System Monitoring, Essay Example

Abstract

Effective system monitoring is highly recognized as a requisite tool in project as well as portfolio management. It is utilized in the monitoring and evaluation phases to provide a foundation for accountability in the utilization of project resources. The need for transparency in projects is the major factor that makes system monitoring such an important component in the project implementation process. When utilized appropriately, in the project cycle, system monitoring helps to reinforce project design as well as implementation and motivate increased partnership with the various project stakeholders.

Introduction

This paper posits to provide the designing process of a project monitoring system in the context of WWF. System monitoring is an important component in the implementation of every project as well as in good management practices. The need for effective system monitoring is highly recognized as a requisite tool in project as well as portfolio management. It is utilized in the monitoring and evaluation phases to provide a foundation for accountability in the utilization of project resources. The need for transparency in projects is the major factor that makes system monitoring such an important component in the project implementation process. When utilized appropriately, in the project cycle, system monitoring helps to reinforce project design as well as implementation and motivate increased partnership with the various project stakeholders (WWF, 2007).

Monitoring & evaluation entails continuous gathering of data and analyzing the same data in order to establish as to whether the project is making any progress towards the pre-determined goals and objectives. This process is also used to highlight any unplanned (negative or positive) effects from the project and its activities. System monitoring is in other words, an appraisal of project progress in relation to the projected outputs, work plan as well as the schedule for staffing, disbursements and equipment. Monitoring entail continuous gathering of data on specific indicators which assist in the decision making process. It helps determine whether an intervention (program, project, or policy) is being executed in line with the stipulated design in relation to its activity schedules as well as the project budget. Evaluation on the other hand refers to the systematic and periodic gathering of data to appraise the design, execution and impact in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, distribution as well as sustainability of impacts and outcomes (WWF, 2007).

Project Monitoring Systems

In the establishment and maintenance of a project monitoring system, factors such as the project’s magnitude and complexity as well as the project duration, must be considered.

The Merits and Functions of a Monitoring System

An appropriate monitoring system provides diverse merits to the project management. These merits include: identification of targets and objectives for project implementation; maintaining retrievable records relating to project implementation that may be utilized at a stage for evaluation; identification of problems experienced in the project, and; provision of easily accessible analyses for the process of decision making. The Project as well as its various stakeholder missions should benefit from an appropriate arrangement of brief issue-oriented, comprehensive, timely, and accurate progress reports (Anantatmula, 2008). These reports lessen the time required for data collection, thus facilitating maximum focus on technical assistance and problem-solving.

Designing a Monitoring System

Approaches

There are two approaches in designing a monitoring system. These approaches include: The blueprint approach whereby, comprehensive specifications are presented on the tasks to be done and by who will do the tasks and; the process approach whereby, only the major objectives of monitoring are given, leaving the comprehensive design to be carried out by the project managers in the course of project commencement. The major merit of the process approach is that project management would likely be in support of an information system if involved in the design. The demerit of this approach is mainly that there may be little progress in case the managers are inexperienced in the use of this system. The blueprint approach would be preferable in the event of such a case of inexperienced managers (Besner & Hobbs 2008).

Design

In the designing the monitoring system, an appropriate information system will to be required. The information system will be used for monitoring project progress and will require identifying the primary users, quantifying of project goals, and selecting minimum core of qualitative and quantitative indicators for the purposes of monitoring progress in meeting the project’s objectives. There is no default inventory of indicators since indicators are usually project-specific and must be determined in consultation with the project managers. With this in mind, the frequency as well as the timing of data compilation, analysis, and dissemination is determined by the personnel those accountable for executing the monitoring process. All the sources whereby pertinent data may be acquired without extra surveys are appraised. This includes project personnel reports as well as sources external to the project (Besner & Hobbs 2008).

Any gaps in the information system would be supplemented by explicit data collection. Yearly monitoring work plans are used to specify the information that is supposed to be collected; when it should be composed, who will gather it, plus how the data will be analyzed; as well as to whom the processed data will be reported. The work plans ought to be simple to understand and remain sufficiently supple to permit supplementary diagnostic studies to be executed on short notice. The diagnostic studies may entail assessments carried out by project beneficiaries as they deem necessary. The diagnostic studies should be supplementary to the studies already projected at regular intervals (Besner & Hobbs 2008).

Steps in the Design of a Monitoring System

There are five fundamental steps in designing of an evaluation and monitoring system:

1. Ensure that the project design is clearly understandable. A good monitoring system is dependant on precisely established objectives.
2. Determine the data requirements at the different levels of the structure of project implementation.
3. Ensure that all members in the project team have an accurate system for the purposes of record keeping.
4. Designing a format for a monitoring report to be used by team members in providing the project manager with access to pertinent, timely data that will facilitate appropriate analysis.
5. Preparing a project evaluation monitoring plan according to the elements stipulated below.

The evaluation and monitoring plan can be refined as deemed necessary throughout the project implementation process.

