Project Programme Monitoring and Evaluation

Discuss about the Project Programme Monitoring and Evaluation.

Introduction

Purpose of any project business case is to sell an idea to the stakeholder who is presented with the case. With a formal and well-structured document, a stakeholder would have the clarity on all aspects of project that can help you justify the benefits promised including assumptions, stages, projections, risks, estimations, funds and so on. Desired details in a business case can provide evidence that the project proposed would make a good investment. It also acts as framework that would guide the execution and completion of the project after it is approved. Key objectives of any business case are presentation of holistic view of project, proving affordability and viability of project and illustrating that the project deliverables are achievable.

For this analysis, the business case of POW improvement program project is chosen which has the objective of delivering efficiency benefits to an organization by streamlining its key business processes. The project aims to solve some existing problems of ENERGEX Company such as ineffective management of work churn, unclear accountabilities, improper contract management and so on (Burke, 2010).

Business Case Literature

Formation of a business case can be time consuming and thus, it is important that the project is first assessed for its viability and feasibility while preparing the business case. This early evaluation would help the project manager justify presentation of the business case. The evaluation can happen in stages like articulation of the business situation that demand initiation of the project, project estimation, and identification of data sources required for evaluation, and preliminary project planning.

A business case can follow a standard structure that incorporates following details in the case document:

Executive Summary: This summarizes what the reader can expect to read in the business case

Introduction: This provides a background of the project, an overview of key issues faced in current situation, identification of potential for improvement, description of processes, and list of stakeholders.

Strategic Context: Key needs of business or service are identified and their priorities are defined in a business case. This helps a stakeholder understand how the project fit into the needs of the corporate plan.

Problem Statement: The key problem that the project aims to solve is explained in the introductory sections of the business case (Caltrans, 2007).

Situation Analysis: The current situation that acts as a driver for the project has to be explained.

Assumptions: Every project has certain assumptions based on which strategies and plans are development or finances are calculated. A business case must clearly state these assumptions.

Project Objectives: Key objectives of the project are determined considering that they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, realistic, and Time Bound)

Project Scope: This involves identification of deliverables and all the activities that would be carried out during the project (Bright Hub Media, 2015).

Key Benefits: Key benefits that would result from the execution of a project are determined considering areas of organizational processes, staffing, training, finances, and other areas. Measurable quantitative and qualitative benefits are incorporated in any business case (UniAssignment.com, 2015).

Constraints: Constraints on the project are important to identify as they affect the way processes are carried during the project such that the team has to remain within the limits defined by the constraints for completion of the project (RCR, 2012).

Risk Analysis: In any project, there can be operational, developmental, implementation or other types of risks. All these risks have to be analyzed in a business case through the use of a formal risks analysis method. Different types of risks can occur on a project in the areas of staffing, working practices, team skill requirements, data, governance and control (The University of Manchester, 2009).

Options: Any project business case must present the alternatives to execution and an analysis must be presented for identification of the most optimal solution. The business case must identify the best solution and justify this choice.

Performance Measures: Measurement of the performance of a project is important for which certain metrics that are defined in the business case.

Cost Benefit Analysis: Costs and benefits to be received from the project execution are carefully examined and evaluated to understand if the costs would be funded and desired returns would be achieved. A detailed breakdown of the costs and benefits as well as the comparison is presented in project business case (WSDOT, 2015).

Stakeholder Support: This is included in a business case to illustrate if the support is received from the stakeholders. For this, the business case would involve identification of stakeholders, presentation of approach to their consultation, and description of the involvement of each stakeholder. Any supporting statements, details or evidences that can illustrate this support from stakeholders are presented in the business case (Metafuse, Inc.;Core Performance Concepts, 2015).

Project Management Evaluation: The business case provides the details of how the project would be managed and delivered. It would include considerations of accountability and responsibilities of individual project team members. For evaluation of the project, the business case would present the details of timelines, key milestones, project progress monitoring methods, measurement of objectives, and evaluation criteria (IFRC, 2011).

