Module 2 Flashcards
Project vs. Intervention
These terms are used interchangeable in the Guide. A project is an intervention, activities that are conducted to “intervene” in a situation or context.
Key Outputs of Project Identification and Definition Phase
Stakeholder Analysis, Logical Framework, Project Proposal, High-Level Project Chater
Types of Decision Gates
Needs Assessment, Concept Note, Project Proposal
Needs Assessment
Validates that the need exists and is a priority for the community, stakeholders, and beneficiaries. Informs the parameters of the project through data and feedback from stakeholders.
Concept Note
Presents a high-level project concept in which stakeholders (the organization, program team, and/or donor) determine if the project meets the criteria for moving forward to the project proposal.
Project Proposal
Outlines the high-level elements of the project including: scope of work, budget, timeframe, risks, stakeholders, intervention logic, and resource requirements. Intended to obtain funding.
Types of Project Inputs
- Project concept/idea
- Terms of Reference from a request for proposal
- Lessons learned from previous, similar projects
- Program Theory of Change
Types of Data
Secondary Data, Primary Quantitative Data, Primary Qualitative Data
Triangulating Data
Triangulation is a powerful technique that facilitates data validation through cross verification from more than two sources. By using three methods/perspectives to answer a question, the hope is that the results of at least two of the three will reinforce each other. On the other hand, if three conflicting answers are produced, the investigator knows that the question needs to be reframed, methods reconsidered, or both.
Bradshaw’s 4 Categories of Social Needs
Felt Needs, Expressed Needs, Normative Needs, Comparative Needs
Felt Needs
Felt needs focus on the thoughts and dreams of the community itself, what they think should be a priority. A felt need is likely to be subjective and could be better described as a ‘want’. Felt need is necessarily affected by the knowledge and expectations of the individual, which may be unrealistic and/or unaffordable.
Expressed Needs
This kind of need is usually done through observation. What is the community expressing through their actions? At times, the expressed needs are consistent with what the community has mentioned through their felt need. However, at times, these needs might not be concretely identified publicly (as a felt need) as a result of political/cultural pressures or because nobody has ever asked.
Normative Needs
Compares the current situation to a set of professional or expert standards. Often, these needs are identified by a professional or expert – physicians, engineers, public health professionals.
Comparative Needs
These needs compare the current situation with the situation of others. One of the most common uses of this approach has been the comparison of people’s access to resources. This approach recognizes that need is a relative concept and so any debate about need must take place in the context of a comparison between people.
Needs Analysis
Effective needs analysis places needs into two categories: current state analysis and future state analysis.
Current State Analysis
Where are we now? What is the situation on the ground right now? What are the conditions within the community? What are the problems they are facing and the priorities for interventions? Who are the stakeholders associated with the problem? What kind of capacity do we, as the project team and partners, have to successfully deploy this kind of intervention?
Future State Analysis
Where do we envision we will be at the end of the project?
What changes to we expect to see by the end of the project?
What are some of the risks that could interfere with our ability to achieve that change?
What kind of sustainability does the intervention have? Can the change be maintained once the project ends?
Components of a Strong Stakeholder Management System
- Stakeholder Identification (Identification and Definition)
- Stakeholder Analysis (Identification and Definition)
- Stakeholder Engagement (Project Setup)
- Stakeholder Communications (Project Planning)
- Revision and Analysis (Continuously)
Venn Diagrams
Created to analyze and illustrate the nature of relationships between key stakeholder groups. A Venn Diagram is developed from the perspective of a single project stakeholder (or a group of project stakeholders). Each circle in the diagram identifies a stakeholder involved in the project. The size of the circle used can help indicate the relative power/influence of each stakeholder, while the spatial separation is used to indicate the relative strength or weakness of the working relationship / interaction between different groups/organizations. Venn diagrams are commonly used as a participatory planning tool with target groups to help them profile their concept of such relationships.
Problem Tree
Begin the process with the identification of the ‘core problem’ that can be either identified via an open brainstorm process with stakeholders or pre-identified, based on preliminary analysis of existing information.
Once the core problem is identified, the process of elaborating the subsequent problem tree is completed (preferably via a participatory group process) using these instructions:
- Problems which are directly causing the starter problem are put below (causes);
- Problems which are direct effects of the starter problem are put above (effects).
The guiding question behind the logic of the problem tree is ‘What causes that?’ If there are two or more causes combining to produce an effect, they are placed at the same level in the diagram. Cause-effect arrows are used to connect the levels of the problem tree.
Objective Tree
Begins to identify the potential interventions that could take place to “fix” what is broken in the problem tree.
At this point, the development organization should consider two critical strategic questions:
- Which elements of the objectives tree will be included in the project intervention?
