Loadstar College of Management and Leadership

Individual Assignment for Project Management

Name: Shewamene Begashaw

ID # MBA14 A187

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 CHAPTER 1 : Overview of Project Planning, Analysis and Management
1..1. Project
Is any series of activities that have specific objective to be completed, have defined start and
end dates, have funding limits, consume human and nonhuman resources (money, people,
equipment) and are multifunctional [examples of project are; building a house, master thesis,
creating a new drug, etc..,].
1..2. Characteristics of Projects
 Projects are unique
 Project take place to solve a problem, address a need
 Projects are temporary in nature
 Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration
 However, Projects are not ongoing effort
 Temporary does not apply to the product or service created by the project
1.3. Competing constraints in project
A. Cost- the budget approved for the project.
B. Scope- entails all the work involved in delivering the project outcomes.
C. Time - the time to complete the project.
D. Quality is the standards and criteria to which the project’s products must be delivered
for them to perform effectively.
E. Resources people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else required for the
completion of a project activity.
1.4. Project Vs Program, Projects vs Operations
Projects Programs
A group of activities to produce A series of projects whose objectives together contribute to a
an intended purpose in a fixed time frame common overall objective, at sector, country or even multi
country level.
Narrow in scope Wide in scope
Possible to calculate Difficult to calculate
the costs and returns costs and returns
Projects Operations
Are temporary and unique. Are ongoing and repetitive.
The purpose of a project is to attain its objective objective of an ongoing operation is to sustain the business
1.5. Key features in PM include
 Identifying what is needed or to be achieved
 Addressing needs, concerns, and expectations
 Balancing competing constraints scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, and risks]

1.6. The Project Cycle

 Initiation Phase,
 Planning Phase,
 Implementation Phase and
 Closure Phase

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CHAPTER 2- PROJECT IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION
2.1. Sources of project ideas

 Problems or opportunities
 Local leaders
 Government policies and goals
 The inputs and outputs of industries
 Examining imports and exports
 Suggestions of development agencies
 Investigate local materials and resources
 Analyze economic and social trends
 Screening potentially promising project ideas

2.2. Feasibility Study- It is an analysis that takes all of a project's relevant factors into account
such as demand, economic, technical, financial, legal, to ascertain the likelihood of completing the
project successfully.

2.3. Areas of Analysis in Feasibility study - Market and demand analysis, Technical analysis,
Location and site selection, Environmental analysis, Organization and management, Financial analysis,
Economic Analysis

2.3.1. Market and demand analysis – Concerned with two broad issues- What is the likely aggregate
demand for the output? And What share of the market will the proposed project enjoy?

Methods of Demand forecasting- There are two methods in which we can forecast demand –Qualitative
and Quantitative Method.

2.3.2. Technical analysis - Analysis of technical and engineering aspects is done continually when a
project is being examined and formulated.

2.3.3. Location and site selection- Consider - Proximity to raw materials and markets, availability of
infrastructure governmental policies and other factors.

2.3.4. Organization and management- it is all about Organizational setting and the human resource of
the project.

2.3.5. Economic analysis - Analyze intangible costs and benefits, development costs, Annual operating
costs, the economic benefits.

2.3.6. Financial Feasibility - Projects how much startup capital is needed, sources of capital, returns on
investment, etc.

The commonly used techniques for financial analysis are Payback period, Return on Investment (Net
Present Value (Profitability Index(PI)/Benefit Cost Ratio Internal Rate of Return (IRR)[reading
assignment).

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CHAPTER 3- PROJECT PLANNING
3.1. Project Planning
Project planning answers the following questions:

 What must be done?

 How long will it take?
 How much will it cost?

There are 3 steps to develop project plan:

 Define the work

 Schedule activities
 Allocate resources

3.2 Tools of project planning

3.2.1 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)- represents a systematic and logical breakdown of the
project into its component parts
3.2.2. Gantt Chart: is a project management tool [ a type of bar chart] assisting in the planning
and scheduling of projects.
3.2.3. Network Techniques - Project network diagrams are based on the WBS, but also show
more info on task sequence or dependencies.
There are three basic questions to be answered to establish a project activities network:
1. Which activities must be completed immediately before this activity? -predecessor
activities
2. Which activities must immediately follow this activity? - successor activities
3. Which activities can occur while this activity is taking place? – concurrent or parallel
relationship
Basic steps in Program Evaluation & Review Technique [PERT]/ Critical Path Method CPM]

Step 1: Define Activities

Step 2: Define Activity Interdependencies

Step 3: Draw the Network

Step 4: Assign Time and /or Resource

Step 5: Compute the longest time path through the Network

Step 6: Use the network to help

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Chapter 4- Project Execution, Monitoring and Controlling
4.1. Executing Project
It is transforming the project proposal into the actual project or reality by following the already
laid down time table or work plan i e putting the project plan into action.
Project Execution Activities
 Project plan execution
 Quality assurance
 Team development
 Information distribution
 Source selection
 Contract administration

4.2 Project Monitoring and Control

Control is the process of comparing actual performance against plan to identify deviations, evaluate courses of
action, and take appropriate corrective action.

