Strategic planning Flashcards
What is project management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements and successfully achieve the project objectives
What includes social cultural dimension of PM?
Leadership, problem solving, teamwork, negotiation, politics, customer expectations
What includes technical dimension of PM?
scope, Work breakdown structure, schedules, resource allocation, baseline budgets, status reports
why PM is important?
1.Strategic Alignment: Because it ensures it will deliver real value
2. Leadership: Because it brings leadership and direction to projects
3.Clear Focus & Objectives: Because it ensures there’s a proper plan for executing on strategic goals.
4. Realistic Project Planning: Because it ensures proper expectations are set around what can be delivered, by when, and for how much
5. Quality Control: Because it ensures the quality of whatever is being delivered, consistently hits the mark.
6. Risk Management: Because it ensures risks are properly managed and mitigated against to avoid becoming issues.
7. Orderly Process: Because it ensures the right people do the right things, at the right time
8. Continuous Oversight: Because it ensures a project’s progress is tracked and reported properly.
9. Managing and Learning from Success and Failure: Project management is important because it learns from the successes and failures of the past.
What is portfolio?
Collection of projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.
What is programs?
Group within a portfolio comprised of subprograms, projects or other work in a coordinated way in support of the portfolio.
What is projects?
Within or outside of a program still considered part of a portfolio.
What traditional project management includes?
Initiating (define a project), planning (scope, refine objectives, course of actions), executing (complete activities), monitoring and controlling (track, review, regulate progress and performance), closing (finalize all activities)
What does logical framework approach and RBM include?
problem identification and definition, objective identification and definition, project planning, implementation and evaluation
what is RBM?
a management strategy/approach to ensure processes, products and services contribute to achieving a set of results
what is a result?
a result is a measurable change that is derived from a cause-and-effect relationship (outputs, outcomes, impact)
To solve complex problems with adaptive leadership we need…
(1) to identify and to deconstruct the probme (2) to find out why and how the problem is caused so we can know how to address the problem (3) to identify the immediate, underlying and structural causes of the deprivations we want to address
What is the UN Common Country Analysis (CCA)?
(1) objective, forward-looking assessment (what is happening?) and analysis (why?) of the country situation and trajectory (2) driven by SDGs, shaped by programming principles (3) a way to engage with national stakeholders and to provide input to the national plan process (4) provides essential evidence for theory of change, strategic priorities and outcomes (5) identifies SDG-related data and trends and gaps, areas for enhances policy coherence
What elements does identification whithin strategic planning includes?
Background (gathering information), assessment (shortlist), analysis (problem tree), stakeholders analysis (partnership)
What are the key criteria for catalytic development solutions?
(1) transformational effect (what is the potential to bring change and positively influence other development priorities? what is like hood of success?) (2) leave no one behind (3) reach (how many people are effected?) (4) time sensitive (what are the consequences of not acting now) (5) effort (what level of resources we need?)
What are possible ways to analyze a problem?
Problem tree, SWOT analysis (4 squares), Fishbone diagram (without effects)
What are the effects in the problem tree analysis?
Consequences of the focal problem for the individual and the community. The effects provide arguments for decision-makers and other stakeholders for why the focal problem is so important
What is the focal problem?
Problem that the project shall focus on realistic to solve this problem during the project period. The focal problem will later become the project outcome
What are the Reasons/Causes
the underlying reasons behind the focal problem. They explain why the focal problem exists. All main problems have their individual resons
what is causality analysis and how to perform it?
Causality analysis supports the identification of the immediate, underlying and structural causes. It requires systematically asking ‘why?’ through a hierarchy of issues and identifying the causes for deprivation at each level in the hierarchy.
Key deprivation (the problem/negative outcome) -> immediate cause (proximate and nearest cause, most direct explanation) -> underlying causes (choices made by society such as laws, policies, practices) -> basic/structural causes (root of the problem)
What is triple-A analysis?
Authority - refers to the necessary support from the company’s management. This can be hierarchical/organizational, resource allocation, legal
Acceptance - relates to the extent to which those affected by the reform or project - employees, suppliers or customers - will embrace it
Ability - focuses on the practical and technical side of the project and the need for time, money, skills or expertise to carry it out
What is theory of change?
Theory of change explains why and how we think certain actions (activities) will produce desired change (outcome) in a given context.
The description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome.
Theories or hypotheses about what needs to change and how into a ‘causal or change pathway’
What is a vertical logic or results chain?
it’s the causal sequence for a development intervention that stipulates the necessary sequence to achieve desired results
how vertical logic look?
if activities are managed, then outputs are produced -> if outputs are produced then outcomes are achieved -> if outcomes are achieved then contribute to the achievement of the impact
Key characteristics of impact?
long-term effect of a programme; different projects can have the same goal
broader than the programme; programme only contributes to it
timeframe: typically 2-5 years after programme ends
Key characteristics of outcome?
main reason for why the project is implemented
influence, but largely beyond the control of the programme
timeframe: during or up to a few years after the programme
key characteristics of output?
what the project will deliver (products of services)
a group of people or an organization has improved capacities, abilities, skills, systems
are under the control of the organization and its partners
timeframe: during programme
key characteristics of activities
actions taken to transform inputs into outputs
means to achieve the outputs
timeframe: during the programme
How to formulate good results?
