MONITORING AND EVALUATION

 

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Project Planning, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation concepts and principles of planning, types of planning and plans; strategic planning, participatory planning; the plan of work, the work calendar, stakeholder analysis; the logical framework and its application in project development, monitoring and evaluation; project supervision, leadership and Project administration and management; the concept of monitoring and evaluation, reasons for monitoring and evaluation, methods used in monitoring and evaluation,

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•          Define the following briefly; Project, Project Planning, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation concepts and principles of planning,

•          Identify the stages in planning and execution

•          Explain Monitoring and Controlling Cycle

•          Discuss explicitly Monitoring and controlling process group processes

•          Difference between Monitoring and Evaluation

Concepts and terms related to Monitoring and Evaluation

A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

Projects may be audited or reviewed while the project is in progress. Formal audits are generally risk or compliance-based and management will direct the objectives of the audit. An examination may include a comparison of approved project management processes with how the project is actually being managed. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors and fixes.

Monitoring is a deliberate systematic means of collection and analysis of information as a project progresses which intended at adequate efficiency and effectiveness of a project embarked on with thorough use of resources. It facilitates organization to determine whether the resources available are enough and are being utilized satisfactorily. Project monitoring is establishing measure that projects are on targets and indicators to measure advancement and achievement.

Evaluation involves conscious checking into project effects vis-a-vis the agreed slated plans on accomplishment scale. It concern with outcome process of a blueprint which can be done during and after the project. Evaluation is not an end product but a process expected to take place throughout the stages of a project or action. 

Evaluation is a process used to ascertain what has happened during a given activity, whether a programme or activity is working, and whether the initial commitment has been carried out and achieved In the course of the project it is done to ensure any contingency that can hamper the project is resolved and plans are amended to suit goals of the project. While after project evaluation is aim at understanding success or fail at the same time outline the means, measure and medium for improvement ahead of next implementation of project plan.

The differences between Monitoring and Evaluation

Indices                   of variation	Monitoring	Evaluation
Timing	Continuous, throughout the project	Periodic review at significant points                 in                the project progress
Scope	Day to day activities, output,                  indicators of progress and change	Access overall delivery of outputs                                             and progress towards objectives and goals
Main participants	Project       staff,      project users	External                   evaluators, facilitators,       project users, project staff, sponsors
Process	Regular               meetings, interviews,          monthly, quarterly reviews	Extraordinary              meeting, additional                            data collection exercise etc
Written output	Regular       reports        and updates         to        project users, management and sponsors	Written           report           with recommendations                  for changes to project-presented in workshops to different stakeholder
Information users	Government         agencies, researchers, companies	Stakeholders,                       top­ management team, external facilitator’s, staff etc
Intent	translates objectives into performance        indicators and set targets	examines         implementation process for better significant accomplishment           vis-a-vis offers recommendations for improvement         on        slated project
Activities	activities are linked with resources to aligned with objectives	activities       assess       specific contribution of project in relations to result

 

Adapted:from Kepa (1997)

Planning

After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of the main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project's chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.

Project planning generally consists of:

•          determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or Rolling Wave planning);

•          developing the scope statement;

•          selecting the planning team;

•          identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure;

•          identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence;

•          estimating the resource requirements for the activities;

•          estimating time and cost for activities;

•          developing the     schedule;

•          developing the     budget;

•          risk planning;

•          gaining formal     approval to begin   work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management, identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

Execute

 

Executing Process Group Processes

The execution/implementation phase ensures that the project management plan's deliverables are executed accordingly. This phase involves proper allocation, co­ordination and management of human resources and any other resources such as material and budgets. The output of this phase is the project deliverables.

Monitoring and Controlling

 

1.4  Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Processes

Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling includes:

•          Measuring the ongoing project activities ('where we are');

•          Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be);

•          Identifying corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on track again);

•          Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented.

In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and control process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

•          Continuing support of end-users

•          Correction of errors

•          Updates to the product over time

 

1.5  Monitoring and Controlling Cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change. Change is a normal and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This is referred to as change management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished work. 

The record is made on the contract documents - usually, but not necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or more simply, "as built." The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts. Construction document management is a highly important task undertaken with the aid an online or desktop software system, or maintained through physical documentation. The increasing legality pertaining to the construction industries maintenance of correct documentation has caused the increase in the need for document management systems.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re­assessed. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project. Successful project management identifies these components, and tracks and monitors progress so as to stay within time and budget frames already outlined at the commencement of the project.

CONCLUSION

The discussion in this unit takes us through the understanding of the concept of Project Planning Management, Monitoring and Evaluation from definition to process of planning. Controlling. Monitoring and cycle entailed.

UNIT SUMMARY

In this article, we treated contextual nature of project, Project Planning Management, Monitoring and Evaluation with consideration to detailed key steps involves in cycle of it. Project is an ongoing process with evaluation to ensure desired outcome is achieved by understanding the target, reexamine it in line with scope of the project and amend necessary correction when need arise to accomplish slated goals.

ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1.     What are the process involved in project Monitoring and controlling

2.      Why are changes introduced to a project

3.      Write short note on the following:

i.      Project ii. Management iii. Monitoring and controlling

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS

Aarnoudse-Moens, C.S., Weisglas-Kuperus, N., Van Goudoever, J.B., and Oosterlaan, J (2009). "Meta-analysis of neurobehavioral outcomes in very preterm and/or very low birth weight children".Pediatrics.124(2):717-28. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2816. PMID 19651588.

Anderson, J.R., Albert, M.V., and Fincham, J.M (2005). "Tracing problem solving in real time: fMRI analysis of the subject-paced Tower of Hanoi". JCognNeurosci.17(8):1261-74.doi: 10.1162/0898929055002427. PMID 16197682.

Welsh, M.C., and Huizinga, M (2001). "The development and preliminary validation of the Tower of Hanoi-revised".Assessment.8 (2): 167-76. doi:10.1177/107319110100800205. PMID 11428696.

Kepa (1997). Summary of Differences between Monitoring and Evaluation (online)