Comparison of business cases to the literature

Business Case Component	PoW Improvement Program	The Millennium Project Feasibility	PRC Affordable Housing
Strategic Fitness	Yes, the business case states that the project would help organization achieve efficiency of key business processes by streamlining them	Yes, Aim of the organization has always remained global welfare and thus, project would help in global problem solving	A detailed analysis of objectives of the project with respect to the strategic goals of the organization is done
Problem Statement	Issues of project and how they can be solved are defined in the case (SAID, 2015)	Some problems are identified such as lack of a coherent mechanism managing issues and make assessments for future possibilities	Project need is explained in the business case
Situation Analysis	Current issues faced by the company are identified including process differences, imprecise accountabilities, duplication, etc.	Issues along with possible solutions are identified	Details of current situation are given in project
Assumptions	Business case assumptions include  smooth delivery, single point accountability, and FTE reductions to be made in phase I	Assumptions are not clear	Demand for housing, availability of land availability and financial feasibility of project are some assumptions made
Project Objectives	There are three key objectives including growth of POW, its optimization and improvement in its financial performance (UCSC, 2009)	objectives and activities are detailed Phase-wise	Objective is to make deliveries of 405 residential beds at Port Hedland in coming 18 months
Project Scope	Improvement activities are detailed Phase-wise	Activities are detailed Phase-wise	Activities are detailed Phase-wise in the scope
Key benefits	Some benefits highlighted include Resource optimization, throughput increase, and productivity boost	Specific benefits for stakeholders like the university, NGO, and government, are identified	Benefits achieved with every deliverable of the project are explained
Constraint	Project constraints include limited capacity hours, scope boundaries, and timelines	Only financial constraints are covered (UniAssignment.com, 2015)	Not clear
Risk Analysis	Four risks are identified and mitigation strategies are formulated as shown in the Table A of the Appendix.	Very few risks are identified but no mitigation plan suggested	Risks are identified and mitigation plans are made
Options	No options provided	Two options provided (Millenium Villages, 2014)	Options not defined
Performance Measures	Performance metrics include utilization %age, productivity increase, throughput increase and cost saving	Not identified	Performance matrix details  measurement metrics against alongside deliverables such as rent normalization, access, and maintenance requirements (SAID, 2015)
Cost benefit analysis	Yes, costs and benefits are clear. Figure 1 in the Appendix explains the benefits of $815 million with throughput increase and with other benefits added and costs subtracted, a net spending difference was found to be $14.2 million.	Costs are clear but benefits are not fully explained. The expected expenses incurred in the first year were $1,001,000 as shown in Table B of Appendix	Only cost is covered
Stakeholder support	Stakeholder communication plan is presented	Stakeholder communication plan is presented	Stakeholders are identified such as council, town, and bank (PRC, 2010)
Project Management Evaluation	Cost benefit analysis and KPIs are used etc (Burke, 2010).	No methodology defined	Evaluation of project management is not clear

There were some positive points about the business cases discussed such as

• All the cases compared have some important case components like problem statement, project scope, and project benefits
• Benefits, risks, impact, and performance of PRC affordable housing case are presented in much detail
• Except option analysis, POW improvement project business case contains almost all the necessary components of the business case.

Some of the weaknesses found in these business cases include:

• No pecuniary incentives or benefits that could be achieved from the project were identified in the business case of millennium and PRC housing projects making the cost-benefit analysis difficult. These cases were also lacking in providing sufficient details of the project constraints.
• Assumptions, performance measures, and risk analysis were three weak areas of the millennium project business case.

It was found from the comparison that the chosen case of POW improvement presented almost all the components of the business case except the detailed exploration and analysis of the options while Millennium project case did not give most of the required details. The PRC housing case also missed some details like cost benefit analysis, project constraints, and the performance evaluation for project management (Oxford Brookes University, 2003).

