CE 401: PROJECT PLANNING AND

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

4.00 Credits, 4 hrs/week

Dr. M. A. Jalil: 1 hr/week

Syllabus:
- Project planning and evaluation
- Feasibility reports
- Cash flows
- Pay back period
- Internal rate of return
- Benefit-cost ratio
- Cost-benefit analysis case
studies
- Economy
References:
1. Construction Project Management – Theory and Practice
By K. N. Jha

2. Modern Construction Management

By Frank Harris & Ronald McCaffer with Francis Edum –
Fotwe

3. Construction Planning, Equipment and Materials

By R. L. Peurifoy & C. J. Schexnayder
 INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS A PROJECT?
A project is a series of tasks that are related one to the other in some
manner that need to be completed in order to create a specific product or
service. Projects can range from simple to complex and can be managed
by one person or a hundred.

Civil engineering projects are: buildings, bridges, roads, railways,

waterways, tunnels, dams, train stations, sea ports, airports, stadiums,
towers, transmission lines, water and sewerage networks, water and
wastewater treatment plants, sanitary landfills, shore protection works etc.

A project plan has five key characteristics that are to be managed:

• Scope: defines what will be covered in a project.
• Resource: what can be used to meet the scope.
• Time: what tasks are to be undertaken and when.
• Quality: the spread or deviation allowed from a desired standard.
• Risk: defines in advance what may happen to drive the plan off course,
and what will be done to recover the situation.
 Fig. Key Characteristics of a Project Plan

Balanced Plans

The sad thing about plans is we cannot have everything immediately. Many people
plan using planning software packages, without realizing the tradeoffs that must be
made. They assume that if they write a plan down, reality will follow their wishes.
Nothing is further from the truth. The point of a plan is to balance:
The scope, and quality constraints against,
The time and resource constraints,
While minimizing the risks.
 Bad Plan Example

As an example this diagram shows what can happen. The scope is so large
that there is no way the time, resource, and quality constraints can result in
the project delivering, which means there are enormous risks.

To salvage this plan, requires reducing the scope, increasing the time, or
resource, or lowering the quality standard. Any of which will reduce the risk of
failure. The key lesson is that plans have to be balanced within the project
constraints if they are to deliver.
Definition - What does Project Planning mean?
Project planning is a procedural step in project management, where
required documentation is created to ensure successful project completion.
Documentation includes all actions required to define, prepare, integrate and
coordinate additional plans. Project planning clearly defines how the project
is executed, monitored, controlled and closed.

Project planning requires an in-depth analysis and structuring of the

following activities:
∙ Setting project goals
∙ Identifying project deliverables
∙ Creating project schedules
∙ Creating supporting plans
The project planning stage requires several inputs, including conceptual
proposals, project schedules, resource requirements/limitations and success
metrics. Project planning begins by setting the scope of a project and
eventually working through each level of dependent actions, tasks,
checkpoints and deadlines.
All of this information is integrated into Gantt charts, or other types of
scheduling charts, to provide a project overview for all involved parties.
The basic processes of project planning are:
∙ Scope planning – specifying the in-scope requirements for the project
to facilitate creating the work breakdown structure
∙ Preparation of the work breakdown structure – spelling out the breakdown
of the project into tasks and sub-tasks
∙ Project schedule development – listing the entire schedule of the activities
and detailing their sequence of implementation
∙ Resource planning – indicating who will do what work, at which time, and if
any special skills are needed to accomplish the project tasks
∙ Budget planning – specifying the budgeted cost to be incurred at the
completion of the project
∙ Procurement planning – focusing on vendors outside your company and
subcontracting
∙ Risk management – planning for possible risks and considering optional
contingency plans and mitigation strategies
∙ Quality planning – assessing quality criteria to be used for the project
∙ Communication planning – designing the communication strategy with all
project stakeholders
The planning phase refines the project’s objectives, which were gathered
during the initiation phase. It includes planning the steps necessary to meet
those objectives by further identifying the specific activities and resources
required to complete the project. Now that these objectives have been
recognized, they must be clearly articulated, detailing an in-depth scrutiny of
each recognized objective. With such scrutiny, our understanding of the
objective may change. Often the very act of trying to describe something
precisely gives us a better understanding of what we are looking at. This
articulation serves as the basis for the development of requirements. What this
means is that after an objective has been clearly articulated, we can describe it
in concrete (measurable) terms and identify what we have to do to achieve it.
Obviously, if we do a poor job of articulating the objective, our requirements
will be misdirected and the resulting project will not represent the true need.

Users will often begin describing their objectives in qualitative language. The
project manager must work with the user to provide quantifiable definitions
to those qualitative terms. These quantifiable criteria include schedule, cost,
and quality measures. In the case of project objectives, these elements are used
as measurements to determine project satisfaction and successful completion.
Subjective evaluations are replaced by actual numeric attributes.
When articulating the project objectives you should follow the SMART
rule:
∙ Specific – get into the details. Objectives should be specific and written
in clear, concise, and understandable terms.
∙ Measurable – use quantitative language. You need to know when you
have successfully completed the task.
∙ Acceptable – agreed with the stakeholders.
∙ Realistic – in terms of achievement. Objectives that are impossible to
accomplish are not realistic and not attainable. Objectives must be
centered in reality.
∙ Time based – deadlines not durations. Objectives should have a time
frame with an end date assigned to them.
If you follow these principles, you’ll be certain that your objectives meet
the quantifiable criteria needed to measure success.
What is an Evaluation Plan?
An evaluation plan is part of the planning for a project – the part that is
related to deciding how the project will be monitored and assessed to
determine the project’s success and effectiveness. An effective evaluation plan
should show how the project will be monitored and how its objectives will be
met.

