Planning, controlling, and evaluating projects

TWO (PROGRAM PLANNING METHOD AND IDEALS STRATEGY) ARE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACHES TO PROJECT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. PROGRAM PLANNING METHOD PROVIDES WAYS TO IDENTIFY AND DEFINE PROBLEMS, SPECIFY PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS, AND SELECT AND DETAIL PROGRAMS. THE IDEAL DESIGN OF EFFECTIVE AND LOGICAL SYSTEMS (IDEALS) STRATEGY PROVIDES APPROACHES FOR DESIGNING SYSTEMS AND PLANNING FOR THEIR IMPLEMENTATION, FOR STUDYING PROBLEMS, AND FOR GENERATING ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO A PROBLEM. A FORMAL SYSTEM FOR PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT (PLANNING, PROGRAMMING, AND BUDGETING) IS ALSO DESCRIBED; PPB MAY BE USED TO PLAN A PROGRAM WITH EMPHASIS ON ITS GOALS, TO PREPARE A BUDGET THAT LISTS EXPENDITURES AND EVALUATES OUTPUTS ACCORDING TO GOALS, AND TO CHOOSE FROM AMONG SEVERAL PROJECTS WHICH MEET PROGRAM GOALS WHEN RESOURCES ARE LIMITED. TWO TECHNIQUES (CRITICAL PATH METHOD AND GNATT CHARTS) ARE DESCRIBED WHICH AID THE PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX PROJECTS. THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD DIAGRAMS THE SEQUENCE OF NECESSARY ACTIONS FOR A PROJECT AND DESCRIBES THE NECESSARY ACTIONS NEEDED TO COMPLETE A PROJECT. THE TIME REQUIRED FOR EACH ACTIVITY IS ESTIMATED, AND THE TOTAL TIME FOR COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT AND CRITICAL ACTIVITIES IN THE PROCESS CAN BE ESTIMATED. GNATT CHARTS SCHEDULE PROJECTS ACCORDING TO AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND ALLOW PROJECT MANAGERS TO SCHEDULE RESOURCES AND STAFF ASSIGNMENTS AGAINST THE PLANNED PROJECT SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES. THE FINAL TECHNIQUE (LOGICAL FRAMEWORK) IS A TEST APPROACH TO PLANNING, DOCUMENTING, AND EVALUATING PROJECTS. LOGICAL FRAMEWORK HAS BEEN WIDELY USED BY USAID MISSIONS TO AID IN PLANNING A PROJECT, TO PROVIDE MEASURES TO EVALUATE A PROJECT, AND TO STATE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT CAUSAL LINKAGES.