Framework for the development of programme management. monitoring and evaluation information system

FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT, MONITORING AND

EVALUATION INFORMATION SYSTEM

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (ECA)

PREPARED BY

JOUSEPB ABOUL-FAKI Systems Development Consultant

ECA

1. Background:

1.1. Overview:

The Economic Commission for Africa, The Programme Planning, Finance and Evaluation Division (PPFE) requires a computer based information system which could enable the division to effectively Manage, Monitor, and Evaluate the implementation ofWork Programmes and Projects to support effective planning of the Commission wide activities. To that end, a conceptual view of the desired computer based information sysfem is hereby presented for clear understanding of the envisaged system by the user division and further consideration for a development phase thereof.

1.2. The PPFE and its responsibilities.

The Programme Planning, Finance and Evaluation (PPFE) Division of the UN- ECA under the new structure ofthe commission is entrusted with responsibility of Coordinating the Proposed Intra-Drvisional Work Programme Plans, then- redistribution to the respective implementing divisions after approval by the concerned bbdy as well as the monitoring and Evaluation of the implementation of the approved programmes components.

In order to carryout these crucial responsibilities, the PPFE is organized into sections and units that have the following tasks and responsibilities:

1.2H-. The^Programmes Planning Section -which coordinates the development of programme plans^and oversees their effective

— implementation after ^approval , facilitates the proper

— - implementation of each and every component of the approved _ - work-programme components, Evaluates to ensure their confonnance to-stated objectives and overall commission-wide

— obligations.

1.2.2. The Finance Section:-which controls the effective

— disbursement of approved budgetary figures to each and every component of the programmes, monitors the utilization of the approved budget and compiles financial statements that depict

— the actual expenditures during the life time of an approved

~ programme.

1.2.3. The Resource Mobilization Section: which manages external assistance offered to the Commission.

2. Problem Definition:-

2.1. Description of Current Operations (Work-Flow):

• The Work Programmes developed by the substantive divisions are submitted to the PPFE,

• The Work Programme Plans from the substantive divisions are discussed and enhanced with the Program Managers or divisional Project Management Officers and determine what the programme plan is trying to achieve and for concurrence to the stated objectives of the ECA work Programme for the period under consideration. In particular, the financial, manpower and material resources the programme component requires hi order to deliver the designed/planned outputs are closely examined, quantified and documented.

• All work programmes that have undergone the treatment described in the above steps are compiled and passed for consideration and approval,

• Approved Work programme components and budget are received by the PPFE and distributed to the divisions for implementation,

This is where the implementation stage begins

• The divisions prepare a time table or schedule of delivery of the planned components module by module. The modules are break-downs ofthe work programme components into manageable projects, activities and tasks

• Each component comprising a module is assigned to a single or a team of subject experts who are expected to deliver their output within the tune limits stated in the schedules submitted to the PPFE.

During the execution of the tasks that make up the activities of components of the Work programme, some essential costs are incurred. These include:

• The Salaries of the regular staff members assigned to the carry out the activities related to the execution of each of the designed component of the work programme

• Costs for Experts, if the work is to be undertaken by a single or group of

experts.

• consultancy fees if consultancy services are required in the project

• Travel costs if the programme component requires field missions

• DSAs for each staff involved in carrying out the tasks in a given Programme component and who participates in the mission,

• Equipment costs for equipment that may be required by the Programme Component..etc.

Furthermore, the baove expenditures are vital factors to precisely figure-out exactly how much the Commission spends in a single programme componenet or to a cluster of programme components so as to quantify and realize the ROI.

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The responsibilities for follow up of not only the delivery of the outputsof the programme components according to the schedules but also the assertainment of whether the expenditures categorized above have indeed been utilized to their stated purposes, rests squarely on the shoulders of the PPFE. These follow-ups express the Monitoring side ofthe responsibilities of the PPFE

At the end of each Work programme cycle, the PPFE, obtains the outputs produced by rpogramme divisions, reconciles them with the original Programme Implementation

Plans and ensures that the products-are at the level of standard that the commission is

expected to live upto. If this does not happen, then factors that contribute to the failure of the product not bemg up to standard would be assessed in terms of financial, material, manpower or otherwise.

Decisions on either preventive or corrective measures could be made depending on the importance of the work done versus its expected impact on the ECA clientele.

3. Problems Encountered with the current manual system

Due to the complexity and shear size of the work involved, it has not been easy and smooth forjhe-PPFE to:

• track down the work flows.

• follo-up the status oileach and every on-going programme project,

• -control—the timely receipt of situation reports from the implementing substantive divisions^ ~~

_ ~~ • take corrective measures before situations are overtaken by events at any given time

In toto, as there is no computerized system developed and put in place, the accuracy, promptness and punctuality of the delivery of work programmes, schedules, resources implications associated with each on-going programme component are not easily and effectively monitored.

As a result-of this lack of effective monitoring, the evaluation of the outputs and activities of the programmes becomes far from reality. This in turn affects the continuedmonitoring of the progress, of the programme components at hand as well the"planning of subsequent Work programme components leading to a situation where the entire management of the programmes lands in quagmire.

