What drives and prevents project management success on our own continent?

Results of the first comprehensive study of project success versus project management maturity in South Africa and Africa will promote insight and understanding of the factors contributing to success and failure.

Since project management emerged as a discipline, researchers and practitioners have attempted to prove its value.

As a result, numerous studies have been conducted that uncover the direct and indirect benefit of consistent practice according to a standard or methodology, and document the success rates of organisations according to the maturity of their project environments.

Definitions of project management maturity vary but, in essence, it refers to the development phases that an organisation goes through while building project management competency.

Different models exist to define maturity for a particular environment and against which an organisation can measure its maturity. Most models refer to five maturity levels, where each level identifies process areas that are intrinsic to the management of projects.

It is generally accepted that there is a link between project management maturity and success.

However, in South Africa – and Africa – we have had little data with which to draw any conclusions regarding this link, or make comparisons across different industry sectors. Until now, that is.

With the conclusion of the “Prosperus Report 2010” earlier this year, we now have definitive data with which to form an understanding of what drives and prevents project management success on our own continent.

But why is this important?

Africa is considered a developing continent. The World Bank lent Africa a total of $11.4 billion ($3.7bn for South Africa) in 2010 for various development initiatives.

In 2010, Africa had a portfolio of projects worth $35.3bn and consists of 502 projects (World Bank, 2010).

All these would require projects and project management in order to achieve the expected growth and benefits associated with these loans. As more financial resources are consumed by projects, our ability to manage these effectively becomes paramount.

According to the researchers, the aim of the Prosperus Report is to examine the project management capability across industries in order to better understand our own ability to deal with a rising demand for projects. The ability to deliver projects successfully is vital for the growth needed; and an inability to do so would damage the future of Africa and in particular South Africa.

The Prosperus Report gathered data from more than 1 000 respondents in South Africa and in excess of 30 other African countries. The questionnaire used in the study consisted of three sections, focusing on the locations where respondents managed projects as well as the industries in which they were practising project management; the maturity of the processes contained in the nine knowledge areas of the PMBOK© (Project Management Book of Knowledge) Guide; and the outcomes of the projects in which respondents were involved. A final section focused on demographic information.

The findings are being compiled into a comprehensive research report in the form of a book, which will be released by Project Management South Africa and the research team (comprising Unisa, University of Johannesburg, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Stellenbosch Executive Development and University of Pretoria) later this year.

In the interim, the team has made some of its early findings available to alert us to the value of the study due to what it says about our project managers and the organisational practice of project management.

More than three-quarters of the respondents represented the following three industries, traditionally associated with project management: information and communication technology (ICT), engineering and construction.

Findings showed that project management is practiced in an increasing number of industries, as the following were represented: finance and banking, services, mining, manufacturing, telecommunications, utilities, petrochemical and transport.

A small number of responses were received from project people in health, the government, events management, defence, aeronautical, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), agriculture, advertising and biotechnology.

Project people

The gender distribution of respondents points to an increase in the number of females carrying the title of project manager than what salary surveys and other studies as well as membership data of a professional association such as PMSA point to.

This may be because ICT enjoys a higher representation than the traditionally male-dominated environments of engineering and construction, not to mention the inclusion of industries perceived as being more representative, such as FMCG, events management and advertising.

The naming convention for the title of respondents was inconsistent across industries, but more than half referred to themselves as either project managers, senior project managers, project leaders or assistant project managers. With almost a third holding titles more closely related to their functional areas, the debate around whether project management is seen as a profession is still a valid one.

The age distribution of respondents identifies some potential challenges for the future. The “younger than 20” and “20 to 29” categories account for a little over 20% of the respondents. This may be because the skills shortage has meant organisations are willing to appoint project managers with limited experience.

A concern is that more than 20% of the respondents are maturing and are 40 years and older.

The researchers advise that organisations will have to put long-term plans in place to cater for the loss of expertise as this group approaches retirement age.

Other interesting data derived from this section of the questionnaire included evidence that certifications such as PMP®, Prince2™ and those conferred by the International Project Management Association are popular, and individuals may hold a combination of these and/or more formal tertiary qualifications.

In terms of workload, it emerged that respondents typically manage between two and six projects over a two-year period.

What of success rates and maturity?

The complete analysis of perceived and actual maturity across the nine knowledge areas and five process areas as well as the vast range of tasks and functions inherent in each will be presented in the comprehensive and detailed Prosperus Report, but the following information paints a broad picture of the findings:

• More than half of the projects were considered successful. User satisfaction, quadruple constraints (time, cost, scope and quality) and meeting project requirements are considered the most important success criteria.
• Project procurement management is the knowledge area with the highest level of maturity.
• Project Risk Management and HR Management have the lowest level and are the only knowledge areas to score lower than level three.
• Project communications management, project integration management, project scope management and project time management play a more significant role in project success than project HR management, project cost management and project quality management.
• Project risk management and project procurement management do not contribute to project success.
• Larger projects are more likely to be either successful or challenged compared to smaller projects.
• ‘Closing’ is the most mature of the five process groups (initiating, planning, executing, controlling and monitoring and closing).
• There is no single factor that contributes to project success, but successes and failures are as a result of factors within the nine knowledge areas and five process areas.

The data, analysis and conclusions to be presented in the Prosperus Report will make for detailed and essential reading for project managers, programme and portfolio managers and project stakeholders in South Africa and Africa. The launch of the final report will be announced in this publication and through the institutions involved. 

Taryn van Olden