Elements of a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

• Questions that require response.
• Temporal and spatial scales of the monitoring activities.
• Include definitions of indicators as well as their performance criteria.
• Sources of data.
• Techniques of data collection. Include the necessary units of measurement, classification of data, sampling methods, and instruments.
• Frequency, schedule as well as responsibilities for monitoring, collection of data evaluation
• Plan for the analysis of data.
• Presentation the format.
• Plan for communicating as well as utilizing monitoring data, including audience(s).
• Personnel and proficiency required.
• Training requirements.
• Flow of information to support management decisions.
• Decision points at which requisite action should be taken to deal with any negative developments.
• Resources and data that could be required past the project’s lifetime.

In order to implement the evaluation and monitoring plan it is essential to build capacity and incentives to collect, utilize as well as maintain data for evaluation and monitoring (Anantatmula, 2008).

Use of a Matrix in Monitoring Reporting

The monitoring matrix is among the most vital instruments in monitoring reporting (Figure 1). There is no default format for the matrix. The format varies in different projects and programmes according to its diverse needs. A monitoring matrix illustrates the difficulties and achievements of a project in regard to its objectives. A suggested format for the monitoring matrix is shown below in Figure 1. The project’s log frame in the first three columns indicates the project targets, indicators, basis of verification, and the assumptions. The status of every indicator and every assumption is thereby reported on a half-year or yearly basis. Generally the monitoring matrix focuses on the advanced project targets and goals, though outputs may as well be incorporated and reported if deemed necessary. The monitoring matrix is as well utilized in recording any problems that would be encountered, and remedial actions executed. Consequently any changes in the project strategy responding to shifting conditions may be recorded in the matrix. This version of the monitoring matrix is particularly valuable in the promotion of adaptive management (WWF, 2007).

Figure 1 Suggested format for the project monitoring matrix:

Experience has demonstrated that it is essential to keep track the status of any assumptions and the targets, as insufficient attention to vital fundamental assumptions in planning a project or even in monitoring is a typical foundation of failure in a project (Crawford, 2006).

Benefits of Monitoring

• Monitoring depicts the status of a specific task in relation to attaining the project’s stipulated goals.
• Most of the data generated from the monitoring activities can be as well utilized effectively in the organization’s communications as well as fundraising initiatives.
• The monitoring process provides early warning systems, giving critical and timely data, to facilitate the project in adapting to changing conditions.
• The learnt lessons could valuable to similar projects within or external to the organization.
• Monitoring is a valuable technique of testing project hypotheses or appraising the efficiency of pilot activities.
• Regular monitoring presents the data required for successful evaluations.
• Participatory monitoring greatly enhances the sense of ownership of the project in project’s stakeholders.

A monitoring matrix utilized by the WWF Mongolia programme depicting one objective: Wetland.

WWF Mongolia Programme: Conservation Results for Fy99 in Relation to the Strategic Report (WWF, 2007).

Upon precise description of the fundamental parameters for the project, the subsequent step is to design the precise interventions that will be undertaken to achieve conservation. Specifically, this step entails stipulating the action plan that will be used to set the project’s objectives, goals, as well as activities. It also entails developing a monitoring plan that will be used to keep track of the progress in the project and drafting the operational plan that provides an outline of how the project will develop the human, financial, human, as well as other resources required in the long-term. Finally, it entails compiling all the work to date in the strategic plan (Anantatmula, 2008).

There are several project monitoring techniques available in all projects. These techniques would include: Reports, audits, and project review meetings. The status reports are normally compiled by all project team members in order that problems arising in the project as well as the progress made in the various activities may be established easily. It is important to utilize a standardized format at regular and programmed intervals in the project implementation process. Project audits are normally done by professionals external to the project. The purpose is to provide a review of expenditure, progress made as well as the current plans. Project review conferences should be periodic meetings attended by the key project team members. The frequency of these meetings will largely depend on the magnitude of the project as well as the nature of the problems encountered in the course of the project implementation process (Crawford, 2006).

Conclusion

It has been demonstrated evidently in this paper that monitoring activities may be executed for a broad range of motives. This may include as is the case in the paper to appraise the environmental consequences brought about by human activities. It can as well be executed for the purposes of predicting or provision of early warnings of problems, in order that mitigation measures may be put in place prior to irreversible damage takes place. This paper has also demonstrated that monitoring systems facilitate in verification of the effectiveness of regulation as well as legislation in project activities. This paper has also demonstrated, as is in the case of the monitoring matrix utilized by the WWF Mongolia programme, to understand the behavior and functions of ecosystem for scientific purposes. However, as technology advances, and the human expectations continue evolving, there will always be new approaches to system monitoring. This calls for more research in the field of project management and in particular system monitoring.

References

Anantatmula, V. S (2008). Technology Role in Model Project Manager Performance.  Project Management Journal, 39 (1), 34-48.

Besner, C., & Hobbs, B., (2008). Project Management Practice, Generic / Contextual: A Reality Check. Journal for Project Management, 39 (1), 16-33.

Crawford, L. (2006). Developing Organizational Project Management Capability: Theory and Practice.  Project Management Journal, 37 (3), 74-86.

WWF. , (2007).WWF Standards for Conservation Project & Programme Management retrieved June 21, 2011 from www.panda.org/standards