The Influence of Utilization of Project Documents on Performance of County Government Projects in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

The use of project management approach in management of organizations is gaining importance globally. Project management provides organizations with powerful tools at every project stage. Project initiation is the first stage in project management and is marked with the presence of communication plans, project design, risk management plans and project procurement plans. The aim of this research was to find out how these plans contribute to project performance with focus government projects in Kitui County in Kenya. The research was conducted through a survey. The target population of this study was the group of project managers of the 241 managers of the stalled and ongoing government projects in Kitui County. Stratified sampling basing on the 9 ministries and the county office was used to get the sample of 152 managers. Information about the projects was obtained by visiting the project site and a self-administered questionnaire completed by the respondent manager. The validity of the questionnaire was established by seeking expert opinion from my supervisor and expert opinion from scholars in the school of education and distance learning at University of Nairobi. Reliability was established through a test-retest in a pilot study with 10 managers responding to the questionnaire twice without expectation. Data collection was done by use of a self-administered questionnaire. Statistics like mean standard deviation and percentages were used to analyze the data. Regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The research culminated in a research project. The findings led to the provision of recommendation on how documents can be used to improve project performance in Kitui County. The study found that, lack of reviewing communication plan influenced the performance of government projects in Kitui County. Communication between the parties also influenced the performance of the project which was not effective in the County. The study further revealed that past experience and relevant data should be used in designing project and the standards to be achieved should be clear since they influence the performance of government projects in the County. The study recommends that the county governments should improve the current status of projects in the counties. The projects should attain any tangible and observable performance levels. The study further recommends that the regulatory and legal conditions should be clear to the project team and a clear plan outlining timeframes for acquiring the products should be in place since it also affects performance of government projects in the county