Declearation: Written and Presented by Tangang Fevour Tamuh

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT PLANNING TO THE SUCCESS OF A PROJECT
DECLEARATION
I TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH hereby declares that the presentation of this

report of internship title “THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT PLANNING
TO THE SUCCESS OF A PROJECT” is uniquely prepared by me after the
completion of a one month internship at ODECOCAMEROON
I also confirm that the report is only prepared for my academic requirement not
for any other purpose. It might not be used with the interest of an opposite party
of the corporation.
TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH
DEPARTMENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SIANTOU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE YAOUNDE
WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby declare that the internship report entitled “THE IMPORTANCE OF

PROJECT PLANNING TO THE SUCCESS OF A PROJECT” submitted
by me to the SIANTOU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the award of the HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA in
project management is a record of an embodied internship work carried out by
me, supervised by DR MULEMA VERONICA I further declared that the
report in this internship has not been submitted and will not be submitted, either
in part or in full, for the award of any other degree or diploma in this institute or
any other institute or university
Professional supervisor……… Academic supervisor……..
President of the jury……………..
1ST member of the jury………………..
2nd member of jury………………
Student’s signature…………………….
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this piece of work to my Parents MR ATANGA PETER

TANGANG AND MRS NDENGUE SYLVIE for their endless support and
encouragement which there gave me which help me to write these report.
Without them, will have not gone so far.
To my uncle LOUIS LOH who supported me during the hard periods of my

study when I felt like abandoning, also grateful for his advice he always gave to
me which play a great role in my report writing.
My best friend HENRIGLEN MWAMBO NJIEwho guided me on how to

write my academic report, also very grateful for his support and kindness toward
me.
I would like to thank all the staffs of SIANTOU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

for the dedication and support the gave to me which contributed with insight
that reflects their experience in project management from which I was at the
receiving end of it.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DR MULEMA VERONICA my supervisor she is and was the best I would

have hope for to supervise me, thanks to her directions and advice, was able to
come up with this report, I could not do any better without her.
MY PARENTS, MR ATANGA PETER TANGANG AND MRS

NDENGUE SYLVIE: Thanks to them I was able to have all the financial
resources needed for thisreport and they were also present to support me during
the hard period of my life, without them I will not have gone so far.
Madam MBOG SYLVIE: my boss where I did the internship, she lured me
into the practical phase of project management, I couldn’t wish for someone
else, she was nice and taught me all I needed to know that helped me to respond
to the demands of this report.
ABSTRACT
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Project planning is the process of defining your objectives and scope, your goals
and deliverables and assigning tasks and budgetary resources for each step. A
good plan is easily shareable with everyone involved and its most useful when
its revisited regularly
Project planning is at the heart of the project life cycle and tells everyone
involved where you are going and how you are going to get there. The planning
phase is when the project plan are documented, the project deliverables and
requirements are defined and the project schedule is created.
An effective project planning will lead to project will lead to project success
were as an ineffective project planning will lead to project failure although not
only effective project planning lead to the success of a project but equally other
factors such as remuneration packages paid to project managers to boost their
productivity, efficient feasibility study, risk management and good team spirit
which affect project success.
RESUME
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Project planning plays an essential role in helping guide stakeholders, sponsors,

teams and the project manager throughout other phases. Planning is needed to
identify desired goals, reduce risk, avoid missed deadlines, and ultimately
deliver the agreed products, service or result.
ONG ODECO Cameroon: To contribute significantly to the development of

communities and organizations in the areas where it operates, with particular
emphasis on supporting the populations in the definition and implementation of
their technical, organizational and managerial development strategies, the
promotion of '' an entrepreneurial spirit all this, in a concern of collaboration,
sharing and cooperation by the development of its skills and those of its
partners.
What are the effects of ineffective project planning and also posted a major
setback in ODECO Cameroon and how this problem can be mitigated.
Internship activities couple with laid down objectives as well as difficulties

encounter
TABLES OF CONTENT
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CHAPTER ONE
1.1Background of the study………………………………………………10
1.2 Problem statement……………………………………………………13
1.3 objective of the study…………………………………………………..13
1.4 Research question……………………………………………………..14
1.5 Significance of the study……………………………………………….14
1.6 The scope and limitation of the study…………………………………14
1.7 Presentation of the enterprise………………………………………….15
1.7.1. Historical back ground……………………………………………...18
1.7.2Product service……………………………………………………...18
1.7.3 Organizational structure (organigram)……………………………....18
1.7.4 Functions of the departments………………………………………..18
1.7. Geographical location………………………………………………..23
1.8. Definition of terms………………………………………………….24
1.9. Structure of the work………………………………………………25
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction to literature Review……………………………………26
2.1Theoretical Review………………………………………………….29
2.2Conceptual Review…………………………………………………30
2.3 Empirical literature………………………………………………….33
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2.4. Conclusion………………………………………………………….33
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES
3.0. Introduction……………………………………………………….35
3.1. Recall of objectives………………………………………………35
3.2. Source of data…………………………………………………….36
3.2.1. (i) primary sources……………………………………………...36
3.2.2. (ii) secondary sources…………………………………………..36
3.3. Methodology of data collection…………………………………...36
3.4. Methodology of data analysis………………………………………37
3.5. Presentation of internship activities…………………………………37
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF

RESULTS
4.1Data presentation…………………………………………………..39
4.2Data analysis……………………………………………………….40
4.3Interpretation of results…………………………………………….43
4.4 conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY FINDINGS PROBLEM, RECOMMENDATION AND

CONCLUSION
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5.1. Summary findings……………………………………………….46
5.2. Problems encountered and solutions………………………………..46
5.4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………..48
5.5. Areas of future research
APPENDICE
APPENDIX 1; OGANIGRAM…………………………………………49
APPENDIX 2; LOCALISATION PLAN……………………………..50
APPENDIX 3; ATTESTATION OF INTERNSHIP………………...51
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………52
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1; data presentation………………………………………40
Table 2; qualitative method of data analysis……………………40
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure1; project management plan…………………………………….13
Figure 2; odeco Cameroon organigram………………………………..17
Figure
FIGURE3;Geographical location of odeco Cameroon………………….23
Figure 4; smart Analyses………………………………………………..27
Figure5;work break down structure………………………………….28
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Figure 6; Gantt chart……………………………………………………2
CHAPTER ONE
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TOPIC: THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT PLANNING TO THE

SUCCESS OF A PROJECT
Here we will talk of the importance of project planning to the success of a

project and will would lay some emphasis on the project management plan
1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Project planning is part of project management, which relates to the use of

schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report project progress
within the project environment.
Initially, the project scope is defined and the appropriate methods for completing
the project are determined. following this step, the duration for the various task
necessary to complete the work are listed and grouped into a work break down
structure. project planning is often used to organized different areas of a project,
including project plans, workloads and the management of teams and
individuals. the logical dependencies between tasks are defined using an activity
network diagram that enables identification of the critical path. project planning
is inherently uncertainty as it must be done before the project actually started.
therefore, the duration of the task is often estimated through a weighted average
of optimistic, normal and pessimistic cases. the critical chain or path method
adds BUFFERS in the planning to anticipate potential delays in project
execution. the necessary resources can be estimated and costs for each activity
can be allocated to each resources, giving the total project cost. at these stage,
the project schedule may be optimized to achieved the appropriate balance
between resources usage and project duration to comply with the project
objectives. once established and agreed, the project schedule becomes what is
known as the baseline schedule. progress will be measured against the baseline
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schedule throughout the life of the project. Analyzing progress compared the
baseline schedule is known as earned value management.
The input of the project planning phase 2 include the project charter and the
concept proposal. The outputs of the project planning phase include the project
requirement. The project schedule and the project management plan.
Under project planning we have project management plan which is a formal

document that defines how a project is going to be carried out. It outlines the
scope, goals, budget, timeline, and deliverables of the project and its essential
for keeping a project on track.
a project plan is writing during the planning stage of a project life cycle and it
must be approved by stakeholders before a project can move on the execution
stage.
A project management plan comprises of the following:
• project schedule: A high-level view of project activities and task,

Gantt charts are handy for this
• Cost management: the cost management knowledge area contains the

processes necessary to plan for the budget, control it throughout the
duration of the project, and finish the project within the approved budget,
this is how much money you need to complete your project.
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• Quality management: the process that ensures all activities of the project
reached the expectations as established in the project management plan in
terms of performance and efficiency.
• Risk management: the process to identify, plan, monitor, and mitigate

risk. Risk can have a negative or positive impact on a project.
• Communication management: the process of planning and distributing

what information needs to be shared with the project team, stakeholders,
vendors, and sponsor as well as maintaining the communication channels
open throughout the duration of the project.
• Procurement management: the procurement process involves the

acquisition of goods and services to deliver what was agreed on the
project scope, as well as controlling the relationship with the sellers.
• Human Resource management: this is the practice of managing people

to achieve better performance. When hiring people to work in a project,
you look for people who have the qualification and experience. The plan
show each employee role and duty in the project.
• Marketing plan: this is the representation of your overall marketing

strategy through marketing actions you are ready and willing to take.
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FIGURE 1; PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Must organisation fail to put an effective project plan before stepping fully into
the project execution which leads to project failure.
1.3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
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MY priority here is to demonstrate the effect of the in effective and inefficient

application of the project planning and how the poor interpretation of project
planning can affect the successes of a project. Basically project planning is very
important but it affects the entire project either positively or negative if effective
planning technics are not been put in place. Project planning also has a
relationship the triple constraints that is time, Quality and cost, poor planning in
any of the constraints will automatically have an effect on the entire project
success.
PROJECT PLANNING provides a frame work that everyone in the project can
agree on.
1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• What is the effect of poor interpretation of project planning to an

organization?
• How does the project planning affect quality?
• What is the relation between project schedule and other project

management pan?
• What is the importance of project planning to project success?
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
It’s important to know that the success of a project has a direct

relationship with the efficient and effective application of project
planning as well as the adequate interpretation of project planning
technics.
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1.6. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study makes us to understand that in order for a project to be successful: a

project need to be well plan making use of the project planning schedules such
as the Gantt chart, work breakdown structure, CPM AND PERT
1.6.1LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study only focuses on project planning as the main factors of project
success but if other factors are not well taking into consideration such as
remuneration packages, team spirit and a secured job which could provoke
better management and does leading to a successful project.
Some other difficulties encountered were the lack of adequate information,