- Which elements will not be included in the scope of the project?
Logical Framework
LogFrames identify and communicate the logical relationships in a project by tracking the vertical and horizontal reasoning that connects the levels of the matrix. The relationship between the elements on each level of the logical framework illustrates the vertical logic that will result in the achievement of the project’s ultimate goal.
Components of a 4-Tiered LogFrame
Activities, Outputs, Outcomes, Goals
Activities
Actions taken through which inputs (financial, human, technical, material and time
resources) are mobilized to produce the deliverables (training, constructing, etc.) of a project for which staff can be held accountable and which, when aggregated, produce outputs.
Outputs
Tangible and non-tangible deliverables resulting from project activities. They include products, goods, services and changes (e.g. people trained with increased knowledge and skill; quality roads built) that aggregate and contribute to outcomes.
Outcomes
What the project expects to accomplish at the beneficiary level (e.g. use of knowledge and skills in actual practice over time; transportation of goods on constructed roads over time) and contribute to population-level changes (reduced malnutrition, improved incomes, improved yields, etc.) that aggregate and help bring about accomplishment of goals and impact over time.
Goals
Highest-level desired end results or impacts (transformation, sustainability, livelihood, well-being etc.) to which the project contributes (the ultimate objective in many logical frameworks). An example of this would be a sector level goal or program level outcome.
Assumptions
Assumptions complete the horizontal logic of the logical frame and must remain true in order for the activities to lead to the outputs and the outputs to lead to the outcomes.
An assumption is a hypothesis about necessary conditions, both internal and external, identified in a design to ensure that the presumed cause-effect relationships function as expected and that planned activities will produce expected results.
SMART Indicators
Specific - Must be specific and focused on the change that is expected at each level.
Measurable - Must be quantifiable and measurable (Quantity/Quality/Location).
Achievable - Must be attainable w/in the constraints of the project triangle (budget/resources, time/budget, scope/quality).
Relevant - Must accurately measure the change the project aspires to generate.
Time-bound - Should identify a specific time and date. can the “” be achieved within the established timeframe?
Indicator Disaggregation
Disaggregation of indicators is when you break the indicators into categories for a more robust analysis. Some examples of how indicators can be disaggregated are by: gender, geographic location, socio-economic status, and age group. Keep in mind that the disaggregation is intended to provide a better understanding of the changes happening at the level of each category. The disaggregation will depend on the indicator and what kind of information is required for a deeper analysis.
Types of Analysis
Risk, HR, Supply Chain, Financial, Sustainability
Theory of Change
A Theory of Change is most often done at a program level, not at a project level. However, the project manager and team should be aware of how their project fits into the bigger picture represented in the Theory of Change at the program or institutional level.
Key Outputs
Project Charter, Comprehensive Risk Register, Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, Project Launch
Risk Response Strategies
Avoidance
Transferrance
Mitigation
Acceptance
Risk Avoidance
Do not do (or do in a different way) some portion of the scope that carries high-impact and/or a high probability of risk. For example, a project might choose not to work in a geographic area because there is too much insecurity.
Risk Transferrance
Shift (or share) the risk for some aspect of the project to (or with) another party. The most common example of risk transference is insurance.
Risk Mitigation
Act to reduce the probability and/or impact of a potential risk.
Risk Acceptance
If the perceived probability and impact risk is assessed as reasonable, an organization can choose not to take action. If the team chooses to live with the risk, and does not act to avoid, transfer, or mitigate it.
Project Governance Structure
Authority Accountability Project Changes Oversight Supports and Advocates
Authority
Who has the power to make decisions and within what tolerance levels.
Accountability
Who is accountable for the success of the project? With no clear accountability for project success, there is no one moving agendas to resolve project issues.
Project Changes
Decisions on changes that extend beyond the project manager’s agreed tolerances.
Oversight
Oversees the direction of the project, provides insight, and monitors the viability and validity of the project, making decision to terminate the project if necessary. Also ensure that different stakeholder perspectives are heard.
Supports and Advocates
Provides support and resources for the project as well as advises the project manager on the management aspects of the project, especially those that are beyond the control of the project manager.
Types of Tolerance
Time Tolerance, Cost Tolerance, Scope Tolerance, Risk Tolerance, Quality Tolerance, Benefits Tolerance
Time Tolerance
the amount of time by which the project completion can be later or earlier than the planned date.
Cost Tolerance
the percentage, or a cash amount, by which the project can be over or under the planned budget.
Scope Tolerance
measured as an agreed variation from the product description, and any potential variation should be documented in the product breakdown structure.
Risk Tolerance
provide a benchmark for which risks you should be escalating to the Project Board.
