Investigating project management practices in public sector organisations of a less developed country

In less developed countries the implementation of project management tools and techniques is still in its early phases of development. It is a relatively modern practice that attempts to achieve planned objectives within specific time and cost limits, through optimum use of resources and by using an integrated planning and control system. The growth and acceptance of project management is continuing to increase as resources become scarce in less developed countries. The capability of the public sector is pivotal to the growth of the economy. The need for project management expertise in public sector organisations has become fundamental in order to deal with the enormous responsibility of managing a number of projects. This research investigates the project management practices in public sector organisations of a less developed country. Pakistan is selected from the list of less developed countries. The Pakistani public sector is divided into three main areas of the planning, the service and the consultant & contractor. Most of the times these three sectors are involved in public sector development projects in Pakistan. Eleven public sector organisations are selected for the purpose of this research. Each of these organisations is selected as a case study. The results of these case studies helped explain the current state of project management in Pakistani public sector organisation.

The funding process of public sector projects is explored and is graphically presented. The thesis also highlights the reporting process of the public sector project throughout the project life cycle. This process is also graphically illustrated. The project management practices in the public sector are then compared with the best practices and a maturity level of project management in Pakistani public sector is derived. This research concluded that the maturity level of public sector projects in Pakistan is at level 2 where processes still depend on individuals and there is minimum guidance available. The project success is still unpredictable, and cost and schedule fluctuations persist throughout the projects. There is no integration of databases, although schedule information is generally abundant. Although some of the organisations in planning and service sectors are progressing towards level 3, in general the competency level of the Pakistani public sector organisations is at level 2. The research also helps to identify the different types of constraints associated with the projects in a less developed country. These constraints are categorised by the theme of less developed country, public sector organisation, culture and project management. This is done on purpose so as to distinguish between the issues which can be improved by taking an initiative at the organisational level and the issues which can only be improved by taking a major policy initiative at the political level. This identification of different level / types of constraint may help the international donor agencies to better perceive the situation in the less developed countries toward managing the public sector projects.