ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING PROJECTS’ PERFORMANCE

IN TELECOM COMPANIES

A Case of Selected Telecom Companies in Tanzania

By

Anna Peter

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Engineering Management of the

University of Dar es Salaam

University of Dar es Salaam

2017

0
 CERTIFICATION

I, the undersigned, certify that I have read and hereby recommend for acceptance by the

University of Dar es Salaam, a dissertation entitled Assessment of the Factors Affecting

Projects’ Performance in Telecom Companies: a Case of Selected Telecom Companies

in Tanzania in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of the Degree of Master

in Construction Management of University of Dar es Salaam.

_________________________
Dr. George Mwaluko
(Supervisor)
Date:____________________

DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT

I, Anna Peter, declare that this thesis is my original work and that it has not been

presented and will not be presented to any other university for a similar or any other

degree award.

i
 Signature:______________________

©This dissertation is a copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the
Copyright Act 1999 and other international and national enactments, in that behalf, on
intellectual property. It may not be reproduced by any means in full or in part, except for
short extracts in fair dealings, for research or private study, critical scholarly review or
discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the University of
Dar es Salaam on behalf of the author.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, all praise and gratefulness is due to Almighty God who endowed me

with strength, health, patience, and knowledge to complete this work. Secondly, I would

like to express my profound gratitude and special thanks to my supervisor Dr. George

Mwaluko of the University of Dar es Salaam who, despite being busy with his other

ii
duties, took time out to guide and support me academically throughout the study. His

critical remarks and comments were very constructive to my work.

Thirdly, I am thankful to all respondents, particularly all directors and managers from

the visited institutions, who responded to my questionnaires and interviews. Fourthly, I

would also like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all my fellow

postgraduate students with whom I studied and held discussions. I am thankful for their

encouragement, moral and academic support. The sleepless nights we worked together

during studies, and all the fun we had in the class will always be honored and

remembered.

Lastly but not the least, my heartfelt thanks should go to my husband for his moral and

material support. Since it is not possible to mention everyone who helped individually, I

thank all those who in one way or another contributed to the successful completion of

this work. Their moral and material support is highly appreciated.

DEDICATION

To my beloved husband and my dear parents, Mr & Mrs. Denis Kahabuka.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION i

DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

DEDICATION iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF FIGURES x

iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi

CHAPTER ONE 1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem 4

1.3 Objectives 5

1.3.1 Main Objectives 5

1.3.2 Specific Objectives 5

1.4 Research Questions 6

1.5 Significance of the Study 6

1.6 Scope of the Study 7

CHAPTER TWO 8

LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 Introduction 8

2.2 The Concept of Project 8

2.3 Challenges in the Management of Telecom Projects 9

2.4 Telecom Project Status 10

2.5 Telecom projects Status Worldwide 10

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2.6 Telecom Projects Status Africa and Tanzania 1990-201510

2.7 Project Success Measurement Criteria (Indicators) 12

2.8 Factors Affecting Projects' Performance 14

2.9 A Case Study –RAN Projects 17

2.10 Literature Gaps 19

STUDY METHODOLOGY 20

3.1 Introduction 20

3.2 Research Type 21

3.3 Research Design 21

3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 22

3.5 Area of Study 23

3.6 Study Population 23

3.7 Data Collection 25

3.7.1 Questionnaires 25

3.7.2 Interviews 26

3.8 Secondary Data 27

3.9 Data Analysis and Presentation 27

3.10 Quantitative Data Analysis 27

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3.11 Qualitative Data Analysis 27

3.12 Validity and Reliability 28

3.13 Ethical Issues and Considerations 28

CHAPTER FOUR 30

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 30

4.1 Introduction 30

4.2 Demography of Respondent 30

4.3 Study Results 34

4.3.1 Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects 36

4.3.2 Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects 43

4.3.3 Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecommunication Projects 61

CHAPTER FIVE 68

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68

5.1 Introduction 68

5.2 Summary 68

5.2.1 Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects 68

5.2.2 Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects 69

5.2.3 Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecom Projects 69

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5.3 Recommendation 70

5.4 Areas for Further Research 71

REFFERENCES 72

Appendix I: QUESTIONN 79

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Telecom Projects Status Worldwide 1990-2015…………………………..10