Quality Tolerance
ranges that define acceptable performance for a product, documented in the product descriptions.
Benefits Tolerance
ranges of acceptable performance of the project at the outcomes level.
Components of a Project Charter
Project Purpose, Project Deliverables, High Level Project Estimates, Project Risks, Project Tolerances, Project Change Control
Project Purpose
a statement of the need the project will address.
Project Deliverables
articulating the scope, including the project goal, outcomes, and major outputs.
High Level Project Estimates
Includes a high-level statement of project activities, project schedule, project budget, and a preliminary list of the roles and skills required to perform the necessary work.
Project Risks
identifying potential problems/risks that the project might encounter.
Project Tolerances
articulating project tolerances regarding project deliverables, schedule, cost and risk.
Project Change Control
establishing an exception handling process for when the project exceeds a tolerance in any of these areas.
Aims of a Project Charter
The project charter aims:
- To officially authorize the start of project activities and the use of resources for project implementation;
- To ensure that there is shared understanding of the project parameters among key project stakeholders and sponsors (both internally and externally);
- To document a shared commitment to the objectives of the project and the resources/activities required for project success.
Categories of Stakeholders
Users Governance Influencers Dependents Providers Sustainers
How are the stakeholder analysis matrix and the venn diagram related?
The Stakeholder Analysis Matrix uses the outcomes from the Venn Diagram (or other stakeholder influence mapping tools) to further identify, elaborate and communicate the interests, capacity and potential actions of project stakeholders.
What do problem trees reveal?
- The core problem
- Direct effects of that core problem
- Underlying root-causes that contribute to the problem
Once the broad collection of needs is identified, what two critical strategic questions should development organization consider?
1 - Which elements will be included in the project intervention?
2 - Which elements will not be included in the scope of the project?
Alternatives Tree
After decisions have been made regarding where the project will intervene, those decisions can be communicated using the Alternatives Tree. This tree is related to the Problem Tree and the Objectives Tree, as you can see in the interactive asset below. The outcomes and goals that will be pursued to solve the core problem are shown in the Alternatives Tree as lighter blue boxes. The elements that will not enter into the scope of the project are shown as orange boxes.
Vertical Logic
Activities are actions we take in order to produce outputs.
Outputs are deliverables of the project, which contribute to outcomes. Outputs are tangible and non-tangible deliverables resulting from project activities.
Outcomes are what the project is expected to accomplish, which lead to the attainment of goals.
Finally, goals are the highest level end results or impact of the project.
Indicator
An indicator is a quantitative or qualitative measure used to describe change. They communicate in specific, measurable terms the performance to be achieved at each level of change. Indicators also help to remove vague and imprecise statements about what can be expected from project interventions.
Baselines must be defined at or near the beginning of a project. Performance during project implementation is measured against a target (the improvements, change, or achievement expected to happen during project implementation), taking into account the baseline.
Indicators depict the extent to which a project is accomplishing its planned inputs, outputs, outcomes, and goals. They communicate in specific, measurable terms the performance to be achieved at each level of change. Indicators also help to remove vague and imprecise statements about what can be expected from project interventions.
Means of Verification (MOV)
Means of Verification (MOV) are the sources from which we get the information to measure indicators.
Means of verification should be cost-effective and should directly measure the indicators.
The best advice for indicators and MOV is to keep it simple. The more complex the indicator, the more complex (and subsequently, challenging to measure) the MOV.
What is risk?
Risk is the potential effect of uncertainty on project activities, outputs, and outcomes.
What are the there are two key ideas that need to be explored further when considering risk in a project?
Probability – Risk can be seen as relating to the probability of uncertain future events (as compared to issues which deal with current ones that must be immediately addressed).
Impact – Risk has the potential to impact the project. Most project teams focus on negative risk that has the potential to harm the project (time/calendar, cost/resources, quality, scope, etc.) In general, negative risks are to be avoided. Positive risk, on the other hand, is less widely acknowledged and understood. Project teams can assume positive risks if they see a potential opportunity, along with a potential for failure. This is referred to as intelligent risk taking.
Comprehensive Risk Management
1 - Identifying the risks 2 - Categorizing the risks 3 - Assessing the impact and probability of risk 4 - Developing risk response strategies 5 - Monitoring and controlling risks
How can sustainability be integrated into the LogFrame?
The project manager should ask what kind of lasting effect the intervention will have on behavioral change or on the social conditions and context.
In the logical frame, there is an output that takes into consideration the sustainability of project.
Does the design of the project factor in the long-term, or is it a short-term fix? In what way does this project contribute to the goal? Will the products or services require work to be done throughout the project to better ensure the sustainability?