To effectively complete or implement most projects, an evaluation plan is

needed. There are two basic types of evaluation plans:
1. Formative
2. Summative

Formative Evaluation Plan

A formative evaluation plan is completed before or during the project. A

formative evaluation has the following characteristics:
∙ Evaluates upcoming or continuing activities of a project
∙ Covers activities from development to implementation stages
∙ Contains reviews from principal investigators, evaluators, and governing
committees
Summative Evaluation Plan

A summative evaluation plan “sums” up the project. As such, it is written

at a project’s completion. A summative plan is characterized by having the
following features:

∙ Evaluates whether the goals that were achieved are the goals that were
set. If not, the evaluation should state the extent of the variation and the
reasons for it.
∙ Contains the details of the outcomes and information obtained during the
project.
∙ Reports the outcome of the project to the principal investigator of the
project, evaluators, and any governing committee.
There are some common content elements that should be included in an evaluation
plan regardless of whether it is classified as formative or summative. They are as
follows:
∙ The project to be evaluated
∙ Purpose of evaluation
∙ Key evaluation questions
∙ Notation of methods used, including methods for collecting and analyzing all the
necessary data
∙ The reports and reviews of the stakeholders and investors directly involved in the
project
∙ Resources needed to fund and facilitate the project
∙ Expected findings and outcomes of the project, as well as the expected time of the
final report
How to Write an Evaluation Plan

Before writing an evaluation plan for your business, it is advisable to consult

prior plans to see if certain formats are preferred. In general, however, the
plans should include methods such as interviews, administration of
questionnaires, and consultation that will be carried out during the project.
Other items include:

1. Clear title – The recommended way of writing the title is that you should
write it on a page of its own. The title page should contain a recognizable
name of the project, dates of the project, and the general focus of the
evaluation plan.
2. Uses and users of the evaluation plan – It is essential to describe the use of
the evaluation plan clearly. For transparency and accountability, under this
section, you should clearly show the users of the plan. Again, you should
describe the involvement of stakeholders and the financiers of the project in
this same section.
3. Project description – Under this section, the developer of the evaluation
plan should critically assess and describe what the entire project is all about.
Here, it is essential to state what the project focuses on achieving, and the
process for evaluating how successfully the project met its goals.
4. Methodology – In this section, an evaluation plan should clearly state the
methods that will be used to collect data, expected data sources, and the
roles and responsibilities of each participant in the project. This is the
section that should also describe which methods will be used to ensure
that the project is completed successfully.
5. Analysis – This section contains a thorough analysis of the project. It will
show findings and reasons for any unexpected outcomes. It may also
contain data analyses done before the projection’s completion and how it
affected the project’s continuation.
6. Sharing plan – In most cases, the sharing plan section is often overlooked,
despite the fact that it can play a major role. Toward the end of the plan,
there should be a proper way of sharing evaluation findings. This section
should also state how the findings and outcomes of the project will reach
(be reported to) the involved stakeholders.
The Importance of an Evaluation Plan

1. An evaluation plan is a valuable asset that can help ensure that a project runs smoothly.
A well-documented plan states the roles of all participants in the project and the
sources of all resources. This implies that there should be minimal delays. as everything
should have been communicated ahead of time. Furthermore, if the plan clearly states
the dates on which specific activities should take place, then the involved participants
will be encouraged to be right on schedule.
2. A good evaluation plan should cater to the smooth running of the project from its initial
stages to its completion.
3. An effective evaluation plan will also ensure better results in upcoming projects of the
same nature.
4. A well-documented evaluation plan enhances transparency and accountability. Involved
participants, contractors, and stakeholders share the plan among themselves. The
methodology section clearly outlines and describes how they obtained each finding and
outcome.
5. The practice of using evaluation plans should improve the success and effectiveness of
projects undertaken by an organization. If the plans are well documented and filed, the
organization can learn from previous projects and be able to better gauge the success of
certain projects and project practices. The plans can also come in handy in helping the
foundation or organization make critical decisions. This is because the information in
the plan is not just gathered randomly – it is obtained after thorough research and
evaluation of the project.
Takeaways

∙ A written evaluation plan is good for future references and for

greater transparency and accountability.
∙ It is recommended that the data recorded in the plan be
quantitative. However, the incorporation of both qualitative and
quantitative data is important.
∙ Information in the evaluation plan describing the input, output, and
activities of the project or program is vital. A table often makes it
easier to obtain information at a glance.
∙ Be brief and straightforward in descriptions.
∙ It is advisable to keep the evaluation plan simple and concise.
Information should be obtained from the plan with ease.