financial difficulties, complexity and diversity of the subject matter. was
working under pressure and lack experience which led to a month for me to be
able to come up with a frame work that can adequately apply the above material
in other to meet up with the project expectations.
1.7PRESENTATION OF ENTERPRISE
ODECO IN A FEW WORDS
ODECO IS:
An NGO recognized for her actions and works
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ODECO is recognized in particular by its grassroots partners, government

institutions, financial and operational partners, which has made it the first
Cameroonian NGO to be approved by the government on July 08, 2003 under
the 1999 NGO law.
Who’s Mission
To contribute significantly to the development of communities and

organizations in the areas where it operates, with particular emphasis on
supporting the populations in the definition and implementation of their
technical, organizational and managerial development strategies, the promotion
of '' an entrepreneurial spirit all this, in a concern of collaboration, sharing and
cooperation by the development of its skills and those of its partners.
And our Vision is
To become a major actor in development dynamics at all levels where our skills
are required.
Our Approach
Direct consultation that take in account the participation and involvement of the
various players at each level (rural, local, national)
Main areas of intervention
• Organizational skills
• Technical and organizational skills
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• Training of trainers on various topics
• Project/program assessment
• Project/program monitoring and evaluation
ODECO ORGANIZATION
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
15 members, is the supreme decision-making body
FIGURE 2 ; ODECO CAMEROON ORGANIGRAM
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The organization is a benchmark in capacity building for wealth creation among

agricultural producers in Cameroon and the central African sub region. We also
strengthen organizations technical and logistic capacity in agriculture, local
environment development and communication awareness.
1.7.1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
ODECO Cameroon, better known as the organization for the development of

studies and advice was created in 1990 by the Cameroonian executive fresh out
of the university and eager to pool knowledge to contribute to the development
of their country.
1.7.2 PRODUCTS AND SEVICE
ODECO Cameroon is a servicing enterprise charged with the responsibility of

training workers in equipping them with the various skills and technical know-
how needed in their various competences. Workers are also equipped with
technical and logistic capacity that will better improve their organization
performance.
1.7.3ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE (organigram)
We have the board of directors, the executing committee and board of advisors.
The chapters include: finance committee, education committee, health
committee, clean water committee, agricultural committee, environmental
committee, audit committee and volunteers committee. Under members and
volunteers; project coordinators, fundraising coordinators, event coordinators
and awareness coordinators.
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1.7.4. FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPERTMENTS
Here we focus on the main functions each department: the board of directors
ensures the company’s prosperity by collectively directing the company’s affair,
whilst meeting the appropriate interests of its shareholders and stakeholders, the
executing committee completes all required preparations, analysis and
evaluation on the issues such as effect financial dimension, legal statement, and
strategic priorities before the election of the important procedure by the board of
directors. The other departments have secondary functions.
THE EXECUTING COMMITTEE
• Providing organizational directions and acting on behalf of board, that is

it provide organizational direction for the CEO and the full board.
• Committee members help CEO and board members to establish items for
board meeting agendas.
• They conduct research relative to investment, risk and industrial trends,

so that they actively participate in strategic planning and advice the board
on business matters.
• They monitor and evaluate progress towards organizational goals and

making periodic presentations to the full board on progress.
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THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
• Overseeing the financial reporting and disclosure process.
• Monitoring choice of accounting policies and principles.
• Overseeing hiring, performance and dependence of external auditors.
• Overseeing of regulatory compliance, ethics and whistleblower hotlines.
• Monitoring internal control process.
• Overseeing the performance of the internal audit function.
• Discussing risk management policies and practices with management.
• They assist board of director to fulfill its corporate governance and

overseeing responsibilities in relation to the organizational financial
report, internal control, risk management system and internal and
external functions.
• It provides advice and recommendation to the board within the scope of

its terms and reference to chapters.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND FINANCES SUB -COMMITEE
• Setting the strategic direction to guide and direct the activities of the
organization.
• Ensuring the effective management of the organizational activities.
• Monitoring the activities of the organization and to ensure they are in

keeping founding principles, object and values.
• Acting with integrity and avoiding personal conflicts of interest.
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• Giving adequate time and energy to the duties of being a trustee.
Upholding the values and objectives of the organization.

PLANNING SUB-COMMITTEE
They implement the strategic plan. It is entrusted with the responsibility of

liaising with institutional bodies to raise funds and for planning activities. It
goals are as follows:
Review membership fees.
Review budget for strategic plan.
Liaise with donors for funding.
Responsibilities include:
Develop a comprehensive budget for implementation of the strategic plan (this

will require input from all other sub-committee).
Ascertain resource requirement of ODECO for strategic plan period.
Obtain work operational plans of other sub-committee.
Conduct a review of the current fee structure and its intended purpose twenty
percent for administration and eighty percent for training.
Report to membership on the statues of funding activities.
Review internal financial resources and make recommendations.
Report to membership on the implementation of budget activities.
Ensure audit of ODECO finance.
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1.7.5 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The organization is located in Cameroon center region Yaoundé.
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BEAC
MFOUNDI MARKET YAOUNDE

