Matrix Context Technology Strategy Covering -Topics: -

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Project Planning Matrix (PPM): Purposes and use

The process of project management has been called both an art and a science (Project management methodology, 2012, City of Chandler). A Project Planning Matrix (PPM) can be used during the planning process as a 'reality check,' forcing "the planner to constantly check whether the project design is plausible and consistent" (PPM, 2012, FAO). It also can be helpful as a facilitator of communication between employees on the who, what, why, when, and how of the project, and 'allows for a project monitoring based on common understanding" (PPM, 2012, FAO). The PPM is designed to facilitate clarity, a free flow of information, and maximize project efficacy. "Projects contain a lot of unknown facts, risks, generate many decisions and need someone to focus the team towards the project result" (Melnic & Puiu 2011). A matrix can help managers better assess potential unknowns.

Matrixes also demand specificity in the project management process, which is necessary given that by definition projects are time-bound creations. "Projects must have a clear, definitive goal or objective. The objective is specific, identifiable, and can be accomplished. A project usually involves varied activities, which produce quantifiable and qualifiable deliverables that when added together, accomplish the overall objective" (Project management methodology, 2012, City of Chandler). The actual instrument is constructed as "a matrix of four columns and four rows providing sixteen squares for a comprehensive description of a project" (PPM, 2012, FAO). The matrix links inputs and activities with the contingencies and assumptions necessary for each action to be performed. Activities and inputs can only be realized if specific conditions are realized. The PPM illustrates the contingent nature of all project steps in a quantitative, easily readable form.

The matrix also defines specific aspects of the project, such as its goal or "higher level objective(s) to which the project is expected to contribute to," its purpose or benefits, and the results and outputs "expressed as objectives which the project management must achieve and sustain" (PPM, 2012, FAO). PPM enables the structure of a project to be reviewed in the form of a single sheet, along with all pertinent data. This is far more efficient than the 'scraps of paper' that project planning can devolve into, without the use of a matrix.

The PPM was first developed in the 1970s. Increased technological complexity and the need for multiple projects led to a lack of clarity of the goals of projects at many organizations. "Projects tended to follow many different objectives that were not always necessarily part of the main components... There was a great deal of uncertainty about what the projects should achieve in the long-term, it was therefore not possible to objectively compare planned objectives with those actually achieved" (Schall & Von Franz 2002:2). Tasks of managers were likewise unclear and this fuzziness about responsibilities further led to project delays and projects spiraling out of control. Projecting the time dimensions of projects was difficult from the outset, and little could be learned from the final results. A lack of clear objectives made it almost impossible to evaluate projects and determine what worked and what did not work as part of the project management process (Schall & Von Franz 2002:2)

PPMs are designed to "separate what project managers could expect to accomplish from the postulated consequences of those accomplishments" and create clear objectives (Schall & Von Franz 2002:2). By linking activities to objectives, it reduces the risk of extraneous expenses and time delays. It enables the project to be measured by setting the terms by which those measures will take place early on in the process. "By explicitly identifying how the project is to be evaluated, the decision-maker can make realistic estimates of project outcomes and can identify problems, which might be encountered" (Schall & Von Franz 2002:3).

These principles are manifested in terms of how the PPM is structured visually on a vertical and horizontal basis. The vertical section of the PPM "identifies what the project intends to do, clarifies the causal relationships, and specifies the important assumptions and uncertainties beyond the project manager's control" while the horizontal side defines the project objectives, how they will be measured and by what means (Schall & Von Franz 2002:4). When completing the vertical section of the PPM, only one process is listed at a time and each objective describes the benefits in terms of a future condition with words such as "completed" or "implemented" or "improved" (Schall & Von Franz 2002:4). For each identified milestone, the necessary contingent circumstances for that process to take place are also defined. "Each level must contain the necessary and sufficient conditions (including assumptions) for the next higher level. At the lowest level, it may be necessary to define PRE-CONDITIONS, these may be necessary for implementing the activities but they are outside the control of the project" (Schall & Von Franz 2002:4).

This way, if unforeseen occurrences transpire, it is easier to backtrack and alter the matrix, identifying the necessary link in the causal chain that must be amended. This clarity vastly reduces the 'scope creep' and delays that often affect projects in the wake of roadblocks. Yet another purpose of the PPM is to reduce the likelihood that such obstacles throw the project off-course, but if they do their impact is minimal.

The horizontal side of the PPM lists indicators. "Indicators should measure what is important in the narrative summary statement" and must be independent and objectively verifiable, to accurately assess whether the desired goals and purpose of the project are being realized (Schall & Von Franz 2002:4). Indicators may include how much, how well, where the goal must be accomplished and by whom. Also on the horizontal access, the 'assumptions' behind the link of the goal and the measurements are noted.