Table 2.2: Project Status Telecom Companies Tanzania………...…………………….11

Table 3.1: Sample of Participants in Dar es Salaam Stations only..……………...……24

Table 4.1: Demographic Profile of the Respondents…………………………..………..30

Table 4.2: Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects..…………………...….33

Table 4.3: Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects-Descriptive…..41

Table 4.4: Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects-T Test…….…..43

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Table 4.5: Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecommunication Projects…57

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.4: Radio Access Network …………………………………………………….18

Figure 4.2.1: Gender Respondents...................................................................................32

Figure 4.2.2: Education of Respondents...........................................................................32

Figure 4.2.3: Working Position of Respondents..............................................................33

Figure 4.2.4: Work Experience........................................................................................33

Figure 4.2.1: Performance Level .....................................................................................37

Figure 4.4: Factors Affecting Success of Projects ..........................................................49

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Figure 4.6: Strategies to Successful Implementation of Projects....................................64

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AMA - American Association

CVBS - Convergent Billing System

EMV - Expected Money Value

GSMA - Global System Mobile Application

HR - Human Resource

ITU - International Telecommunication Union

MOST - Ministry of Science and Technology

MS - Mobile Station

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CIs - Confidence Intervals

CN - Core Network

PMI - Project Management Institute

RAN - Radio Access Network

SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Science

STD - Standard Deviation

TCs - Telecommunication Companies

TTCL- Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited

TCRA -Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority

UE - User Equipment

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Telecommunication is the exchange of information over significant distances by

electronic means. The simplest form of telecommunications takes place between two

stations. However, it is common for multiple transmitting and receiving stations to

exchange data among them. Such an arrangement is called a telecommunications

network, and the Internet is the largest example. Telecommunication sector comprises of

six major segments; Mobile Sector, Fixed Line Sector, Wireless Sector, Payphone

Services, Internet Services, and Voice over IP.

In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons,

smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio

messages such as coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, and loud whistles. In modern

times, telecommunications involves the use of electrical devices such as the telegraph,

telephone, radio, and microwave communications. Communication channels make use

of fiber optics and their associated electronics, orbiting satellites and the Internet.

Modern telecommunications industry players produce communication equipment and

deliver a set of voice, data, and broadband services using wire line or wired

infrastructure of cables, networks, servers, computers, and satellites.

Telecom is the fifth largest and fastest growing industry in the world, playing an

important role in the world economy. The worldwide telecommunication industry's

1
revenue was estimated to be $5 trillion in 2015 as per ITU report. At the end of 2014,

half of the world’s population had at least one mobile subscription, totaling over 3.6

billion unique mobile subscribers. Developed markets are growing more slowly as

penetration rates approach levels close to saturation. For example, in Europe and North

America, unique subscriber growth was below 1% in 2014. At the other end, Africa is

still the world’s most under-penetrated region with subscriber growth at nearly 12%

industry till 2015 had contributed to 4% of world economy as compared to 2014 where it

was 3.8%. This clearly shows the remarkable growth of sector (GSMA, 2015).

High advancement of technology and high demands for telecommunication services in

the market have compelled telecom companies to expand their networks so as to acquire

wider coverage and large share in the market. The telecom market share in Africa has

increased by 5.5% by the end of 2014 (Dellote, 2014).

Tanzania forms the second largest telecom market in East Africa, behind Kenya and

currently has a mobile penetration level of 67% which is slightly below the Sub Saharan

region’s average of 71.1%, according to the World Bank. The two leading mobile

operators in the country are Vodacom and Tigo, which account for 69.3% of total

telecom service revenue in 2015 (Pyramid Research, 2015). The sector contribution to

Tanzania economy was 3.9% in 2015 (MOST, 2015).

The driver of this phenomenal growth has been the mobile sector, which since the entry

of the first mobile operator in 1994 has transformed the communications landscape. The

government too has played its part with competition picking up due to the liberalization

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of the market and the introduction of a progressive licensing framework. Operators

continue to invest in the expansion of their mobile networks in rural areas and ensure

adequate quality of service to increase and maintain their subscriber market share.