AVE DE L’INDEPENDANCE
ODECO
CAMEROON
CAMAIR-CO
From poste central

BICEC
AGENCE
FIGURE 3; ODECO CAMEROON GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
1.8 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
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A Project: A project is a temporary effort aim at producing a good or service in

relationship to the quality, cost and time set by the project shareholders.
Project management: according to the PMI, project management is defined as

a system which involves the identification, planning and organizing as well as
monitoring of a project in order to get a specified objective.
Project planning; this is a part of project management which relates to the use
of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress
within the project environment.
Plan; an intended future course of action.
Activity; this is an element of work perform during the execution of a project,

an activity normally has an expected duration, cost, resources requirements and
activities equally have defined beginnings and endings.
Deliverables; this are any measureable, tangible, results or items that must be
produced to complete a project or part of a project.
Project schedule; it communicates what communicates what tasks need to get

done and which organizational resources will be allocated to complete those
tasks in what time frame. It lists the milestones, activity, and deliverables
usually with their intended start and finished time.
Milestone; this is a significant event in the project; usually the completion of a

major deliverable.
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Work breakdown structure; a deliverable oriented grouping of project elements

that organizes and defines the total work scope of the project in a hierarchical
structure.
Work package: the lowest level work element in the work break down structure
which can no more be decomposed or breakdown or break down into tasks.
Gantt chart;
1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE WORK
The study was organized in five chapters,
 chapter one comprises the introduction which deals with the background
of the study, profile of the organization under Ismy problem statement,
objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, a
brief summary of method used, scope, limitation of the study.
 Chapter two reveals both the literature and theoretical review about the
topic. Chapter three looks at the methodology which is basically the
research purpose, design, data collectionand a brief profile of the
organization.
 Chapter four presents, analyze and interpretation of data.
 Finally chapter five comprise of summary,recommendation and
conclusion.
CHAPTER TWO
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Here we are going to see some theories and concept that have been developed on
PROJECT PLANNING.
2.0. INTODUTION TO LITERATURE

Project planning is the process of establishing the scope and defining the
objectives and steps to attain them. It is one of the processes that makes up a
project management, the output of project planning process is a project
management plan. Project planning is a key to successful project management
and focuses on developing a roadmap that everyone will follow.
• STEP ONE
This phase typically begins with certain goals. The first step is tomake
sure your goals are SMART
SMART goals; give you clarity and a deadline for achieving them.
SMART goals are;
Firstly specific; to get specific goals, answer the following questions:
who, what, where, when, which, and why. Your goal should be clearly defined
Secondly measurable: you need to quantify your goal so you know how
you will achieved it this is were being specific helps, a specific amount is
measurable.
Furthermore attainable: identify the most important goals and what it
will take to achieve them.
Moreover realistic: you should be willing and able to work toward a
particular goal.
Finally Timely; your objectives should be plan within a given time frame
in other for it to be easy to be achieved.
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FIGURE 4 ; SMART ANALYSES
• STEP TWO
Identifying project deliverables, deliverables are what drive the success or
failure of each project. Deliverables usually has an expiration date and is
tangible, measurable and specific. Project deliverables are the goods or services
that must be provided upon the completion of a project.
• STEP THREE
Determining the projects activities and tasks that are to be performed. In project
management a task is an activity that need to be accomplished within a defined
period of time in other to achieved the project deliverable. In other to come out
with the project activities and task we can made used of A work breakdown
structure which is the hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by
the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required
deliverables.
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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
PROJECT GOAL
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITY ACTVITY ACTIVITY
TASK TASK
TASK TASK TASK TASK TASK TASK
FIGURE 5 ; WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
From the diagram above the top level is the PROJECT GOAL, the second level
is the project objective, the third level is the project various activities, the fourth
level is the various tasks to be performed under each activity.
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STEP FOUR
Creating a project schedule, this is listening the project milestones , activities
and deliverables usually with intended start and finished dates. A project
schedule indicates what needs to be done, which resources must be utilized and
when the project is due, Schedule often use for scheduling is GANTT CHART,
this is a project management tool which assist in the planning and scheduling of
project of all sizes although there are particularly useful for simplifying
complexes projects. It helps to have the visual display of the whole project,
timeline and dateline of all tasks, relationship and dependencies between the
various activities, helps in making project adjustment, monitor and report
progress, control and communicate the schedule, allocate resources and identify
and report problems.
FIGURE 6 ; GANTT CHART
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 STEP FOUR
Follow through. These step helps you to follow your schedule . the daily task
you have assigned yourself to do, when you feel like things are not moving well,
find a way to keep yourself motivated , while you are it, keep track your
accomplishments and results. Set aside time every month to evaluate how well
your plan is working and rearrange it if you are not making the progress you
want.
2.1THEORETICAL FRAME WORK

There is another approach to management called management as organizing
which has been presented as a counterpart to management as planning. Under
the theory of management asplanning written by Johnston in 1995; Johnston
and brennan in 1996 it assumes that human activity is inherently situated i.e a
response to the structure in question. Thus the structured natured of the
environment may contribute to purposeful acting . Communication is not
hierarchicalbased on interaction between subunits. In this approach,
management involves design, coordination and enabling of otherwise. It is to
note that it is not a question of internally consistent theories.it is important to
note that it is not a question of internally consistent theories, but of theoretical
orientations, that have implicitly been used. Also it is noteworthy that the
approach of management as organizing is not exclusive; rather representations
and plans are accepted one as one possible basis of purposeful action.
The proponent of the management as organizing model have presented
several strands of critiques against the management as planning model by
JOHNSTON AND BRENNAN 1996. First, it has been held that it is not
generally possible to maintain a complete and up to date representation of the
current circumstances and the plan to change them.
Secondly, the absolute separation of management and execution is not seen to
adequately correspond to organizational reality. Thirdly, the plan push tasks to
execution without taking the status of the production system into account. The
last two aspects mean that this model; leave the task of management essentially
uncoupled from everyday activity; Johnston and brennan 1996 also the model
implies that the process and outputs of planning are not questioned.
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2.2CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
A plan should be feasible challenging, realistic, usable efficient and optimal.

