Municipal infrastructure project performance: an assessment of municipal capability through the application of a project management maturity model

Abstract

Poor project performance is prevalent in developing countries, often considered to be poorly resourced. In South Africa there are pockets of excellence, but the country generally still requires improvement across national, provincial, and local governments. Studies have suggested that the successful utilisation of project management practices can contribute to addressing such poor project performance. To assess organisational capability in terms of project management practices, many different project management maturity models (PMMMs) have been developed over the last decade by different organisations. PMMMs are however not widely used in the South African government. A need therefore existed to study the available PMMMs and their applicability to determine the project management maturity of municipalities in the South African context. As a result, this study aimed to assess municipal capability through the application of a project management maturity model by meeting the following objectives: 1) to identify and adapt an existing project management maturity model appropriate for this study; 2) to assess what level of project management capability Western Cape municipalities have through the application of the identified and adapted PMMM; and 3) to determine how Western Cape municipalities can improve their capability. To aid the process of achieving these objectives, six research questions were also formulated. With regard to research methodology, a mixed-method design consisting of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis was selected. Data was collected through interviews with officials responsible for project management in six sampled municipalities. The interviews consisted of two sections. The first section consisted of a structured interview with close-ended questions, through which quantitative data was collected and analysed through an MS Excelbased model. The second section consisted of semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, from which qualitative data was collected and analysed through thematic analysis. The study successfully achieved its objectives and thereby the overall aim. Firstly, the PM Solutions PMMM was identified as an appropriate project management maturity model for this study. Secondly, through the application of this model, the maturity ratings of Western Cape municipalities were determined as a level 3 (out of 5). Thirdly, the study identified five themes of challenges municipalities experience, and proposed five thematic areas of improvement interventions, namely to improve human capacity, strengthen stakeholder management, enhance leadership and management oversight, address funding constraints, and enhance procurement regulations.