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PROJECT MANAGEMENT:ASKING THE RIGHT

QUESTIONDesigned by Kapila Wewegama

Facilitated by Swati Karandikar

Agenda

Introductions: Name, organization & favorite Halloween costume

Overview of Financial Capabilities Why ask the right questions Establish session goals Key stages & components of Project

Process

Financial Capabilities

What does this field entail? Passage for homeownership Asset building education Behavioral Change objectives

What types of neighborhoods should have community development organizations?

How did you get first involved in community development?

What are your reasons for working within the field of financial capabilities?

Planning process & implications Stakeholders

Why ask the right questions?

Increase stakeholder ownership Promote responsibility and

accountability Support capacity building Encourage cross examination &

increase efficiency Promote the role of facilitative

leadership Key for gaining experience and turning

project management to process facilitation

Whom should you ask these questions?

Yourself Supervisors Beneficiaries Collaborators Colleagues – VISTA members Resource providers

What’s the point?

Session Goals

Identify and describe the key components of effective project process facilitation.

Identify and list key questions that facilitates effective designing of each of the key component.

Key Stages & Components of a Project Process

• Market Assessment & Analysis

Need Identification, Approa

ch Assessment & Selectio

n

• Goal Setting • Program

Design• Program

Implementation

Planning &

Implementatio

n

• Ongoing Program & Market Evaluations

• Reassessment of goals

Process Monitor

ing, Improvement

& Evaluati

on

Identify

Need Identification & Analysis Need DescriptionApproaches IdentificationApproaches assessment & promising approach selection

Plan & I

mplement

Creation of VisionMission DevelopmentSetting goals & objectivesDeveloping Project StrategyAction planning & implementation

Monitor

& I

mp

rove

Progress MonitoringProcess ImprovementProject EvaluationProject Improvement

Need Identification & Analysis What is the perceived need?

Who is asking this question? What is the scope of the need/problem?

Whose need is it? Who benefits from addressing the need? How important is the need?

What are the consequences of the problem /not addressing … need? How does it impact/affect different groups (org.,

community, collaborators, etc)? What are culture/social consequences? What are the environmental consequences?

…continued

What are the causes of the need/problem? What are the different groups perception of causes? What are the common trends/themes among the

different perspectives? What is the relationship among causes? – Causation

versus correlation What have the past/current efforts to

address this need? What aspects have and have not been successful and

how/why? What insights can we draw from past/current efforts?

Need Statement/description

Need identification, Approach, Assessment & Selection

What are the potential ways to address this need?

Is the proposed approach feasible & appropriate?

Potential approaches identification

Most promising Approach Selection

Remember to involve all the stakeholders What are their attitudes and reactions to the proposed project? Is there sufficient motivation from the group for engagement? Is there consent from the group’s leadership? Does the project confirm with their cultural & social norms? Does the group feel the project is addressing their real need?

Ask your stakeholders?

Does the proposed project compliment the organization’s mission and goals? Is my supervisor supportive of the project? What’s the level of support my supervisor/organization is willing to provide? Would any personnel change (supervisor, director, etc.) affect the commitment to the project?

Who are the other collaborators in this project? Do I have my organization’s consent/support to work with them? What are their roles and responsibilities? Are they willing to commit the resources and time for the project?

Includes Technical. Financial, and Human resources Are the required technical skills available in house? Can the associated costs be funded? Are there specific resources/materials needs for this project & can those be secured? Can we find the needed personnel?

Does this project promote capacity building?Who/what is the focus for capacity building (organizational, staff, target group)?Will the implementation of this project lead to sustainability? Have other VISTAs executed similar projects as mine? If so, what were their results?

Planning & Implementation

What the accomplished status will look like?

What is our intent? What future

possibilities will this project create for the beneficiaries?

What we/project do/does?

Who we are and our values?

Whom we/project serve?

Why the project is done (the purpose)?