Mechanisms to control project

 Adjust the resources

 Adjust the project characteristics size, scope, etc

Project Control Process/Steps

1. Setting a baseline plan

2. Measuring progress and performance

3. Comparing plan against actual

4. Taking corrective action

A baseline plan

A baseline plan provides the elements for measuring performance.

Project Risk Management

Risks are acceptable if the possible gains exceed the possible losses.

Risk Management Strategies

Having identified, quantified and prioritized the risks, we need to develop a risk response plan which defines ways
to address adverse risk and enhance opportunities before they occur.

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Chapter 5 - Project Termination and Closure
5.1. Project termination
Every project has to officially end sometime. Project termination need not necessarily mean
project failure or premature abandonment.

5.2. When Do Projects Terminate?

 Upon successful completion
 When the organization is no longer willing to invest the time and cost

5.3. Reasons for Project Termination

 The project profit becomes significantly lower than expected,
 The parent organization does not longer exist
 The intended result or product of the project becomes obsolete,

5.4. Project Termination Conditions

There are four common ways for terminating a project:
1. Extinction
2. Addition
3. Integration
4. Starvation

5.5. Project Closing Activities

 Project completed and results delivered
 Lessons learned captured
 Documentation completed and filed
 Resources released, final payments made and account closed
 Celebrate
5.6. Final Report
A project can be said to be closed successfully only when it has a proper final report in place .
The final report is the history of the project.
5.6.1. Contents of a Project Final Report
 Project Performance
 Administrative Performance
 Organization Structure
 Project and Administrative Teams
 Project Management Techniques

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 Question #2. Identify one project idea of your interest and state its objectives and conduct
SWOT analysis for it.

My project idea: Enhancing E-Learning System in Ethiopian High-schools.

1. About E-Learning
E-learning presents an entirely new learning environment for students, thus requiring a
different skill set to be successful (Romiszowski, 2004). Critical thinking, research, and
evaluation skills are growing in importance as students have increasing volumes of information
from a variety of sources to sort through (New Media Consortium, 2007). Also, particularly in
courses that are entirely electronic, students are much more independent than in the
traditional setting. This requires that they be highly motivated and committed to teach (Huynh
et al., 2003), with less social interaction with peers or an instructor. Students in online courses
tend to do as well as those in classrooms, but there is higher incidence of withdrawal or
incomplete grades (Zhang, Zhou and Briggs, 2006). E- Learning can be viewed as computer
assisted learning, and as pedagogy for studentcentered and collaborative learning. Early
developments in e-learning focused on computer assisted learning, where part or all of the
learning content is delivered digitally. More recently the pedagogical dimension of e-learning
has become prominent. E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and
teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not,
serve as specific media to implement the learning process.

2. Objectives
 To assess the e-learning cost in comparing with manual learning
 To assess the flexibility of course delivery in e learning system
 To assess the network infrastructure for the system

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 3. SWOT Analysis

Strength Weakness

 Established Courses  ICT infrastructure problems

 Similar Curriculum across the country  Poor quality of Audio and Video
 Experienced Tutors  Unstable network
 Low cost of implementation (1 teacher
for many students)

Opportunities Threats
 Increasing demand  Increased student expectation
 Lack of Electronic Material
 Mobile phone distribution
 Lack of skilled students and teachers on
 New education initiatives technology
 New network alternative (Safari.com)

Question # 3. Identify one project idea of your interest and then prepare the Feasibility Study for
this project idea with the maximum of 15 pages. Please remember that this work must be a
formal feasibility study demanded for the project works. Furthermore, the writing must include
necessary formalities from the title to recommendations.

