Downloaded 35 times
More Related Content
project management
- 1. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 Module 2 Project Identification And Design The time is always right to do what is right. -Martin Luther King, Jr., American Civil Rights Activist
- 2. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 5 principles & 6 disciplines of pmd pro
- 3. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 The Project Identification and Design Phase
- 4. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 The Importance of Project Identification and Design How do we do the project right? Are we doing the right project?
- 5. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 Cost-Effective Change Management
- 6. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 Categories of Work in The Project Identification and Design Phase Data Analysis • Current State • Future State Identification of Project Intervention Logic Data Collection
- 7. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 Step One: Collect Data Data Analysis • Current State • Future State Identification of Project Intervention Logic Data Collection
- 8. Last Mile Learning:PMD Pro1 Problem-based or assets-based needs identification What are they doing that is working well? What problems do they have?
Editor's Notes
- #2 I am now ready to begin module 2: project identification and design. This module covers the first phase in the PMD Pro one phase model. While it would be easy to spend a lot of time on the topics in this module, we only have about one half day allocated during this course. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the clock so that the session doesn’t go too long. Note that some of the topics will only be covered at a high level that is appropriate for PMD Pro. Please remember to ask questions of clarification if some of the content and concepts are explained too quickly. Look at the quote by Martin Luther King, Junior that is on this slide. It is very appropriate and related to the first topic that I will talk about soon – doing the right project.
- #3 I also want to remind you that even though we have organized the training to follow the phase model we also want to emphasize the 5 principles and 6 disciplines that are integrated throughout all 6 phases. Remember the principles are that project management is: balanced, comprehensive, integrated, participatory and iterative. The disciplines are: scope management, time management, project resource management, risk management, Project justification management and stakeholder management. And as always, and I do this whenever I teach the PMD Pro one course, to remind you that “adaptation” of the PMD Pro knowledge and tools to the context (for each of you) is especially important. Therefore, I will try to tailor any examples to your situations – as much as possible
- #4 Project identification and design represents the first phase in PMD Pro. Remember that even though the six phases are represented in a linear manner on this phase diagram, there will be considerable overlap between the phases. So that while project identification and design is a distinct phase, there will be overlap, especially with some of the activities that we will talk about during the project planning phase. We need to be sure, before we set up, perform the detailed planning and start implementation that the right project has been identified and that the outputs and the goals that will contribute to higher level change are consistent with the results and impacts that are desired. I also want to remind participants about the triangles that you see in the diagram. They are the decision Gates – even though there may be many additional ones that arise for an individual project. Notice the triangle that sits between the project identification and design phase and the project setup phase – this represents the first major decision gate in PMD Pro. Decision Gates are critical places for making sure we are doing the right projects. Decision Gates are key moments for checking in to see if the project is still valid.
- #5 All projects begin as an idea – a need or opportunity that is assessed, analyzed, and ultimately developed into a project which is managed through the project life cycle. It is during this process that we begin answering the critical question ‘Are we doing the right project?’ Get it wrong here, and the project will be wrong for a long time – even if all of the work of the project is planned and implemented well. Get it right, and you may be half way there. In many other sectors that rely on a culture and history of project management, the project begins with the official approval of the project. This is usually not the case in the international development sector, where the project life more commonly begins with a Project Identification and Design Phase. During the Project Identification and Design Phase, time/resources/effort are invested to define needs, explore opportunities, analyze the project environment, cultivate relationships, build trust, develop partnerships and design alternatives for project design. The decisions made during the Project Identification and Design Phase connect to existing strategies and determine the overall framework within which the project will subsequently evolve. Establishing this framework early in the project helps ensure that the project is done right. We continuously need to ensure that the reason for doing the project remains valid. This is the discipline of project justification management.
- #6 Take a close and careful look at the graphic on the screen now. What is the story that this graphic is telling? Take a minute to look at this slide. I will talk first about the solid line. It is indicating that as a project progresses through each subsequent stage (as represented on the horizontal axis), the cost and staffing levels (as represented on the vertical axis) gradually increase until peaking during the implementation phase. Then there is a sharp decrease in project expenses as the project heads toward transition. There shouldn’t be anything surprising about that. The dotted line represents the opportunity to cost effectively manage change. As the project moves forward through the phases, the opportunity gradually decreases. Once project implementation begins (as staff are hired, activities begin, budgets are allocated and deliverables start to become tangible), the cost of changing becomes higher – the opportunity to cost effectively managed change decreases. Therefore, it is extremely important that the project manager gather and process data to inform good decisions during the project and identification phase. There should be a lot of creative exploration, brainstorming, visioning and discussion about the best way forward. This is a good time to answer some fundamental questions about the project, such as: where will the project work? Who are the beneficiaries? What are the deliverables? What are the major risks? What is the underlying project logic?
- #7 Now we will start to examine the actual work that needs to be done in the project identification and design phase. The project manager, along with the team members and stakeholders (including beneficiaries, implementing partners and community groups), must identified project ideas and decide what this project intends to accomplish. There are three categories of work in this phase: data collection, data analysis (using the concepts of current and future state) and identification of project intervention logic.
- #8 The first step in determining whether you are “doing the right project” is to collect data.
- #9 In the development sector, we almost always start with the identification of the needs. Before beginning, it is important to recognize the difference between a “problem-based” and “asset based” starting point. Both approaches are intended to reach the same destination – selecting the right projects and interventions. In an asset-based approach, the focus is on opportunities instead of challenges. The opening question, for example, to discover strengths might be: “what are you doing that is working well?” Another question might be: “what good things are you doing that could be shared with others?” It is a focus on the positive. The problem-based approach, on the other hand, seeks to define the problem and fix what is broken. It is a focus on the negative. Those who prefer an asset-based approach may use a set of tools based on appreciative inquiry. Those using problem-based approaches will likely use a problem tree as a primary tool. There is no right or wrong. Both approaches have merit. We will use problem-based tools for the remainder of this module.