Recommendations

Based on the understanding of the literature on the subject of forming a business case for the project approval and the critical analysis done on  the three project business cases that were compared, certain recommendation may be made for writing any business case of POW improvement such as:

• A business case must contain all the possible information that can help a project sponsor in understanding the outcomes of the project, foresee its benefits as well as its risks and assess the project for its viability(PDA, 2007).
• The business case does not present any options as the solution suggested in the case but only assumes one option which is explained. A business case may also add options which can be an important part of the business case which was done in the Millennium project. This can help project manager take decisions about how to proceed with the project, explore possibilities, and select best possible alternative.
• Business case of POW had the details of both cost and income and thus, it was possible to perform a cost benefit analysis which is important to understand the viability and business potential of any project. With lack of some information on the income part, the cost-benefit analysis cannot be done and thus, future predictions about cash flows cannot be made. This would make it difficult fro the sponsor to take decision on whether to select the business and if it would be profitable in the long run(RCR, 2012).
• Every project is prepared considering certain assumptions and if they are clearly stated then it would help the audience understand the case in better manner
• Risk analysis is one for the most important components of any business case or project management plan and this should into only have the identified risk information but also an understanding of the probability of occurrence, their impact and possible mitigation strategies that the project manager would take in case the risks occur. In several projects, risks are only broadly identified but their mitigation plans are not made which was done in the Millennium project. Failing this, the management cannot take any instant action specific decision on project when any identified risk. If the mitigation strategies are already planned, it becomes easier for managers to take decisions at appropriate occasion. Moreover, risk management can also help the decision maker understand the possible challenges that the project may face as well as assess the impacts of the same on the project. This can help them understand how risky a project is.
• Strategic fitness of the project is important for a project to be selected by the project sponsor out of multiple projects that may be possible to run in a single organization. For this, a project manager must identify both project goals and strategic goals and map them to understand if they fit(Time is Ltd, 2015).

Conclusions

The objective of this report was to help a reader understand the process of business case writing. The report explored various components of the business case and then took three already published business case reports and performed an analysis of each report considering these components. It was found that most of the business cases that are prepared today do not contain all the required information. However, if the desired information is available then it can bring in fasts decision as a greater clarity on the project can be achieved. POW improvement project that had genuinely followed the flow of the components was an easy to understand case and had all the information that was required to take any major decisions.

References

Bright Hub Media, 2015. Constructing Powerful Scope Statements. [Online]
Available at: http://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/57950-example-and-evaluation-of-project-scope-statements/

Burke, 2010. POW Improvement Program, s.l.: P:\1. Program Office.

Caltrans, 2007. Project Communication Handbook. s.l.:Caltrans.

IFRC, 2011. Project/programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guide, Geneva: International Federation of Red Cross .

Metafuse, Inc.;Core Performance Concepts, 2015. Project Scheduling. [Online]
Available at: http://www.projectinsight.net/project-management-basics/project-management-schedule

Millenium Villages, 2014. Millennium Villages Project: COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER TRAINER’S MANUAL- A GUIDE TO HOME-BASED SERVICES, s.l.: Millenium Villages.

Oxford Brookes University, 2003. What is project viability?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/hr/project/survival/viability.html

PDA, 2007. Project Management: Project Justification and Planning. 1st: Scottish Qualifications Authority .

PRC, 2010. Affordable Housing for Essential Workersin the Town of Port Hedland, s.l.: PRC.

RCR, 2012. Writing a good Business Case, s.l.: The Royal College of Radiologists.

SAID, 2015. Major Projects Leadership Academy handbook, s.l.: Cabinet Office.

The University of Manchester, 2009. Strategic Management of projects. s.l.:The University of Manchester.

Time is Ltd, 2015. Evaluating a Project. [Online]
Available at: http://www.time-is-ltd.co.uk/Management/Promise/PMManual/Evaluating%20a%20Project.htm

UCSC, 2009. Web Function & Design Project Charter , s.l.: UCSC.

UniAssignment.com, 2015. The Principles Behind Project Management Systems Information Technology Essay, s.l.: UniAssignment.com.

WSDOT, 2015. Cost Estimating Manual for Projects , s.l.: Washington State Department of Transportation.

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