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Project Implementation
Project application should contain objectives and description of activities for achieving them. However, project implementation rarely goes exactly as planned. This page covers some of the key aspects of project management during the implementation stage.
Project management tasks, during implementation, relate to continuous tracking, monitoring and reporting of project progress with regard to activities and resources.
Tracking of the project implementation should give answers to several questions:
- Is the project being delivered according to the schedule?
- Was the original budget allocation correct?
- Have the deliverables been produced as expected (quality and quantity)?
- If not, why and what are the implications?
- Were issues identified and resolved on time?
- What further changes or adjustments need to be made?
A large part of the project manager's role involves monitoring possible and likely changes and ensuring they do not threaten the achievement of the final objectives. Once the project has started, the objectives should be regarded as unchangeable – if you alter what you plan to achieve you are actually starting a new project and all the activity planning you have completed so far will be worthless. The steps to achieving objectives are a different question. Generally speaking, the more detailed the information required in the application, the higher the likelihood that projects will have to ask for permission for even quite small changes, because the approved application is a main part of the contract with the programme. Situations change, new information becomes available, project activities may lead to better ways of doing things; all this naturally leads to activity changes.
Key skills of every project manager are therefore flexibility and being able to adapt to rapid changes without losing sight of objectives.
How to start tracking the project's implementation?
- Fix the project baseline as a reference for comparison
- Define what information you need from partners and when (at least in line with programme reporting periods, but key information about progress should be updated more often) and in what format (provide template)
- Define margins and a scope for change, that can be tolerated, to achieve objectives using the resources given
- Document and communicate changes to partners
- Decide on a general approach on how to deal with different degrees of deviation from the plan (slight deviation within the scope, medium deviation at the limits of the scope, deviation outside the scope).
More information, tricks and tips on the process and steps of project implementation of Terriotiral cooperation projects can be found in INTERACT's Territorial Cooperation Project Management Handbook which can be downloaded from INTERACT Publications section.
For more information about different aspects of project management in ETC programmes please visit other sections of the website.