Project Idea: Feasibility Analysis of Establishing Logistics Clusters in Ethiopia

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 Feasibility Analysis of Establishing Logistics Clusters in Ethiopia

1. Abstract

Seeking to achieve higher effectiveness of state transport system, integration of transport corridors and
different modes is required in parallel with the creation regional logistics clusters built around existing
transport infrastructure. The objective of this project is to analyse different scenarios of creating
logistics cluster (also referred as logistics centres) in Ethiopia. Subject of special interest in this paper are
the key strategic elements, which have the biggest impact on decision of the location. © 2017 The
Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the
16th International Conference on Reliability and Statistics in Transportation and Communication.
Keywords: logistics clusters, planning, infrastructure, feasibility analysis

2. Introduction

The European Union investments strategy for the transport sector requires that that each of member
states must prepare and adopt national and regional innovation strategies. These strategies should be
comprehended as a location-dependent and integrated economic growth plans, oriented to European
and national priorities, based on an existing regional strengths and competitive advantages. Majority of
member states identified transport sector as a main priority in their economic growth strategies, due to
its economic significance and the added value of job creation.

Although Ethiopia have had a major investment into transport sector modernization and expansion
including construction of new intermodal terminals, Construction of Dry port (Modjo), and
modernization of AA international airports, national transport infrastructure is still lacking a proper
logistic capability.

Based on world-wide experience, there is a huge improvement possibility in national logistics

infrastructure by establishing a logistics clusters in few transport hubs in Ethiopia.

3. The concept of logistics center

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (further – UNESCAP) has
published logistics centers typology, which differs the existing logistics intermodal centers into five
types. Such typology was based on accentuating differences among logistics centers design, function and
role in supply chains activities. However, the proposed methodology of UNESCAP was not agreed upon
world-wide and did not become a standard in scientific publications referable to the logistics centers.

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Higgins et al. (2012) developed a unified logistics center hierarchy, which serves as a good starting
basement for further examination of the topic. Level 1 of the hierarchy represents the smallest range of
activities and the simplest tasks and responsibilities within the supply chain.

This level includes the most basic warehouses and distribution centers. As outlined by various authors
(Higgins et al., 2012; Smith, 2013), warehouses mostly are used as a functioning buffer between
suppliers, manufacturers and customers. The main difference between warehouse and a distribution
center is the emphasis on flow rather than storage of goods, also as facilities devoted to the rapid
movement of goods. Level 2 of the hierarchy consists of three main clustered logistics hubs: intermodal
terminal, inland port and a freight village. The range of logistics activities within this level of hierarchy
can vary from basic intermodal cargo shifting to complex transportation options, inland extension of a
sea-port, integrated management of supply chain. This type of logistics hubs is known to have a
significantly higher added value and influence on regional and national transport systems. Main focus
area of this publication is freight villages, which can be described as a site or area hosting a variety of
different transport infrastructure, as well as logistics services providers. According to Higgins (2012), a
central feature of a freight village is high quality connections to intermodal and separate transportation
infrastructure, customs and quarantine services, cleaning and repair areas, IT and telecommunications,
security areas, amenities, etc.

Furthermore, Higgins states that freight villages are the largest inland facilities at the top of the logistics
hierarchy due to the sheer size of their influence and impact in freight and logistics by adding the most
value to the supply chain. Logistics centers are offering a host of facilities, services, infrastructure, and
activities related to freight and logistics that are both co-located and coordinated to encourage
maximum efficiency between tenants on site. Bearing this in mind, the further subject of this publication
is freight villages. Level 3 of the hierarchy are major international terminals, which usually include a
seaport and an airport and are designed as a part of global logistics infrastructure, not only connecting
different freight corridors, but also having a vast economic impact.

Logistics centers (freight villages), by public understanding, are often not distinguished from a basic
intermodal terminal, therefore public opinion on investing into development of such infrastructure can
usually be unsupportive. UNESCAP states that the freight village should be understood as an area of land
that is devoted to a number of transport and logistics facilities, activities and services which are not just
located in the same area but also coordinated to encourage maximum synergy and efficiency,
distinguishing features include an intermodal terminal and shared access to facilities and services. Smith
(2013) outlines, that logistics center is much more than just an intermodal terminal, and that logistics
centre is greater than the sum of its parts. According to Meidute (2005) there are four main purposes of
logistics parks:

 They increase intermodal cargo transportation;

 They catalyze regional economic activity;
 They improve local cargo distribution;
 They promote efficient land use.

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Same authors underline the importance of public logistics centers as a foundation from which
companies can gain a competitive economic advantage through clustering if freight-dependent
businesses around existing transport infrastructure. Sheffi (2010) developed some possible classification
of logistics clusters by different factors:

 By modal orientation: air logistics parks, port logistics parks, rail logistics parks and trucking
logistics parks;
 Scope-based: international, regional and urban logistics parks;
 Functional classification: Free Trade Zones, bonded logistics parks, export processing zones,
single commodity logistics parks and special services logistics parks.