Below are the concepts that will help you to deliver a plan that leads to project
success. Believe it or not, small and medium projects rely on proper planning
more that large ones. So skipping or neglecting project planning usually leads to
failure.
1.A plan is not only about schedule. Quite often we understand a plan in a
narrow meaning for example as a Gantt chart or a milestones chart, the might be
some extra items on your list like scope or risk management plan . All the rest is
taken as granted at best or you have never even thought about the real extent of
planning. While providing a simplified workflow for planning work they imply
that many functions already exist in your environment. They omit a set a set of
roles processes and activities that should already be present before you can work
efficiently. PMBOK Guide describes ten knowledge areas that they recommend
planning for. To the extent applicable to your project you need to have a sub
plan of them. Therefore your planning should cover
1. Scope
2. Time
3. Quality
4. Risks
5. Communication
6. Stakeholders
7. Resource
8. Procurement
Some of the areas required in depth coverage for each project. Others required
one time effort and can be reused
2.Key concept of project planning; planning fallacy.
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By default, we are terrible at planning. And there is not much you can do about
it.
It is the key concept of project planning, only by experiencing problems we can
learn to anticipate adverse events in future.
Planning in essence is an attempt to guess the future. Which is in fact a waste of
time.
Having too many dependencies and relations, unknown factors and unexpected
events …. The is no way you can take everything into consideration. So you can
only try to interpret uncertainties using your experiences. It means that in
general you have two conceptually different types of work you need to plan;
The work that you are mostly sure about. You know what, how, and who will do
it. You also know how long it will take and what outcome you will receive. It is
also good to be sure of the quality of the result.
The second type is work with uncertainties. At the given time you may not be
sure about the outcome until it is partly done. OR you cannot be certain about
the overall quality due to the interdependencies and the nature of the work. A
project work the one that you are sure of will be done as fast as it is possible
until the tasks are feasible.so once you have a plan, it is as good as the amount
of unknown that impacts it. Therefore, the better you manage uncertainties, the
closer you will be to your initial plan.
So its good to focus planning on managing risks, dealing with unexpected, and
clarifying uncertainties in a systematic and controlled way.
3.Planning is everything,
Planning is not about getting a fixed path. The biggest benefit of planning
activities is not plan itself but a mental simulation of your project. During
planning you imagine how a project will go, what can go wrong, how will
overcome problem, how you will manage change, etc
the more if then cases you will brainstorm and stimulate the more problems you
will identify the more prepared you will be
I really do it
33
For example, I sit with Gantt chart in front of me and try to imagine how the
project will proceed day after day . I ask myself questions and attempt to answer
to them. Then imagine unexpected events like sick leaves, technological
problems, new risks, etc I check on the plan B or reserves that can cover them.
Also think of possible communication that will be required in the case of an
emergency. So the most useful output is to prepared for unexpected.
Secondly a plan should be flexible. They should not change every time
something unexpected happens. So a plan should include measures to handle the
changes efficiently. Therefore choosing the proper methodology and processes
is a vital part of project planning. On the other hand you need to keep track of
your flexibility resources.
4.Planning is iterative. It is a key project planning concept. You can not and
should not try to create a project plan in one approach. The process is simple
when you find a new piece of information about a project integrate it. Now go
back to the start of the planning process. It might be as far back as reviewing the
project charter, fast forward through the process and ensure that your input did
not invalidate your plan.
5. Making promises
This project planning concept might seem controversial. If you create a project
plan and customer signed it off, you made a promise. This is part of professional
ethics to keep your promises. So now you need to deliver the project results on
time and within constraints. The only valid way to correct the plan is by formal
change request: it usually comes naturally when a customer or a sponsor asks for
a change but if you need you make a change out of mistake or due to change
request from an internal stakeholder. For example something was missed during
the scope definition which was again your fault. You can not break your
promise. How ever we can negotiate with the terms of the promise. And it must
be done a earlier as possible. You should never delay or hide problems even if it
means a hit on your reputation.
6.Do not plan alone.
34
Engaging your team in planning activities has a set of benefits. First of all you
can delegate part of your work to the team. If the team is appropriate to the
project at hand , they will do some planning activities far better than you.
Therefore you will get a deeper analysis and input from different perspectives.
If you delegate the activities correctly you will also gain the team buy in, it will
be great team building effort, and most importantly team members will feel
ownership and responsibility for a project .if you are in doubt whether it is worth
the effort, breakdown and analyze the scrum framework.
It is built around this concept of delegating planning and responsibility for
commitment to the team. And srum works
7.Project management concepts for all small teams
There is no clear line when a team becomes large enough to have a
comprehensive planning in all knowledge areas.
However it is believe that small teams can be managed in a more efficient way
by applying project management concepts for smaller teams
2.3. EMPIRICAL LETERATURE
Fondahl 198O points out that it is practically not possible or at least it is very
difficult to maintain an up to date plan. He describes the resulting situation
illuminatingly. One of the major failure in the application of networking
techniques has been the failure to utilize the dynamic potential of these
procedures. All too often however only the original plan and scheduling data are
ever produced. They continue to cover the office wall long after they are
obsolete and bear little resemblance to the current progress of the job.
Thus, the empirical evidence supports the theoretical argument of the
impossibility of maintaining a complete up to date plan.
2.4. Conclusion
35
. CHAPTER THREE
3.0. INTRODUCTION
As part of my academic studies and formation, I was involve in a one internship