4. Proposed Solutions

In order to tackle the problems enumerated above, and even more importantly to enable the ECA meet the challenges posed by the new dimensions and also to be ready to the requirements of the emerging new dynamic directions into which it is being steered to serve the Continent better, a solution involving the use of modern information technology is envisaged./** the least, this new solution should incorporate thefeatures enumerated below:

4.1. Standardization of methods:-

♦ objectives and resource requirements of each and every Work Programme and its components,

♦ Reports on the status of each and every Work Programme and its components, Such that it will be less difficult not only to monitor but also to effectively evaluate Programme outputs. This will enable quantification of initial intentions and results so that objectives can be measured effectively against achievements to scientifically determine ifthey have been realized.

4.2. A Computerized System that will capture every Work Programme activities and tasks and is able to record event occurrences as they happen. This component forms the backbone ofthe envisaged solution . In particular, this system will have:

• Facilities to record Work Programmes and Projects as they are proposed,

• Capture events that occur against on-going and approved Work Programmes and their respective components, these must include at the minimum:

♦ The data on projects and their approval,

♦ the dates the implementing division starts to proceed to implement

the work programme component,

♦ when the last status report about it was received.

♦ the last reported progress level.

♦ when the last reminder was sent.

♦ the level of resources utilized,

♦ the balances of the allocated resources.

♦ Assignment or de-assignment of programme personnel and their

movement,

• Be able to produce Standard Reports that:

♦ Compare achievements against objectives.

♦ Provide answers to questions posed about the status of any given Work Programme on the spot.

• Be able to produce Exception Reports that allow effective Monitoring.

These must include:

♦ Progress reports that have not been submitted on the scheduled time,

♦ programmes components that are overdue.

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♦ programmes components that have over or under utilized their allocated resources, etc.

• Be able to produce Summary and Statistical reports that

♦ Summarize programme component progress so that executives can.

have a generalized view of how things stand through out the Commission.

♦ Compare and contrast work progress

♦ Provide the basis for Planning subsequent Work programmes by performing a post mortem evaluative analysis of completed programme components, ^tc. This aspect of the system plays a pivotal role to support informational requirements of the decision maker in the same manne as an Executive Information System

• SystemjTntegration For optimal implementation, the Monitoring and Evaluation System needs to work together with equally viable finance and Human Resources information systems of the ECA. Hence, it is highly recommended that these sister systems be put in place if they are not already there. When those systems have been implemented the system integration will take the two following forms:

♦ Interfacing with the Financial system if one exists so that financial data can be exchanged between to the two complementary systems,

♦ Interfacing with Human Resources Management System so that personnel assignments, benefits and other essential data can imported or exported etc. -

£ Requirements of the Proposed System:

5.1. OVERVIEW:

A systemthat tackles the above -bottlenecks could be developed using the most modern systems development tools so as to provide its users graphically supported user friendly interfaces that make the operationality of the system more easier, and flexible. In order to implement the proposed system in the manner described above, the following requirements must be met:

5.1.1.—A local Area Network of personal computers, while this may not be an absolute requirement for the development phase of the proposed system, its installation is an unavoidable when the developed system is ready for use. Hence, for budgetary purposes, this aspect of the proposed system needs to be addressed.

5.1.2. A Client-Server Database Management System (CS-DBMS) to serv& as not only as the main data repository, but also to allow concurrent access of the data contained in it so that the use of the proposed system will be as smooth as possible. While the development does not need to await the acquisition of the CS-DBMS, its effective

implementation will be impaired if it is delayed. Since the UN- Secretariat has already adopted the SYBASE client server DBMS, it might be appropriate to consider the acquisition of SYBASE rather than similar rival product.

5.1.3. Development Tools: two types of development tools may be necessary for the development effort:

♦ Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool is to be used in data analysis and entiry relation modelling.

♦ Front End Application development tool: will be required to design and implement the User Interface of the proposed system.

The requirements for the development and implementation of the system, are as enlisted in the table: -

Description

Pentium Process 133Mhz or better 32Mb Ram

2-4 (iB SCSI dink dm e Pentium processor

IOOMh7 or better 1 OMb Ram

860MblDUdiskdiKe

Dependent on the

sotufcer of Users oftl&

system

Operating Systems

DBMS

DEVELOPMENTAL SOFTWARE:

CASE Tool for data modelling

Windows 3 11 Netware -I I

Sybase SQL version 11

or

Visual Bas*ie Professional Version 4 0 or latm PowerBuilder hnetrprise Version 5 0 oi later C ompOMT lates \eision

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The tasks envolved in the System Development Cycle would generally include the Analysis, Design and Implementation which entail the following brief details.

• Analysis of the flow of information within the PPFE and their relationship to other clusters ofthe ECA programmes vertically and horizontally.

• Design database tables and structures,

• Design Input/Output formats

• Define processing requirements,

• Code each program

• Test each program -

• Test the entire system

• - Undertake System documentation,

• Perform any Maintenance,

• Develop User Guides,

• Train Users in the operation of the system^

• Denver the system to its appropriate users.

Time table for the phases ofthe analysis, design and development of the system will be drawn in detail in accordance with the above activities.This could be worked out along with other resource such as manpower, the duration for the development cycle and other related resources. _-