The report form World Bank (2015) shows the highlights form the project database that

until the end of 2014 the telecom sector was the leading sector for projects

implementations in Tanzania which has invested about 3,898 million US dollars in

projects, Vodacom Ltd being the leading company investing about 1,257 million US

dollars.

According to TCRA (2014) mobile phone subscribers in Tanzania have reached

31,862,656 which is approximately 10 times more than what is shown in TCRA 2005

quarterly telecommunications statistics report.

This supports the World Bank report that more projects are being implemented to expand

their networks so as to meet the growing demands of its customers. However, the

network project encounters several challenges that hinder the project’s performance.

The study in Tanzania has shown that the implementation of telecom project suffers in

the investment costs. Out of 25 projects implemented in telecom sector, at least 4 are

cancelled due different factors. This accounts for 1% of total investment costs

(World Bank, 2015). More studies have been conducted on other telecom companies in

Africa. The telecom in Nigeria also confirmed failure of many projects being in cost and

schedule overruns. Moorage and Radford (2006) reported that the cost of projects in

Nigeria escalated by 14% (the minimum average percentage) and the period of projects

3
in Nigeria escalated by 188% (the minimum average percentage). So it was the aim of

the study to discuss the factors critical to the successful implementation of projects in

telecom companies in Tanzania.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Underperformance of projects is the problem to most of the telecom companies in

Tanzania as it is to other organizations where project works are frequently adopted. The

industry is forced to involve project-based works frequently due to technological

changes, dynamic market conditions, changes in environmental regulations, and

increased customer involvement (Bredillet, 2005). However, projects implemented do

not fulfill expectations due to some sorts of external influence, unexpected events, ever-

growing requirements, changing constraints and fluctuating resource flows. Kamig et

al., (1997) reported the findings from various studies, which were conducted in different

developing countries of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia. They confirmed

that all of the projects implemented in these countries suffered from significant

construction cost and time overruns. Tanzania telecom companies also have many

projects experiencing failures. These are such as CVBS, MNP and RAN projects in

TTCL Company (TTCL, 2014). Furthermore, the World Bank (2014), in its report about

telecom project performance across African countries shows that in Tanzania about

28.9% of projects implemented during that period underperformed in terms of cost and

schedule. This suggests that the more projects are implemented the more the failures if

4
steps are not taken to manage them effectively and efficiently (Suhaiza, 2007). Despite

the findings from various literatures about the success factors for projects performance,

few literatures exists on factors affecting the performance of projects in telecom industry

in Tanzania with specific network projects. Since network projects are being widely

implemented in the telecom industry in Tanzania, its prominence and the persisting

challenges facing this industry in managing these projects today are the driving force

for carrying out research on identifying the success factors crucial to the performance of

network projects in telecom industry.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main Objectives

The main objective of this study is to assess the factors affecting projects

performance in telecommunication companies.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

This study is guided by the following specific research objectives:

i. To examine the performance level of telecom projects;

ii. To establish factors affecting success of telecom projects among telecom

companies;

iii. Developing strategies to ensure successful implementation of projects by

telecom companies.

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1.4 Research Questions

i. What is the performance level of telecom projects?

ii. What are the factors affecting projects success among telecom companies?
iii. What are the strategies to ensure successful implementation of projects by

telecom companies?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is significant for practical pursuits. Projects are widely implemented and

increasing due to the demands for network expansions among the TCs. This makes it

important to conduct a study like this in order to contribute knowledge to telecom

stakeholders who directly or indirectly involve project-based works in their

organizations. The significance of this study is embedded in the understanding of the

factors affecting project performance. The findings of the study provide knowledge on

the efficiency and effectiveness of the adoption of better strategies to ensure projects

success outcomes among TCs. The findings also add useful information to the existing

body of knowledge on project management. The findings and suggestions contained

herein are of practical importance to stakeholders such as project fund donors and

academic institutions. Lastly, this study may be used as a reference point to scholars who

are interested in projects management studies.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study was conducted in five telecom companies namely AIRTEL,VODACOM,

TIGO ,TTCL and HUAWEI as their respective vendors in their headquarters in Dar es

Salaam Region The choice for the above companies is due to their long existence in the

6
telecom industry in Tanzania. They have experienced a lot in managing their network

projects and so they are better placed to acquire the desired research data. The study only

focused on determining the success factors for implementation of projects, specifically

network projects.

