The impact of project management on the performance of construction projects in public tertiary institutions in Uganda: The case of Makerere University

Abstract

This study investigated the nature and impact of project management on the performance of construction projects in public tertiary institutions in Uganda. The specific objectives of the study were; to the existing project management processes in construction projects at Makerere University; assess the resource capacity of these construction projects and management teams and to analyzed tools and techniques applied by project managers of construction projects at Makerere University. Guided by the systems and contingency theories, the researcher sought to establish how project management teams of construction projects applied dealt with emerging situations in Makerere University. Qualitative Methods were applied through the use of key informant interviews to collect primary data from the project management teams at Makerere University. Findings reveal that project management in Makerere University follows the standard project management life cycle regardless of their different and special characteristics. However, the cycle is faced with inadequacies and shortfalls that make the attainment of the desired objectives difficult. The results further reveal that resources are not adequately available to project management teams to facilitate the project management while the tools and techniques applied in project management at Makerere were not understood well enough to produce the required project outputs of time, cost and quality. The research therefore recommends that project management teams should be helped to build capacity of their teams through mechanisms such as team orientation and trainings in order to provide them with the skills and techniques needed to manage the different stages of the project management cycle. The teams should also be availed adequate resources to be able to manage the projects with minimum constraints. The study thus concludes that providing adequate resources and ensuring their proper management at all stages of the project management cycle are vital for achieving the desired outputs in construction projects.