Creating a Vision Creating a Mission

Creating project goals & objectives What are the overall change/results expected? Are the identified goals along the directions of the

vision? Do the identified goals compliment the mission? Are they realistic and achievable? While setting goals & creating objectives be

S.M.A.R.T. define each goals and set benchmarks [S] Do they SPECIFICALLY state what will be

achieved/focused? [M] Are they described in MEASURABLE outcomes? [A] Are they stated in ACTION verbs and are they

ATTAINABLE? [R] Are they RELEVANT and REALISTIC? [T] Is the expected TIME FRAME identified for these

outcomes?

Program Design/Developing Project Strategy

What is the strategy? Does it compliment the vision & mission? Is it in line with the project goals & objectives? Does it promote ownership, accountability, &

transparency? How so? Does it define & outline plans for activity

implementation, collaboration, and communication? Importance of team development

80% of conflicts in a team are attributed to unclear goals 16% to unclear roles 3% to unclear processes Rules have to be established, understood,shared & agreed upon

Action

Communication Plan

Ownership, Accountability

Plan

Collaboration Plan

& Transparency

Goals

Roles

Processes

Interpersonal Relationships

Team Development Model

Program Design Questions

Is everyone clear about the project goals?

Is everyone clear about their role, responsibilities & tasks?

Is everyone clear about the decision making process, and communication plan?

Have you established channels of trust, open communication and feedback?

What are the key steps each objective breaks down to?

Who will be responsible for each step?

What is the specific time line?

What resources are needed for each step?

What expertise needed to carry out each step?

Are their certain conditional factors for each step?

Team Development Questions

Action Plan

Program Design Questions

What are the key aspects that needed to be communicated (agendas, key activities, progress status, changes, etc.)?

Who is responsible for communicating different aspects/items?

Who are the key recipients of each communication?

What media (phone, email, etc.) will be used to communicate each aspect/item?

How would you ensure that each communication is received?

How would you communicate about the communication plan, communication responsibilities and expectations?

What are the different aspects/needs of the project that requires/promotes collaboration?

Who are the different collaborators/partners?

What is the nature of each collaboration/partnership?

Who are the point persons for different collaboration aspects?

Who would be coordinating each collaborative aspect?

Communication Plan Collaboration Plan

Revise the Key Stages & Components of a Project Process

• Market Assessment & Analysis

Need Identification, Approa

ch Assessment & Selectio

n

• Goal Setting • Program

Design• Program

Implementation

Planning &

Implementatio

n

• Ongoing Program & Market Evaluations

• Reassessment of goals

Process Monitor

ing, Improvement

& Evaluati

on

Identify

Need Identification & Analysis Need DescriptionApproaches IdentificationApproaches assessment & promising approach selection

Plan & I

mplement

Creation of VisionMission DevelopmentSetting goals & objectivesDeveloping Project StrategyAction planning & implementation

Monitor

& I

mp

rove

Progress MonitoringProcess ImprovementProject EvaluationProject Improvement

Process Monitoring, Improvement & Evaluation

Process Monitoring – under used tool Measuring output of your organization Need to include all the stakeholders Allows for short cycle lessons learned section

Difference between Process Monitoring and Process - Additional data are collected for process evaluation. Measuring Outcomes!!! Questions may include:

Was the implemented project consistent with its design? Did the project reach the population most in need? What barriers did clients experience in accessing the program?

Does the project meet the key expected outcome (goals, objectives, milestones)?

What are the monitoring indicators?

What was the cost of the program

What are the sources/methods?

What is the expected date?

Do we need to readjust the timeline?

Who is monitoring? What did we learn here? What are the surprises? What worked well & what

didn’t? What are the areas of

improvement?

Revise

Need identification, need description, approach assessment and selection

Planning & Implementation

Process Monitoring, Improvement & Evaluation

Goals Roles Processes Interpersonal

Relationships

Key Processes Key Components

Questions

Resources: VISTACampus.org > VISTAs > The Work >

VISTA Program Areas > Financial Literacy Classes recommended:

HO209el Financial Fitness