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8
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter is divided into different sections covering all the important aspects of the

research subjects. It explains the concepts of project and project management, it gives an

overview of the project status among TCs, explains the challenges facing the

management of the telecom projects, and discusses the factors crucial to the successful

implementation of projects among TCs.

2.2 The Concept of Project

The term project has been discussed through various literatures. The PMI (2008) defines

a project as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product, service, or result that

is unique. Projects can be characterized by elements such as objectivity as it is definable

with results, output or product, complexity with normally interrelated activities and a

large number of different tasks, uncertainty as it has element of risks, temporary with its

well defined beginning and end, and lastly it operates in a life cycle as emphasis and

resource needs change during the life of the project (Asihuza, 2007).

2.3 Challenges in the Management of Telecom Projects

Telecommunication projects are highly exposed to risks due to its intensive capital

investments. To enhance project implementation success in the telecommunication

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sector, management and sponsors must as much as possible adopt the best project

management approaches in managing their projects especially in developing countries.

Desmon (2016) says that some of the challenges encountered during the implementation

of telecom projects cannot be clearly defined. When commitment is made to the

customer, not enough resources (people, cash, lab space, spare circuits, Changes to scope

keep interfering (regulatory, customer, demands, related project off track) Conflicts

(operations versus. engineers; sales versus. technical support; line versus

staffs),Committing to unrealistic dates ,Clear roles and responsibilities, and Not clear

with who is in charge.

A project management consultant firm in America (AMA) has identified major failure

factors for projects which include lack of project management skills, scope creep, poorly

defined objectives, high staff turnover, insufficient resources, poor follow up,

insufficient authority given to the project managers, and no common project

management methods adopted in the project team. This clearly shows that if projects are

applied and steps are not taken in order to manage them effectively and efficiently, the

chance of failure will be high and more uncontrollable.

2.4 Telecom Project Status

This section reviews the status of telecom projects both worldwide, Africa and

specifically Tanzania, which is the area of the study.

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2.5 Telecom Projects Status Worldwide

Table 2.1: Telecom Projects Status Worldwide 1990-2015

REGION TELECOM TOTAL COMPLETED CANCELLED EQUIVAL

PROJECTS INVESTMENT in $ PROJECTS PROJECTS LOSS IN

1 EAST ASIA AND 97 120859 83 14 10,472

PACIFIC
2 EUROPE AND 304 200064 293 11 3,015
CENTRAL ASIA
3 LATIN AMERICA 160 401348 153 7 10968
AND THE
CARIBBEAN
4 MIDDLE EAST 53 69804 50 3 677
AND NORTH
AFRICA
5 SOUTH ASIA 85 132897 77 8 4092

6 SUB-SAHARA 238 114303 208 30 4372

AFRICA
Source: World Bank (2015)

2.6 Telecom Projects Status Africa and Tanzania 1990-2015

According to World Bank report of 2015 telecommunication sector leads in projects

investments both in Africa and Tanzania which invested a total of 3898 and 114303

million dollars representing 68% and 88% investment share for Africa and Tanzania

respectively. The total investments in the infrastructure sectors (airports, electricity,

natural gas, railroads, seaports, telecom, water and sewerage) was 4728 million and 162

685 million dollars in Tanzania and Africa respectively. Despite its high investment in

projects it still suffers from failures due different factors including financial. The reports

show only 11 and 208 projects were successfully completed for Tanzania and Africa

11
respectively. The project status both for Africa and Tanzania is illustrated by the figures

below.

