A study of the effect of project management methods on time management of building projects in Kampala

Abstract

Project management has been much practiced on building projects for a long time, as well as means of planning and monitoring. However research has revealed that still there are time overruns, on so many projects. This study aims at determining the effective project management methods, which could be applied on the projects, and their effect on time management. Based on a review of the literature, on the project management methods being used, the objectives and theories of methods, an online survey as well as survey questionnaires, that were well structured and designed were used, and distributed to potential target population, that constituted professional practitioners, around Kampala business center, in which the sample size, was determined using the simple random sampling technique. Analysis of the responses demonstrated that, most practitioners recognize application of the project management methods in their execution of their works, and that for projects that stretched beyond three years, required much more defined and reliable methods in execution of works, and finally the effectiveness of a given method in achieving time was rated on its ability to ensure reduced time overruns as well as the regularity with which it is used. Therefore, the results indicate that project management methods have a great deal of impact on the management of time on projects, since there exits low levels of practices on project management, by most professionals, and also limited knowledge on the application of these methods. On this basis therefore, it is recommended that institutions and practitioners improve their knowledge on these methods, and incorporate them in their projects, as well as not looking at the methods as project instruments, but rather monitor their performance on the projects.