An assessment of project management tools application on project performance: the case of real estate projects in Nairobi County Kenya

Abstract

Project Management has gained importance over the last few decades and it is increasingly common in many types of organisations. Today there is a concern over the relevance of the more conventional project management approaches to problems that are increasingly complex, constrained and involve large numbers of interested parties or stakeholders. This study sought to examine the influence of application of project management tools on project performance. In particular, the study was guided by three objectives; to establish the effects of Gantt charts; to find out the influence of work breakdown structure and to establish the effects of network analysis on project performance of real estate projects within Nairobi County. The study was anchored by three theories project life cycle model, Pinto’s Model of Project Management and Belassi and Tukel’s Critical Success Factors Model. In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives the study adopted a descriptive survey design where the study’s target institutions consisted of all the 69 real estate firms registered by Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA). The study therefore adopted census sampling technique since it studied all the project managers. The study utilized primary data that was collected through questionnaire administration. The collected data was edited for completeness, coded and transcribed into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) where the data was analyzed. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics that was used in the study includes the mean and standard deviations whereas the inferential statistics that the study adopted includes correlation and regression analysis. Correlation analysis was done to establish the nature and strength of the relationships between variables whereas the regression analysis was used to determine the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The study findings indicated that real estate developers were concerned about the project performance so as to enhance the whole organizations performance. This was enhanced by use of various project management tools such as work breakdown structures, Gantt charts and Network analysis. The study findings further indicated that work breakdown structures, Gantt charts and Network analysis had a positive and significant relationship with project performance. The study findings indicated that the combined effect of the predictor variables explained 77.5% of the variations in project performance. The study concludes that there was increased and improved performance at real estate firms due to usage of project management tools. Results also led to a conclusion that training has increased efficiency and job satisfaction among the employees at real estate firms hence the organizational performance at large. The study recommends that the management of real estate firms should do thorough assessment of an organization’s current practices, providing ongoing training in project management practices, and implementing the necessary controls that ensure compliance with these established practices that organizations can ensure they will be able to deliver projects on-time, on-budget, and providing the desired functionality. It is also recommended that organizations must recognize the importance of establishing sound project management practices when it comes to developing and/or implementing any projects in their organizations. Therefore the study recommends a further research on which factors within the organization and outside the organization impact project performance.