Figure 2.1: Projects Investment in Africa and Tanzania Respectively

Source: World Bank (2015)

Table 2.2: Project Status Telecom Companies Tanzania

Source: World Bank (2015)

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 COMPANY TOTAL COMPLETED PROJECT S EQUIVALENT
PROJECTS INVESTMENT PROJECTS UNDERPRFOMED LOSS IN ( MIL
(IN MIL $) $)

1 VODACOM 16 1257 12 4 126

2 AIRTEL 22 1048 18 4 105

3 TIGO 11 746 9 2 8
4 ZANTEL 8 624 5 3 6.2

5 TTCL 10 190 4 6 19
2.7 Project Success Measurement Criteria (Indicators)

Defining what project success is, how do we define project success and design

performance measures that allow us to recognize the degree of success, has been a great

deal written over the years. However, none has given the final definition of project

success since it varies depending on the project criteria. In general project success

involves two main components which are Project success criteria and project success

factors, for the project to be implemented successfully the criteria and factors for project

success should be cleary defined and regularly reviewed (Wateridge, 1995).

The measurement criteria for project success differ from one project to the other. In early

times the evaluation of projects success was mainly based on the three criteria known as

“the iron triangle” which are time, cost and quality. Any project that was implemented

outside the timeframe, out the budget and outcome does not meet the pre-determined

performance criteria was considered to be failure. Later it was found inadequate to

consider only three criteria and criticized by several authors (e.g. Pinto and slevin, 1998;

Atkinson, 1999; Barcca, 1999). New other criteria were then established.

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Kerzner (1998) identified 5 criteria that can be used to measure project success. The

criteria are completed in time, within budget, completed at the desired level of quality,

accepted by the customer and resulted in customers allowing the contractor to use them

as a reference (Kerzner, 1998). Further study reveals extended the measurement of

project success to include client perception in contrast to the early literature where

emphasis was given to cost quality and time during the project management.

Shenhar (1997) classified project success criteria into two dimensions. The first one is

the efficiency which is not limited by the dimension of time, cost and quality but can be

extended to a number of engineering changes prior final design release, production

efficiency and yield, efficiency of purchase order and safety measures. The second

dimension is the impact on the customer or end user, followed by the third dimension,

which is impact on the organization. Lastly the success of the project need to be

measured by the way it helps the organization to move and prepare for the future.

Similary Masoud (2014) identifies 5 critical successes, which are meeting schedule,

within budget, customer satisfaction, commercial success, reaching scope and preparing

for the future. Preparing for the future scored 5.657 indicating that it was the most

important indicator of the project success. It was revealed that studying the projects

carefully and narrating the project lessons learned can play a very significant role on

project success. The commercial success scored 5.342, which also shows the second

level of importance as project success indicators based on the response received. The

respondents also agreed on staying within the budget with a mean of 5.285 being the 3rd

important indicator of project success. Meeting schedule and benefit to a customer

14
scored 4th and 5th important items as the project success indicators. Shenharn (1997)

and Masoud (2014) reveal that these 5 items are the most important factors related to

project success.

For each of the above approaches on project performance measurement criteria by

scholars, it is important to note that projects are operated under different environments,

contexts and have different objectives; hence they require different indicators for

performance assessment. In this study, however, indicators of performance for network

projects refer to meeting budget, meeting schedule, scope control, archiving commercial

success, and preparing for the future.

2.8 Factors Affecting Projects’ Performance

This area of research is not a new concept. Several studies have been conducted

concerning the factors affecting performance of the projects, even though these factors

may not be similar to all projects and organizations (Belassi & Tukel, 1996).

Pinto (1988) mentions 10 factors critical to the project performance and categorizes

these factors into two main categories. The first one includes top management support,

project plan or schedule, and project mission. These three were grouped as strategic. The

second group consists of seven factors namely client consultation, personnel, technical

tasks, client acceptance, monitoring and feedback, communication and troubleshooting

are classified as tactical. He proceeds by specializing the factors into different stages of

project cycle. The strategic factors occur during the early planning phase of project, and

the tactical factors occur in the later stages of project implementations.