on project management in ODECO Cameroon where I had practical on project
planning and was also faced with some difficulties faced by managers. We will
focus on my source of information, analysis and presentation of my internship
period with ODECO activities.
3.1. RECALL OF OBJECTIVES
• To be successfully integrated in an organization for internship.
At the end of internship
• To have an internship attestation
• Should be able to produce an internship report with less difficulty.
• To have some managerial experience and be equipped with some

managerial skill.
• Should be able to make some technical decisions and also understand the
effect of customer designed on a project to the design of the project
manager.
3.2. SOURCES OF DATA.
The source of data collection in this document include: include primary source
and secondary sources
3.2.1. PRIMARY SOURCES
36
• Direct inter views with ODECOCameroon.
• Personal experiences.
• Organizational documents (writings and photographs).
• Manuscripts (Architectural plans).
3.2.2 SECONDARY SOURCES

• Books on the internet.
• Books at the library.
• Web sites (Chrome and Wikipedia).
3.3 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

4 Interview
5 Mission
6 Vision statement
7 Internet
8 Survey
37
3.4 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS (QUALITATIVE)
OFLIINE ONLINE
METHODS METHODS
VERBAL-REPORT DATA OBSERVATION OF

BEHAVIOUR
 Retrospective • Observation protocols

Interview/questionnaires
 Generalized • Brain pattern measurement
Interviews/ questionnaires • Eye tracking
Figure 7 ; Method of data analysis
38
3.5PRESENTATION OF INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES

• With assistance, observation and identify an area of waste that is causing
work flow disruption and focus and efforts on developing a means to
eradicate the situation.
• Assist project management team with administration of projects related to

work and portfolio management.
• Create management ideas and other business brilliant servicing strategy

for senior managers.
• Work in partnership with project managers and document control to

manage timelines for completion.
• Assisted in project management planning, tracking and execution for

various projects across functional teams
• Help to improve Comcast’s result through a project or series of work
• Develop project delivery insight, challenges, knowledge and investigate

areas of improvement.
• Complete work that is started.
39
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENSTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF

RESULTS
4.1DATA PRESENTATION
QUESTIONS
1. What is project planning

2. How to plan a project
3. What are other factors that lead to project success apart from effective
project planning
4. Are all project plan in the same approach
5. What are the factors that affect project planning
6. What are the measures that can be taken to ensure that a project is
completed at the estimated ending date
7. What is impact of inadequate project planning on project success
8. How can you manage planning failure
9. Why do must projectmanagers choose the Gantt chart for project
scheduling
10.What are the benefit of a good project plan
ANSWERS AND RELATED LITERATURE
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA

What is project planning What are the factors that affect project
planning
How to plan a project What are the Impact of inadequate
project planning on project success
40
What are the factors that lead to How can you manage planning failure
project success apart from effective
project planning
Are all projects plan in the same Why do must project managers used
Approach the Gantt chart for scheduling
What are the measures that can be What are the benefit of a good project
taken to ensure that a project is plan
completed at the estimated ending date
4.2DATA ANALYSIS
QUALITATIVE METHOD OF ANALYSIS
RESEARCH TITLES ELEMENT TO BE CODES

CODED
What is project planning Planning this is a part of project
management which
relates to the use of
schedules such as Gantt
charts to plan and
subsequently report
progress within the
project environment.
How to plan a project Planning process Firstly action plan,

project implementation
and budget schedule and
Gantts chart
What are factors that Factors that lead to They is
leads to project success project success  Feasibility studies
apart from effective
 Elaborate well
project planning
your planning
41
schedule
 Get the right
resources needed
at the right time to
do the right thing
at the right place
Are all projects plan in Project planning A project is plan

the same approach approaches according to the purpose
and problem it is out to
solve e.g economic
projects and social
project are not plan using
the same approach
What are the measures Measures for project  Planning meeting
that are taken to ensure completion  Good team spirit
that a project is  Budget control
completed at a estimated
ending date
What are the factors that Factors affecting project  Technological
affect project planning planning illiteracy
 Lack of resources
 Lack of executive
support
 Unrealistic
expectation
What are the Impact of Impact of inadequate Its going to lead to
inadequate project project planning project delay
planning on project Equally customer and
success stakeholder expectations
cant be reached
How can project Management of plan  Make use of
planning failure be failure project supporting
manage
42
plan
 Move quickly
 Ask for help
 Analyze the data
Why do must project Advantages of a Gantt  It helps to know
managers used the Gantt chart what is going on
chart for scheduling in the project
 See overlapping
activities and task
dependencies
 Improved team
communication
What are the benefit of a Benefits of project plan  It helps you track
good project plan project progress
 Identify
interdependences
 Risk assessment
 More efficient
resources
allocation
The impact of inadequate project planning on project success, this is going