Results are about change. it’s important to use ‘change language’ (describes changes in the conditions and/or quality of life of people; criteria for success (focus on results)) rather than the customary ‘action language’ (providers’ perspective - and usually starts with by doing this or that (focused on completion))
What is SMART outcomes/outputs?
SPECIFIC - details exactly what need to be done
MEASURABLE - achievement or progress can be measured
ACHIEVABLE - objective is accepted by those responsible for achieving it
REALISTIC - objectives is possible to attain (important for motivation effect)
TIMED - time period for achievement is clearly stated
What are indicators?
Quantitative or qualitative variables that allow stakeholders to verify changes produced by a development intervention relative to what was planned
key characteristics of indicators
neutral and objectively verifiable
describe how the outputs/outcomes have to be measured
include quantity, quality and time
always adapt according to each goal and project
disaggregated by sex and other necessary social categories if possible
what is the baseline?
status of the indicator at the beginning of a programme or project that acts as a reference point against which progress or achievements can be assessed
what are key characteristics of baseline?
description (qualitative or quantitative) of the situation, prior to an intervention
brenchmark for assessing progress on outcomes or impacts
first data collected for an indicator
What are targets?
a target is what one hopes to achieve and it normally depends on programme period and duration of the interventions and activities
key characteristics of targets?
signals how much change and in what direction
the baseline and target should use same unit of measurement as the indicator
what are means of verification?
the sources of information are the persons, beneficiaries or organizations from whom information will be gathered to inform initial baselines and measure results
why time and cost are important for a project?
time: delays, waste of resources, impact on lives, gets more expensive, requires request extensions
budget: if spends more - no adequate estimation of resources, no control, corruption; if spends less - activities not accomplished, donors might reduce funds in the future
what is critical path?
the critical path is the sequence of activities with the longest duration. A delay in any of these activities will result in a delay for the whole project
what is result-based budgeting?
is a subset of RBM that focuses on aligning resources with results. It requires a system of budgeting that links budget allocations to a specific change in expected outputs and outcomes
what are the main characteristics result-based budgeting?
a shift in accountability from inputs and activities to outputs and outcomes
managers with the authority relocate budget for better performance
incentives to reward managers that meet or exceed expected targets
what are the key elements of project cost management?
- estimate costs: approximation of resources/inputs needed
- determine budget: aggregate and establish a cost baseline
- control cost: monitoring and update
what are types of costs?
- Direct costs - is a price that can be directly tied to the production of specific goods or services
- Indirect costs - represent the expenses of doing business that are not readily identified with a particular grant, contract, project function or activity, but are necessary for the general operation of the organization and the conduct of activities it performs.
- Fixed costs - is an expense that does not change when sales or production volumes increase or decrease.
- Variable costs - are any expenses that change based on how much a company produces and sells.
who are potential and typical stakeholders for the project?
- people with decision making authority related to the programme
- organizations that will implement similar or potentially conflicting interventions
- people who may experience negative consequences
- people who are expected benefit
- people who expected to change their behavior or to improve their performance (beneficiaries and TA)
what is partnership?
partnership are voluntary and collaborative relationship between various parties, both public and non-public, in which all participants agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task and, as mutually agreed, to share risks and responsibilities, resources and benefits
how to engage with different types of stakeholders and foster collations for change?
- Identify stakeholders
- Map-out their influence and dependency
- Assess their power relations, capacity and needs
What partnership map includes?
- Potential challenger (high power and low interest)
- Supporters (high power and interest)
- Potential allies (low power and high interest)
- Marginal player (low interest and low power)
What is risk?
an uncertain future event or condition which, if happens, it may affect the mission objective. it could have a positive and negative effect
what are the objectives of project risk management?
- to increase the likelihood and impact of positive events
- to decrease the likelihood and impact of negative events in the project
what are 3 potential risk response development?
- risk mitigation (reduce likelihood and reduce impact)
- risk avoidance (change your plan)
- risk transfer (pass the risk to another party)
Key steps of contingency plan
STEP 1 - risk identification (analyze the project to identify sources of risk)
STEP 2 - risk assessment (in terms of severity of impact, likelihood of occurring, controllability)
STEP 3 - risk response development (a strategy to reduce damages, contingency plans)
STEP 4 - risk response control (implement risk strategy, change management)
what is safeguards?
a measure taken to protect someone or something or to prevent an undesirable impact
what are the assumptions?
assumptions are the variables or factors that need to be in place for results to be achieved. Assumptions can be internal or external to the particular programme or organization
