Project planning and appraisal concepts, approaches and methods

Abstract

This book is based upon our experiences as economics and project planning and management students, development practitioners, consultants and lecturers at our institutions. The difficulties we faced in understanding project planning and analysis, as students, our discoveries about what was applicable and inapplicable in the field both as practitioners and consultants, and our development of the ability to communicate difficult concepts in simple and understandable language but without compromising and sacrificing technicality and accuracy as a teachers and consultants have become the basis of this book.

Project planning and appraisal is taught as a supportive subject in several ways in many academic disciplines such as economics, forestry economics, nature conservation, agriculture, community development, education, industrial production and marketing, entrepreneurship, health, transportation etc. The core philosophical base for this book comes from our conviction that, although these disciplines vary in content, their broad approach to project planning and appraisal is similar. This book therefore is designed and presented in a way that students and practitioners in all these fields will find it more useful and easy to use at various levels and purposes.

Dreaming up and executing any project — like building a tree house, so it is putting a man on the moon or building a Queen Mary Cruise ship or NASA sending Juno to Jupiter, starting a small business, or creating a new Web site, from the simplest home improvement to the most complex business or scientific venture— is a multiple-step process. It involves brainstorming, planning, appraising different available options, scheduling, budgeting, communicating and organizing. A well and carefully planned project has got higher chances of successful completion. Whether, it is for are a building contractor (planning and executing construction projects) or a development project planner, or a lecturer in the field of project planning and appraisal and/or a student pursuing a course on project planning and/or project management, they need the tools to help them achieve their goals. This book is one of the tools that they will find very valuable; it will help them in making informed decisions as to whether they should implement a certain project and not the other.

This book is designed specifically for students who are very new to the subject, and to those who may not be very new but have a psychological barrier with regard to the subject, and to practitioners who are not seasoned experts in this field. We have therefore not assumed much knowledge on the part of the user (reader); we have deliberately dwelt much on imparting theoretical knowledge to readers rather than skills based on calculations and demonstration that may be inappropriate for the new and inexperienced users on the assumption that once one has obtained a reasonable knowledge on the theoretical background of the subject matter can easily obtain some other books which are more skill based and are plenty in the market. Where necessary we have pulled a number of relevant cases and examples from across the globe so as to be able to communicate complex concepts. Areas covered in this book follow a ‘simple to complex’

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approach in terms of their discussion, the approach we prefer most in our teaching, and of course which has proved successful.

Therefore, this book provides the users with a clear and accessible introduction to the practice of project planning, and appraisal techniques. We have focused on the key issues which need to be identified and resolved in the appraisal process, and which will help the potential appraiser to develop the skills he or she needs.