An Exploration of the Success Criteria and Factors for International Development Project Planning: A Case Study of Wa Municipality

Abstract

This research investigates ID projects with the goal of clearly understanding the critical planning factors that contribute to ID projects success. Development partners use projects such as the ISS program in Ghana supported by the multilateral and bilateral systems to provide long-lasting remedies to the many problems of emerging regions. Project planning, a critical but sometimes unstudied aspect of PM, has a greater impact on ID success. However, the confusion that planning does not ensure the success of ID projects but makes it more likely in the formal PM literature is the worrying issue here. The significant investments made on ID projects did not produce the desired outcomes in Ghana. The Traditional and Agile PM theories underpinned this current study. The current researcher conducted a case study on the ISS program in Ghana within a qualitative investigation. A number of semi-structured interviews were done purposively with ID academics and practitioners in Ghana at the administrative, career progression, and execution levels to get their pragmatic perspectives. The results of this study showed that there are five key themes that can be utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of ID projects focusing on project planning: project management competency, team performance, ID organizational performance, ID planning tools/methods, and ID project documentation. The general effectiveness of planning for ID projects is influenced by twenty critical success factors. Ownership, a defined mission and vision, communication, and leadership are among those that have been deemed most critical success factors during ID project planning. Again, planning for development projects is hampered by the ineffective engagement of major stakeholders. Supporting entities and recipient governments must make sure that the conditions necessary for that success are met.