (GPL). Can be freely modified and adapted.About SPHERE

24. Easier, safer standard planning and reporting

25. Authority over respective data delegated to implementing partners

26. No more time spent in compiling files or checking information

27. Secured data

28. Comprehensive historical information

29. Information updated in real time– easy to query and aggregate

30. Bottom line, no additional reporting burden – a service for more effective project management for the organization and implementing partners!Key Benefits

32. Other main applications:

33. World Food Program of UN (WFP) – Nepal Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) 10676.0

34. FAO Project Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands - Tunisia component

35. Project Himalayan Partnership for Ecosystem Management (HKKH) – IUCN History and applications

36. Project Management Functions

37. Demonstration The following slides will take you through a guided tour of the System. A demo Food Security Project will be used as an example. The tour is not covering the financial management modules.

38. This is the first screen before the user logs in. If required, SPHERE can be easily configured and used to display public information that can be viewed without log in.

39. Guided Tour – Create a Project

40. After logging in as a Project Manager we will start creating and configuring a new project.

41. In this screen and the next one a new project is added. Tip: it is always possible to know where you are located in the system looking at this bar. Click on any item to navigate there.

43. It is possible to link documents, maps, external hyperlinks and any type of electronic object to a project. In this way a useful repository will be created. No more confusion with different versions of the same document!!

44. Here it is possible to search the document linked to a project. Once documents are linked to activities, they will display here as well.

45. In this screen, the area of intervention of the project is defined. Using a standard coding system it will be possible to easily visualize on maps activities and progress information.

46. In this screen, the partners involved in project implementation are defined.

47. To keep information well organized, indicators can be arranged in categories defined by the user. Here the indicators categories are defined. In the next screen indicators are created and associated to an indicator category.

48. Here new indicators are added. Indicator can be numeric or qualitative; for qualitative indicators you can define a list of values to be used (e.g. Good, Average, Bad). Each indicator is classified in an indicator category.

49. SPHERE uses the Logical Framework as the reference tool for planning and implementation. The next screens show how the LF is built, how to add an activity to the Logical Framework and how to associate indicators to monitor it.

50. Here the indicator categories to be used in monitoring different levels of the Logical Framework are selected. For example you can select the indicators of the category “Impact assessment” to monitor the Outcome level. It is possible to browse though the structure of the LF and modify it depending on the requirements of the project. The upper part of the screen defines the structure: in some Organizations the structure is defined by Objectives, Results, Activities and SubActivities in others by Goals, Outcomes, Outputs, Activities. SPHERE provides the flexibility of creating the structure you need.

51. The lower part is used to define the actual contents of the LF: what are the Goals, Outcomes, Outputs and Activities that will be planned.

52. We are browsing through the LF data that was entered in the system. Clicking on the green button will allow to add a new item while clicking on the red one will delete an existing one.

53. Selecting an element, for example Activity A.1.1.1.1 will display…

54. …the activity properties over here. The name, code etc. are defined here. Clicking on “Assign indicators” will show…

55. …this window where the indicators to be used for monitoring and reporting are selected. The list of indicators is drawn from the indicators that were previously created. For each activity there must be at least a Main Indicator; “secondary” indicators can be either Mandatory (users will be obliged to enter data for them in the monitoring forms), or Optional (users can submit the form without data for these indicators)

56. Once the Logical Framework has been developed, it can be consulted and printed through this interface.

57. Also the indicators available in the project can be consulted and printed.

58. Guided Tour – Plan

59. Here new activities areadded to the workplan: each activity is identified by its Duration, Location, Activity name and indicators. The 3 steps are shown in the next screens.

64. The activity has been saved and is now part of the workplan. If needed, it can be modified through a different interface. One the planning is approved modifications can be disabled.

65. Here it is possible to consult the workplan for a given period. The upper part of the screen provides several easy to use filters to query the planning and rearrange the information according to your needs.

66. Guided Tour – Implement

67. Once the planning is approved, implementation starts and we need to update the progress status of the activities. This interface allows to select the activity for which you want to update the progress. As an example we will focus on A.1.1.1.1. Clicking on Update will…

68. …open this window where the staff in charge of implementing the activities will update the status of the indicators. The form is very simple to use. It is possible to add comments that explain possible deviation from the planning or provide further details about the implementation. Each user will be able to update the progress only for the component of the project for which he has editing rights. If there are several partners, each of them will be able to edit only the status of the activities of his component.

69. Once the progress data is submitted, the form displays the cumulated progress for the activity. It is possible to link documents, pictures or other information to the activity. Using this function over time will build an extremely useful knowledge base that can be used for lesson learning, dissemination and historical analysis. A very valuable tool for corporate memory and value addition!!

70. Guided Tour – Monitor and report

71. The reporting module is very powerful: you can immediately view the overall situation of the project. By default progress information is aggregated for each activity at the most general level : for example if food is distributed in 100 villages, you can get the overall progress at country level. By default, only the main indicator is shown for each activity. If this box is unchecked…

72. …all the indicators associated to the activity are displayed.

73. If more details are required for a specific activity, It is possible to zoom in and assess the progress and possible issues using the functions of this section.

74. As an example we will focus on A.1.1.1.1.

75. We will perform a search on the activity ...and zoom in at geographic level where the activity has been planned, the VDC level.

76. Being able to focus on the desired level of aggregation simplifies the identification of problem areas. The activity has been planned in 2 VDCs. We can see that the level of progress is different for each activity.

77. If we want to assess the status of the project by location, it is possible switch to the Geographic view. The report will display the place in the first row.

78. Any report displayed can be easily printed clicking on the “Print View” button.

79. Filter and aggregation criteria used are displayed in the header of the report. It will be very easy to produce reports by district, partner or project component. The report can be saved and opened in Excel for further analysis.

81. All or only some of the modules can be activated: other modules available at the moment are finance management, document management and web mapping.

82. New modules can be developed or existing applications can be linked to the system

83. User and group level administration is available

84. The system is multi-language: all the interfaces and as well as the contents can be easily translated

85. While we will not enter in the details of system administration, the next two slides show the interfaces for module management and translations.Configuration and system admin

86. We are now logged in as system administrator. Modules can be easily added and deleted. Access rights for the modules are set at group level.

87. Here it is possible to enter the translations for the interfaces and data for all the languages that are activated in the system.

88. Conclusions

90. Based on the Logical Framework

91. It is easy to use

92. Successfully applied to manage large projects in different organizations

93. Open source, can be modified and adapted

94. Great strategic value for knowledge based organizations: project products and implementation info are stored and can be used for lesson learning, analysis of management effectiveness, design of new projects, etc.

95. Useful to enhance management effectiveness, accountability and transparencyConclusions

96. Thanks for taking the time of going through this presentation! For enquiries and more information write to: info@sphereworld.org