Project DPro Guide

Jun242021 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

The Challenges of Managing Projects in International Development

Development Sector, Project DPro, Project DPro, Project DPro Guide, Project Management

This article has been originally published by Project Managers Against Poverty. Peter Marlow discusses the unique challenges of managing projects in the international development sector and how a recent training and certification scheme for project managers has made a big difference. The Problem International Development is big. For example, in 2018 the UK government spent £14bn of public money on foreign aid and is committed to a target of 0.7% of GDP being spent on aid. The European Union is the world’s largest humanitarian donor spending €123bn and this is just part of a bigger picture of public and private donations being spent trying to improve the lives of people living in the developing world. Continue reading

May262021 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Project DPro: A Practical Approach

Case Studies, PM4NGOs, Project DPro, Project DPro Guide, Project Management

Khumbulani Ndlovu describes how Project DPro has cohered the work of World Vision’s field-based project in Zimbabwe. The Project DPro course is very much respected. It’s highly practical and it offers a wide range of tools that help to ensure that projects are delivered on time, scope, and budget, in a way that also pays attention quality, benefits and risks. The course has achieved buy in from senior management at World Vision and hence it is taken with a lot of positivity by staff at all levels (from a development facilitator to a Director). It is well tailored for NGOs and the development industry and is very practical in approach so that you can apply the tools your day-to day work. Continue reading

Apr262021 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Creating a common project language

Case Studies, PM4NGOs, Project DPro, Project DPro, Project DPro Certification, Project DPro Guide

Claudia Ovalle of Guatamala’s Highland Women’s Association (AMA) explains how Project DPro has transformed their work. In 2007, we secured funding from a donor organization for a new project. But as we started work, we realized that we had not given enough thought to planning its initial stages. We needed to clarify our objectives and to write better proposals, so we decided to look at Project DPro. Three of us attended a Project DPro training course and two of us passed the Project DPro 1 certificate. We shared what we had learned with other AMA staff because we felt that it was important to communicate with each other using a common language about projects. Project DPro has been useful in helping us to identify different project phases and to understand…

Mar122021 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Project DPro Launch – Chinese Version

Development Sector, PM4NGOs, Project DPro, Project DPro, Project DPro Guide, Project Management

Written by Sany FoundationSince the reform and opening up, China's philanthropy sector has developed rapidly, and many experts with rich experience and insight have emerged. However, the lack of systematic knowledge is one of the main challenges China's philanthropy sector is facing now. In order to promote the professional development of China's practitioners, Sany foundation cooperates with PM4NGOs, hoping to translate the Project DPro 2.0 into Chinese version, and promote the application of the manual through training. On March 11, 2021, Sany foundation held the online launch meeting of Project DPro 2.0 Chinese version in China. A total of 272 people attended the launch meeting. The project staff of Sany foundation introduced the background and significance of cooperation with PM4NGOs. Mr. Edson Marinho, executive director of PM4NGOs, greets China's philanthropy partners…

Mar122021 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Project DPro Launch – Chinese Version

Development Sector, PM4NGOs, Project DPro, Project DPro, Project DPro Guide, Project Management

Written by Sany Foundation改革开放以来，中国的公益行业发展迅速，出现了许多拥有丰富经验和洞见的专家，但缺少系统化的知识是中国公益行业面临的主要挑战之一。为了推动中国的公益从业者更专业的发展，三一基金会与PM4NGOs合作，希望将发展项目管理指南（Project DPro 2.0）翻译为中文版本，并且通过培训来推进指南的应用。2021年3月11日，三一基金会在中国举行了Project DPro 2.0中文版线上发布会。发布会共有272人参加。三一基金会的项目人员介绍了与PM4NGOs的合作背景和意义。PM4NGOs的执行董事Edson Marinho先生通过录制的视频问候了中国的公益伙伴，并且介绍了机构和指南的历史。北京师范大学-香港浸会大学的助理教授梁镗烈带领团队翻译了手册，梁教授分享了手册对中国公益行业，以及社会工作专业发展的意义。有两家中国的组织——汉达社会工作服务中心和益修学院获得了Project DPro 2.0的培训资质，他们分别从公益有效性和人才发展的角度分享了自己的观察。中国基金会发展论坛的项目官员对发布会进行了评论。发布会还和许多参与者进行了交流问答。为了吸引使用者，汉达和益修分别提供了培训的优惠，以鼓励大家参与Project DPro 2.0的学习。目前，Project DPro 2.0考试的汉化正在进行中，不久后将会对中国用户开放。三一基金会在2021年的多项活动中将向公益从业者介绍Project DPro 2.0，汉达和益修也会继续推广指南在中国的应用。 Previous Next Download the guide

Sep142019 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Project DPro Guide now available at Amazon Books

Project DPro Guide

The Project DPro Guide has been downloaded over 38 thousand times in the past three years and it is available free of costs at PM4NGOs other websites across the Internet. As a PDF document, it is accessible at most computers and mobile operational systems.Attending suggestions from many learners and practitioners, the Project DPro Guide is now available in Kindle and paperback formats, at Amazon Books, worldwide. There is a cost to purchase these formats, which varies from country to country. Make sure you access the Amazon site of your country to get the right local price.We worked to make the Project DPro Guide cost at Amazon as much lower as possible, as we would like to make it affordable to our main audience: community-based organizations and project managers.At this moment, only the English version…

Apr172019 by Edson MarinhoNo Comments

Long live the Decision Gates

Program Management, Project DPro, Project DPro Guide, Project Management

During the project launch meeting, suddenly, the Project Manager raises from his chair and shouts: “long live decision gates!” Yes, decision gates must live long and walk through the entire project life. But what are decision gates? According to the PMD Pro Guide, decision gates consist of a series of points in the project that require a decision to either proceed with the next phase of the project, modify the Scope, Schedule or Budget of the project or end the project outright. Each successive decision gate builds on the work that was developed in the previous stage. Although more common at the Setup Phase, when a formal approval is required to mobilizing resources and beginning the iterative planning and implementation phases, decision gates are helpful and necessary to connect each…

Aug62018 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Using Iterative Planning Models to Manage Change

Project DPro Guide, Project Management

Does this scenario sound familiar? A three-year project has entered year two of its implementation phase. In general, the project is going OK. The logic of the project intervention is still valid, and the deliverables are still viable. There is, however, a significant problem with the project plan. The field reality of year two implementation has little in common with what was predicted when the project plans were developed 20 months earlier. It is increasingly clear that certain budget estimates were significantly underestimated, while other line items are no longer needed because of changes to the roles of implementing partners. While these challenges can be addressed through a combination of issues management and change requests, some projects have addressed it through a strategy of iterative project planning. In an iterative…

Jul252018 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

Using Iterative Planning Models to Manage Change

Project DPro Guide, Project Management

Jul92018 by PM4NGOsNo Comments

You Are Not Alone!

Project DPro, Project DPro Guide

While the challenges confronting development projects are extensive and complex, they are by no means exclusive to projects managed in the development sector. [caption id="attachment_6681" align="alignright" width="333"] Chaos Report Project Results[/caption] Take, for example, the information provided in this graph and its accompanying table. Each year the Standish Group conducts a survey entitled the Chaos Report, collecting responses from over 10,000 Information Technology (IT) projects. The report identifies the percentage of IT projects evaluated as “succeeded”, “challenged” or “failed.”¹ Year after year, the Chaos Report results indicate that the majority of IT projects surveyed by the Standish Group are assessed as “challenged” or “failed” and only a relatively small percentage are considered to have “succeeded.” In 2008, for example, the percentage of unqualified project successes was 32%; failures (defined as…