4. Location of logistics clusters

Since the main advantage of freight villages for trade and transport companies is to gain a
competitive advantage through clustering around transport infrastructure the clusters are perceived
as a geographically located and centrally coordinated group (with a rare exception of unmanaged
agglomeration of logistics facilities, as stated by Sheffi (2010)) of companies, the importance of well-
chosen location increases significantly. That is even more noticeable when applied to logistics
clusters, which are unique in terms of cluster formation and infrastructure requirements. The main
difference – logistics cluster requires a pre-built and up to current standards transport system, such
as intermodal terminal, sea-port or an airport. When applying to a small country like the Baltic
States, this unique feature limits the possible locations of such a cluster to a very few viable options.
However, even when using existing infrastructure, establishing logistics cluster requires significant
investment, so to maximize the possible return and added value of a logistics cluster (further – LC)
and check viability of LC in Ethiopia, a series of SWOT analysis was conducted. The results of SWOT
analysis of establishing LC in Ethiopia- the main strengths are related to the geographical location of
LC. After a brief analysis of international trade directions and the location of existing largest logistics
clusters in Europe, it can be concluded that one of the main criteria to selecting LCs location should
be its connection to Trans European Network Corridors. The problem in decision which location is
potentially the best for certain application arises when one tries to select the right methodology to
do so. There is many different ways to approach this decision, but the main ones usually are:

Mantgirdas Juozapaitis and Ramunas Palsaitis / Procedia Engineering 178 ( 2017 ) 131 – 136

• Analysis of freight data. It’s the most straight-forward approach, involving collecting and analysing
huge amounts of period correct data. Data can be provided by national statistics department, Eurostat
and local statistics sources. Decision-maker should analyse freight flows and look for location which is
nearby source of supply, in the catchment area of demand or somewhere in the middle of the biggest
freight flow. As accurate as it may be, the problem of this selection method is vast amount of data;

• The multi-criteria analysis. The main principle of this method is decision-maker must provide a specific
list of criteria for potential location. Each of the given criteria must be evaluated and rated by assigning a
multiplier (weight, ratio) to it. After that all the analysed locations are rated according to each criterion,
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and the sum of the results lets us make a priority queue. Although this method is the most accurate one,
there are still two problems with it. First of all, Kodali (2006) defines over 60 different criteria for
location selection, which makes calculations overly complicated. Secondly, each of the criteria must be
given a multiplier, which must be solely decided upon by the decision-maker, thus making the
calculations subjective to one’s opinion;

• Costs- benefits analysis. In a situation where national authorities have to select a facility location with
certain position, meet the demand and/or supply by doing it and have minimum direct and alternative
costs in parallel with the used a certain mathematics algorithm.

5. . SWOT analysis of logistics clusters.

5.1. Strengths

1. Geographical location of Ethiopia, as a connection between Eastern and Western Europe.

2. Part of North Sea – Baltic transport corridor.
3. One of the leading ports in Baltic states.
4. Governmental support towards expanding transport infrastructure.
5.2. Weaknesses

1. Lack of awareness in clearing procedure

2. Lack of technology usage in customs and clearing agents
3. Absence of required technologies and infrastructure.
4. Unavailability of Seagate in Ethiopia.
5.3. Opportunities
1. Strengthening of market share
2. Expansion of transport infrastructure by implementing MDG .
3. Experience developed under the emergency situation
5.4. Threats
1. Shortage of Foreign currency
2. Growing customers’ expectations and cargo flows soon to max out current infrastructures
capabilities.
3. Conflict across the country

The constraints associated with logistics system in Ethiopia could be characterized as follows:

a. Underdevelopment of logistics management system

b. Inadequate fleets of vehicles (means of transport) for goods transport

c. The market possibility of the country is hampered by poor logistics system

d. Very high traffic accident (the highest in the world) in which contribution of goods transport is
significant

e. Congestion in cities and at inlets/outlets

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f. Lack of coordination of goods transport (which resulted in low load rate)

g. Damage of goods and quality deterioration while in storage, packaging transporting, and post-harvest
loss in food items

h. Transport of animals (walking up to 10 days)

i. No or little study has been made related to logistics

j. Lack of Organization and management tools that are required to promote intermodal system

6. Marketing Structure Analysis

In order to improve the efficiency of freight transport and logistics services in the country, it is necessary
to expand and strengthen marketing structure and establish warehouses, freight stations and dry ports
at strategic logistics stations with modern cargo handling equipment’s such as forklifts and cranes.