to lead to project failure as a result of project delay and also because customer
and stakeholder expectation can’t be achieved. Planning failure in areas such as
undefine goal and objectives, inadequate risk management, poor estimation of
resources and feedback cycle on communication too slow. During the execution
phase the resources will be wrongly attributed as a result of poor estimation of
resources as well as communication problem as a result of poor feedback cycle
leading to project delay then with the absent of risks plan to mitigate these
problem there by causing project failure.
Factors that affect project planning,
43
One of the factors that affect project planning t is lack of resource which arises
in an organization which leads to project planning failure as planning process
can’t be carryout in an organization because the resources required for work to
be done is not available,
equally another factor that can effect project planning is technological
illiteracy, when an organization gets involve in a project in which they do not
have the technology required for production, the organization will have to
train employees on that technology and purchasing of equipment to met up with
that technology thereby increasing project cost more than the original budget
allocated to carryout the project therefore affect project planning since it will
fail to allocate the above extra resources
and finally lack of executive support in an organization can affect project
planning if the project plan been draft by the project manager at the planning
phase is not being accepted by stakeholders because of reasons such as lack of
profitability in the project, these will lead to plan failure.
Project planning approach; all projects under project planning are not being
plan using the same approach. That is economic project are being plan
differently from social project. An in case a social project is being plan using the
economic approach or an economic project being plan using a social approach
these will lead to project failure. This is because social projects like child labor
for such project to be carryout as it is always found in the rural areas for an
organization to came in contact with those children the need to pass through the
traditional authorities and also through the adoptive parents before reaching the
children while for economic projects feasibility studies just need to be carryout
to know if the project is achievable.
The success of project is not only achieved through effective projectplanning but
also through other factors such as team spirit that is corporation to finalize
project, feasibility studies which are being carryout at the identification phase
and also getting the right resource at the right time to do the right thing at the
right place. If these other factors seen above are not been handle carefully in an
organization, there may lead to project failure.
44
4.3INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
The study concludes that project managers view project planning as an

important determinant of project success. But other factor still lead to the
success of a project such as, remuneration packages paid to project managers is
an inevitable boost to their productivity in a project. Project managers who are
more satisfied are better performers of their project. Greater job security is
another aspect which led to better management of project planning in a project,
probably because it enables manager to be more focus.
Also feasibility studies carryout at the identification phase is another important
factor that needs to be carefully handle as it stands at the project baseline if an
organization wrongly carryout its feasibility studies its going to have an impact
on the other phases and consequently project failure.
Furthermore lack of team spirt in an organization can have a negative impact on
a project because each worker at his or her own level will only be doing what
the like not working toward the organization goal and objectives leading to
project failure. Were as when the is team spirit in an organization there is high
interaction between team members leading to project success.
LIMITATIONS
The study only focuses on project planning as the main factors of project
success if managed well not taking into consideration of other factors such as
remuneration packages, team spirit, feasibility studies and effective allocation of
resources which could provoke better management and does leading to a
successful project.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Forproject planning to be effective leading to project success below are

measures to be undertaken during the planning process;
 Planning meeting
Planning meeting should be organized every end of month to
evaluate what was plan and has been done and what had to be done
already and is not yet completed, at this level the organization
should take measures for those activities to be up to date in other
for the project to success
45
 Good team spirit

Here the work each person is to perform should be highlighted, the link
between each employee and to whom results are to be handled.
 Budget control
This is a financial jargon for managing income and expenditure within a
project, in practice it means regularly comparing actual income or
expenditure to planned income or expenditure to identify whether or not
corrective action are required.
CHAPTER FIVE
46
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDING
This research work is tittle ‘ THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT

PLANNING TO THE SUCCESS OF A PROJECT’ project planning is very
important to be taken into consideration before executing a project this is
actually so because project planning contributes to project success that is to say
a proper project planning will lead to the success of a project.
Traditional wisdom is that project planning is important and with planning in a
project, the project will be more successful. Time spent on this activity will
reduced risk and increase project success, on the other hand, inadequate
planning will lead to a failed in project.
Project planning play an essential role in a project in helping guide stakeholders,
sponsors, and the project manager through other project phases, project planning
is needed to identify the desired goals, reduce risks, avoid missed deadlines and
ultimately deliver the agreed project, service or results
Project planning in an organization helps greatly by reducing uncertainty and
risk the organization must face and also helps the organization to used scarce
resources wisely and efficiently.
5.2PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