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Belassi and Tukel (1996) group success factors into organization factors, environmental

factors and factors related to project management and team. The study was conducted in

respect to the criteria for success (cost, time, quality and client satisfaction, the

organizational structure and project size). In their study availability of resources ranked

as the top, followed by top management support, the third most important factor was

preliminary estimates, followed by project manager performance and client consultation.

Availability of resources and top management support were the dominant factors. The

study was conducted in manufacturing industry and not telecom industry as this study

seeks to address.

Albert et al (2004) have five major groups of independent variables, namely project-

related factors, project procedures, project management actions, human-related factors,

and external environment. These are identified as crucial to project success. However,

there are no information about the relationship between them, hence the study suggests

further study on the key performance indicators (KPIs) and how it relates to the CSFs.

The identified relation will provide useful piece of information to implement a project

successfully.

Tsun (2008), studying the critical success factors of agile software development projects

using quantitative approach, finds that for each of the four project success categories

(quality, scope, time, and cost) only 3 out of 12 factors are identified as critical success

factors for agile software development project. These factors were (a) delivery strategy,

(b) agile software engineering techniques, and (c) team capability. Again the study does

16
not reveal the relationship between the success factors and the mentioned group of

success criteria.

Desmon (2006) discovered few factors for successful project implementation in telecom

which are (i) good people (ii) clear objectives (iii) team work (iv) clearly defined

deliverables (v) good planning (vi) strong change control. However, these were more

common and generalized for all telecom projects not for specific projects as this study

seeks to address.

The study conducted by Oko et al (2010) investigated potential causes to cost overruns

in 53 telecommunication projects in Nigeria. The results indicated that construction

related factors were top the list of categories that cause cost overruns in

telecommunication projects. Other factors were identified as major causes of cost

overruns and are ranked in their order of importance: the lack of contractor experience

on the telecommunication projects, the high cost of imported materials and the

fluctuation in the prices of materials that are necessary for the telecommunication

projects. Again this study was conducted for general telecom projects not specific types

of projects as this study seeks to addres.s

The study conducted by Hamoud (2014) on the influence of EMV on project success

identified project management approach to be the main factor in promoting telecom

project success. In his study he evaluated a total of 12 telecom projects across Africa

and found 0.833% of EMV components including a clear definition of project scope

accelerates the project success. However in this study the factors were evaluated as a

17
component of EMV (not as an independent component) and it was limited to projects

implemented by Nokia contractors only, contrary to this study which seeks to evaluate

the extent to which each one affects the project performance. This study will specifically

base on network projects implemented by HUAWEI contractors.

2.9 A Case Study –Ran Projects

A radio access network (RAN) is part of a mobile telecommunication system. It forms

logical component of every carrier network, whose primary responsibility is to mediate

access to the provisioned radio channel and shuttle the data packets to and from the

user’s device. In fact, this is the component controlled and mediated by the Radio

Resource Controller. It implements a radio access technology. Conceptually, it resides

between devices such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled

machine, and provides connection with its core network (CN). Depending on the

standard, mobile phones and other wireless connected devices are varyingly known as

user equipment (UE), terminal equipment, mobile station (MS), etc. As the demand for

network expansion in telecommunication increases more RAN projects are being

implemented hence the need to assess the performance factors is more imperative.

From the survey conducted RAN projects are characterized by the following

performance criteria (i) better coverage, (ii) low cost, (ii) high quality, (vi) high

capacity, (v) time saving, (vi) preparing for future expansions. Hence for RAN projects

to be successful all of the above mentioned performance criteria should be met. Another

important part in understanding the performance of RAN projects are factors

18
influencing the performance. From the literature review and survey conducted in

telecom companies and respective Huawei vendors, the factors below were the most

failing in RAN projects implementations. These are (i) lack of proper planning, (ii) lack

of coordination between vendors and clients, (iii) lack of training, (iv) lack of top

management supports, (v) technology complexity, (vi) resource availability, (vii) scope

not defined clearly. Hence from the literature review the researcher seek to assess the

success factors for RAN projects performance. However, the criteria that were

measured: cost, time, scope of the projects and preparing for the future. These were

measures against the factors derived from Pinto’s model of project success factors after

verifying them from the survey that they fit for this study.