There are about 500 districts in the country subdivided into 15,000 administrative units (kebeles). Most
of the existing rural markets are small, traditional, fragmented and not well developed at kebele and
woreda levels.

There are three tiers of markets at woreda level. The first one is small markets called “Gulits“ or shops
found in different parts within a Kebele. The second tier of markets is the Kebele centers themselves or
sub-woreda markets. And the third one is at the woreda capitals. Modern market needs to be created
and it is proposed to facilitate establishment of 15,000 kebele markets and 500 wereda markets to
create conducive situation for farmers to sell their produce (Afro Consult &Trading PLC, 2010).

7. Dry Ports and Freight Stations Analysis

Dry ports could handle many activities such as customs clearance, temporary storages, transshipment of
goods, stuffing and un-stuffing of containers, consolidation of less than container loads and
maintenance and repair of containers. Modjo and Semera dry ports have started working, building their
capacity. The full implementation of Modjo and Semera dry ports and the construction of the remaining
seven dry ports (Fig.5) will have big impact in reducing sea port and transit costs. Each freight stations
should have at least one forklift to handle containers while dry ports will have more than one based on
their freight volume (Afro Consult & Trading PLC, 2010).

8. Warehouses Analysis

One of the major obstacles for efficient freight transport and logistics system of the country in rural,
regional and international freight movement and distribution system is lack of storage facilities,
adequate loading and unloading equipment and efficient management of the system. At present, there
is a total of about 0.8million metric ton capacity warehouses all over the country. Most of these are
owned by public institutions such as Coffee Marketing, Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise, World Food
Program etc.

Most warehouses particularly the private ones are not designed to handle heavy truck trailers and semi
trailers. Adequate doors and turning areas are not provided. In short, there is no standard set for

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commercial warehouse building. There is a serious lack of cargo handling equipment all over the country
which normally is part of warehousing businesses. Cranes, forklifts and other equipments are rented as
and when cargo is already waiting to beloaded and unloaded at the warehouses (Afro Consult & Trading
PLC, 2010).

9. ICT Analysis

The use of ICT in logistics is non-existent. One area bar code is used is at cash register of supermarkets
but it is not connected with inventory or warehousing management system. MOT’s plan is to introduce
tracing and tracking using GPS, and software, databases and other logistics ICT applications.

10. Energy Production

Source of energy for all freight vehicles is fossil fuel. It is important to have reserve at depots and make
fuel available always at filling stations. Cargo handling equipments may run on fossil fuel or on
electricity. When it comes to ICT, electric is required. As it stands now, there are interruptions
often,which are due to inefficiency and incapability of Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, as is
expected from a public enterprise.

11. Recommendations

The following conclusions can be drawn from the assessment made about logistics practice in Ethiopia

1. There is urgent need for research on the logistics gaps identified and human resource needs in freight
transport and logistics needs of the country. EthioLog may be supported financially by government of
Ethiopia and international funding agencies and technically by SLU to carry out research and human
resources development in the sector.

2. There is urgent need of development in the following areas to change the livelihood of Ethiopian
farmers and develop the economy of the country. First is need to develop more road, rail and airfreight
infrastructure to make Ethiopian export goods competitive on the international market. The second is
need to develop organizational and consolidation infrastructure and services to link producers (farmers)
to consumers (market) and to create managing body for efficient and effective goods flow in the
network from producers to consumers.

3. Transport companies need to be supported and encouraged to build their capacity in terms of human
resources, number and better age of their vehicle fleets, coordination of their services, and integration
of their services with the services of warehouses and terminals. Warehouses and terminals are
recommended to do value adding activities like consolidation, packaging, etc.

4. The development of logistics service providers, transitors, shipping agents and brokers need to be
encouraged in terms of technical skills, human resources and finance because they add so

much efficiency to goods flow at lower costs.

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5. Customs authority and national bank of Ethiopia need to overhaul the way they give services to
exporters/importers and align their services to expedite freight movement for the benefit of the
country.

6. Ethiopian government, as the infrastructure provider, better invest the limited resources prudently on
road, railway, dry ports and terminal infrastructures in line with intermodal transport requirements. I
especially strongly disagree with single height container freight train wagons because the whole world is
developing double stacked container wagons for comp etitiveness of their goods on the global market.

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