AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT PLANNING PRACTICES OF ADDIS ABABA HOUSING PROJECT

Abstract

Projects are very essential for the economic growth of a country because infrastructures and other developmental activities are executed through projects. Even if projects are this much important, the level of attention given to them in terms of the effective and efficient implementation is very little. There are so many factors that determine the success of projects. One of these factors is preparation of a sound project plan. Projects with a good project plan are the ones that most likely to be successful. Given the importance of project plan for the success of projects, there are limited evidences (especially in Ethiopia) about the practices of project planning such in the case of the Addis Ababa housing sector. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the project planning practices of Addis Ababa housing project in selected four sites. The study employed survey in its descriptive research design. The target population of the study was staffs of the organization in the selected four sites who are project team members and managers. For data collection stratified sampling is applied. A total of 133 questionnaireswere distributed and 123 are returned and used by the researcher. SPSS version 20 is applied for processing and analysis purpose. Based on the study conducted the planning practice of the study organization is poor when assessed basedon the survey. The result of the analysis shows that the general project planning practice of the study organization is weak but the level of staff awareness regarding the presence of the project plan is good. On the other hand the most widely used project planning toolsWere work break down structure, Gant chart and project management information system are applicable even if it is not in a satisfactory level. It is recommended that the study organization and other organizations to give due attention for project plan.