 The broadness of the subject matter: which is the importance of
project planning to the successes of a project is very broad with a wider
range of information which needs to be collected, treated PROBLEMS,
interpret and integrate. With all this aspect, it was a little bit difficult to
determine the right material which could have cause some confusion and
mixed up.
 Unorganized information: The data present for my report and study was
on organized and as such it made it difficult for me to know which one
comes first which one will follow.
47
 Poor English skills- Grammar: The lack of knowledge of a wider

variety of grammatical expressions both the meaning and their spelling
made the report writing more complicated as I had to use common
English.
 Difficulty in getting and environment for internship: As part of my

academics internship of three months was recommended and there was a
lot struggles before could get an organization for internship. The secretory
of the boss of that organization never wanted me to carry on internship
there, first she delays to utter my files to the boss and when that fails she
tries to discourage me about working with the boss. Had it been that with
all those odds against me left, I would have wasted time and probably
not having a chance to test the hypothesis of the study in the working
environment.
SOLUTIONS
 Professors should make students familiarize with grammatical terms in

their filled of study by using them during lectures.
 Supervisor should help candidates in the organization of materials

determining which one comes first and vice versa.
 The subject of study should not be too vast and bulky; this will lead to
disorganized materials and unclear substances that is what is needed.
 The institution should not only give what the student need for internship
but they should also specify the importance of internship in the letter of
application to facilitate student admission.
RECOMMENDATIONS
48
Given the above difficulties and the present format as well as the study in
question, it is recommended that candidate should be given a less complicated
format and the information of the format should be clear stated out to facilitate
understanding and making student to be self-reliant rather than over dependent
on supervisors and other sources for materials not formulated by them. That
being said, this approach makes student to be more competent since they know
what is needed and only little will be done to guide them.
5.4CONCLUSIONS
Giving the above difficulties that is unorganized materials, poor grammatical
expressions and broad subject matter, candidates are endeavoring to work extra
had to achieve objectives, but it is noted that nothing good comes easily but with
the above solutions such as familiarizing with subject grammatical terms and
supervisors efforts organizing materials and recommendation the part to success
becomes smoother and eloquent.
5.5AREAS OF FUTURE RESEARCH
Based on my area of research work, it can be observed that for the management
of project planning leading to project success, it will required another essential
tool such as feasibility study and team spirit, therefore I would like to further
these research by looking at the IMPORTANCE OF FEASIBILITY STUDY
AND TEAM SPIRIT TO PROJECT SUCCESS.
APPENDICE
49
APPENDIX 1 ; ORGANIGRAM
ODECO ORGANIZATION
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
15 members, is the supreme decision-making body
APPENDIX 2; LOCALISATIONAL PLAN
50
BEAC
MFOUNDI MARKET YAOUNDE

AVE DE L’INDEPENDANCE
ODECO
CAMEROON
CAMAIR-CO
From poste central

BICEC
AGENCE
APPENDIX 3; ATTESTATION OF INTERNSHIP
51
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Omega 1996. Robbert B Johnston and Brennan, volume 24. Theory of
management as planning.
 Construction management and organisation 1980, Fondahl, network
techniques for Project planning, scheduling and control, New York.
52
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THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT PLANNING TO THE SUCCESS OF A PROJECT

I TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH hereby declares that the presentation of this

TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

DEPARTMENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SIANTOU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE YAOUNDE

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

I hereby declare that the internship report entitled “THE IMPORTANCE OF

Professional supervisor……… Academic supervisor……..

President of the jury……………..

1ST member of the jury………………..

2nd member of jury………………

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

I dedicate this piece of work to my Parents MR ATANGA PETER

To my uncle LOUIS LOH who supported me during the hard periods of my

My best friend HENRIGLEN MWAMBO NJIEwho guided me on how to

I would like to thank all the staffs of SIANTOU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

DR MULEMA VERONICA my supervisor she is and was the best I would

MY PARENTS, MR ATANGA PETER TANGANG AND MRS

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

Project planning plays an essential role in helping guide stakeholders, sponsors,

ONG ODECO Cameroon: To contribute significantly to the development of

Internship activities couple with laid down objectives as well as difficulties

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

1.1Background of the study………………………………………………10

1.2 Problem statement……………………………………………………13

1.3 objective of the study…………………………………………………..13

1.4 Research question……………………………………………………..14

1.5 Significance of the study……………………………………………….14

1.6 The scope and limitation of the study…………………………………14

1.7 Presentation of the enterprise………………………………………….15

1.7.1. Historical back ground……………………………………………...18

1.7.3 Organizational structure (organigram)……………………………....18

1.7.4 Functions of the departments………………………………………..18

1.7. Geographical location………………………………………………..23

1.8. Definition of terms………………………………………………….24

1.9. Structure of the work………………………………………………25

2.0 Introduction to literature Review……………………………………26

2.3 Empirical literature………………………………………………….33

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

METHODOLOGY AND INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES

3.1. Recall of objectives………………………………………………35

3.2. Source of data…………………………………………………….36

3.2.1. (i) primary sources……………………………………………...36

3.2.2. (ii) secondary sources…………………………………………..36

3.3. Methodology of data collection…………………………………...36

3.4. Methodology of data analysis………………………………………37

3.5. Presentation of internship activities…………………………………37

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF

SUMMARY FINDINGS PROBLEM, RECOMMENDATION AND

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

5.1. Summary findings……………………………………………….46

5.2. Problems encountered and solutions………………………………..46

5.5. Areas of future research

APPENDIX 2; LOCALISATION PLAN……………………………..50

APPENDIX 3; ATTESTATION OF INTERNSHIP………………...51

Table 1; data presentation………………………………………40

Table 2; qualitative method of data analysis……………………40

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH

Figure 6; Gantt chart……………………………………………………2

WRITTEN AND PRESENTED BY; TANGANG FEVOUR TAMUH