ABR Blog

It all started like a project that would not stand the test of time, considering the way previous projects of such magnitude had suffered in the hands of government. Well, you may say that it’s too early for me to conclude that the BRT scheme in Lagos would stand the test of time – the first in Sub- Saharan Africa.
But what is interesting to me is the way and manner the scheme has been approved by other state governments –(Rivers state and I also heard that the Oyo state government is also coming up with the scheme soon) striving to make the transportation system better thereby offering the rare “dividends of democracy”, seen what is happening in the Oil rich state of Rivers where the new scheme is being put in place and sponsored by the Bank that whose official language is yes.
You know that i can’t gist without drawing your attention to the importance of project management in all of this – to the PH scheme
There would have been Assumptions i.e educated guesses you make on a project
Historical information from all that happened in the Lagos scheme, but before going to historical information, were there lessons learned after the project in Lagos was concluded – what is Lessons Learned?
Lessons Learned – The Project Manager and his/her team discuss what were the things that worked and the things that didn’t work on the project, what i simply term W⁶ i.e (what went well, what went wrong). This should be done on every project you embark upon and also documented so that future projects would not suffer from the same issues that the old ones suffered from – i hope that the new BRT scheme in PH would be a lot better than the one in Lagos … broader dedicated lanes so that buses that are parked on the side lines don’t obstruct coming buses behind them etc
To the issue of risk identification on our projects meet me next week for …
Gbenga  O
 

You would agree with me that great things are happening in Naija especially in the way our projects are been managed.
You remember the PH Airport that was scheduled to last for a few months but lasted forever and was subsequently re-awarded. This seems to be the trend with major projects in our dear nation Naija at 48. This is in contrast to the third mainland bridge and the way in which it was managed. I can say that I am impressed with the way that project was right from the start when all the stakeholders including you and myself were carried along with that project. And we (yes, we finally recognized as stakeholders) were informed and also of the alternative routes. We were informed when it was to be closed, as milestones were reached, and immediately the project was completed. This says that communication is key in managing projects. In fact 90% of a project manager’s job is communication.
Now come to think of when we all heard that the bridge would be closed for repairs, most of us thought that it would take the best part of a year for the project to be completed and really I wont blame you because we all are used to uncompleted projects, but this was a different project by all standards – completed ahead of schedule and stakeholders were carried along. I now don’t know if the cost of N762million that completed the project work was the actual budget for the project so I can’t say that it was within budget. Yes as regards the scope because I am talking about the triple constraint – for the government to have been satisfied with the work then it means that it was within scope and quality was not compromised.
Once again we see the power of project management at play and we cant over emphasize it’s immense power as this is a major skill that has placed the developed nations where they are today as their businesses are projectized and practically what would help our small businesses and governments in managing projects.  We will be watching for more examples of the benefits of project management.