Project Planning Matrix: Design, Implementation, and Monitoring
Design and Formulation: The Project Planning Matrix (PPM) and Paper Submission
After completing the analysis and identification tasks in the workshop with participants, the design and formulation of the project are constrained by two factors: the Project Planning Matrix (PPM) and the project document. The PPM is a tool that allows us to get an overview of the project and the relational logic that exists between each of its dimensions. Like any methodological tool, its function is to facilitate project action. In this case, we see that all logical requirements are contained in a synthetic form in one document.
In practice, the PPM is the central element on which the design is based, and the expert can easily assess the project. In the PPM, one can find answers to questions like:
- Why? (Overall objective)
- For whom? (Beneficiaries)
- What? (Specific objective, target)
- How? (Activities and results)
- External factors (Hypotheses or assumptions)
- How to measure success indicators
- How are data going to be obtained, or where are such data sources found?
- How much will it cost? (Budget)
- Who will do it? (Team)
The way to interpret it:
- If the appropriate preconditions are given and we have the resources, we can begin project activities.
- After completing these activities, we must check whether objectives have been achieved based on the indicators we planned. Where data reach the precise levels and external conditions are right, we can proceed to a higher level of results.
- At the performance level, we make the same checks of indicators, through sources of verification envisaged and external conditions. If all are true, we will have achieved the specific objective of the project.
- Once the target is achieved, the same checks are performed at this level. If they are satisfied, we can say that the project will help the resolution of the general problem posed by the program.
Formulation and Documentation
The formulation does not end until it is reflected in the document presented to the applicant. The agreement on the requirements of the formal structure is often very high. We provide the level of detail and the requirements of previous analysis. Regarding the methodology, there is usually no specific section, since it shares the methodological approach, and the results and activities sections require the specification of indicators and sources of verification. In practice, this paper demands a greater degree of precision in the justification of each and every one of the decisions made in the design phase.
Project Implementation and Monitoring
Project implementation is the most critical phase of the process. It is the time for teamwork and coordination. During the execution, there may be changes in the social context that change the positions of the actors or prevent certain activities. The project design is tested, and not everything runs as planned. The practical experience of those responsible for intervention is one of the most important keys to project monitoring. Monitoring should be raised as a driving aid designed to improve the quality of implementation and not established as an element of control.
Driving the project involves an action that has two points of referral:
- The activities and results that are being contributed.
- We must take it to a third party, which would be the target or specific objective.
But social complexity provides many more points of reference, so this task should be viewed systemically, focusing on the analysis of communication and interaction between different dimensions of the project. We must take into account the degree of consensus among the parties, organization, relations, the contribution of different groups, and relationships with the environment.
Monitoring and Evaluation
When doing the monitoring, reflection on action must be permanent, and we must find out who of those involved may have a different conception of the goal and consider whether the recipients know the why and wherefore of the project.
Regarding the team, sharing tasks and basic decision-making is crucial, not forgetting that monitoring is also the study of the target group. The precise demarcation of the group and the differentiating factors that may cause misunderstanding are essential.
After completing the project, the evaluation is carried out.