Dr. Stephen Hammond’s research investigates the relationship between project management practices and project success for Metropolitans, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana. It also explored the causes of delay or failure of projects undertaken by the MMDAs. Finally, the study assessed the differences between the critical success factors for donor funded projects or locally funded projects in the MMDAs. One of the findings is the absence of organizational Project Management Offices (PMOs) in Ghana and designated Project Management Professionals (PMPs) in all the MMDAs who partook in this study.
Only two persons out of the 245 participants were certified PMPs, which are favored in the U.S., or the Projects in Controlled Environments 2 (Prince2), which are favored in the UK. Thus, even though 243 out of 245 participants play major roles in project management across the MMDAs, they do not have basic project management certifications and or credentials. The study revealed that management and administrative practices were the most significant among the factors influencing project delay or failure in the various MMDAs. A significant finding was that the MMDA project managers did not have a minimum level of project management training, hence did not understand project management practices and methodologies.
This study is limited by the experience of respondents who rarely engage in projects in the various MMDAs. Their varied backgrounds and portfolios may have affected their responses since it may not be based on the experience of executing projects but rather on observation and indirect involvement as officers in the various MMDAs. This study makes recommendations to the MMDAs in collaborations with the government of Ghana to adopt the PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE MMDAs OF GHANA 3 project concept and establish a PMO in the various MMDAs. MMDAS should train respective officers in project management to increase project success by establishing a PMO to handle the projects at the various MMDAs.
Dr. Stephen K. A. Hammond