Fig 2.4 RADIO ACCESS NETWORK

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2.10 Literature Gaps

In the reviewed literatures, the study on the success factors for project performance is

observed to be more conducted in construction industries, IT (software projects)

industries and manufacturing sectors but rarely on telecommunication sectors.

Furthermore the factors identified were not explained how they related to the specified

measurement criteria. In addition to the above literature gaps more studies were

conducted in developed countries with few studies in least developing countries like

Nigeria.There is scarcity in the literatures concerning success factors for project

performance in telecommunication sectors for developing countries specifically

Tanzania.

CHAPTER THREE

STUDY METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

Research methodology refers to a systematic way applied to solve a research problem. It

constitutes the blueprints for the collection, measurement and analysis of data (Kothari,

2003). Research methodology provides systematic way of solving the research

problems, collecting and analyzing data that answers research questions and critically

draws conclusions on the research problem being investigated (Kombo et al., 2006).

This chapter presents various research methods and procedures, which were employed in

conducting the study in accordance with the research questions and objectives. It

20
provides detailed explanations on the research design, area of the study, population and

sampling methods and instruments for data collection, analysis and presentation.

The study has made use of document analysis, interview and questionnaires as data

collection methods. Although there were some difficulties in getting company statistical

documents to assess employees’ turnout, booking of interviews and delay in responding

to the questionnaires, the necessary information were eventually obtained.

3.2 Research Type

This research is correlation as it involves detecting the existence of a relationship

between the success factors and project performance variables and quantitative as it

verify the relationship between the variables. This approach is mainly applicable in

scientific studies, which focus on measurements (Donald & Trompo, 2006).

3.3 Research Design

According to Kothari (2003), research design is an arrangement of conditions for

collection of and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance with the

research purpose. It is the conceptual structure with which research is conducted. It

constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.

This research was concern factors affecting project success among telecom companies,

with the specific objectives of finding the extent of failure of telecom projects, the

success factors required and the strategies needed to ensure successful

21
implementation of these projects by the telecom operators. All these helped to achieve

the main objective and specific objectives. The information was collected using

questionnaires and checklists distributed to the TCs and Huawei vendors’ employees,

one to one interviews with project managers of the Huawei and TCs, interview with

network engineering and operation team of TCs. A case study of RAN projects in both

companies was employed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the

factors crucial to the success of projects using dependent and independent variables.

Where each item of information in the survey represents one variable, a measure by

which varies in response could be established. The objective of the case study design

was to determine respondents’ opinions about the success factors for project

performance in telecom industry. Saunders et al (2003) confirms that case study design

is the best method used to gain a wider knowledge of the context of the research and

suitable for achieving the research objectives.

3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques

Webster (1995) defines sampling as set of respondents selected from a large population

for the purpose of a survey. This study used a sample size of 42 respondents, using

purposive sampling, as the targeted sample needed exposure to project management.

Furthermore, random sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the

interviews. Properties of sample data:-

Age Employee in the range of 18-55 years

Location Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Gender Sample space must contain

22 both M and F

Occupation Involved in telecom projects

Years of experience Must have 1 year experience and above

3.5 Area of Study

A researcher needs to select a specific area for the study because only specific locations

are ideal and suitable to test particular theories (Develeux & Hoddlinot, 1992). This

research was conducted at the headquarters of telecom companies in Dar es Salaam, due

to time constraint and the readily availability of telecom firms in Dar es Salaam.

3.6 Study Population

The target population for this study was management and staff of telecom companies,

and telecom vendors. A study made by Alan Barrett (2008) suggests that it is so difficult

to study the entire population due to some limitation for example time, fund and

administration, data collection and analysis. In this study stratified sampling was applied

in order to obtain representative sample. Under stratified sampling, the population was

divided into several sub-populations that individually more homogeneous than total

population. The different sub-populations are called strata. Then we select items from

each stratum to constitute a sample (Kothari, 2004).

23
Strata were formed on the basis of common characteristics of the items to be put in each

stratum. This means that various strata were formed in such a way as to ensure elements

were most homogeneous within each stratum and most heterogeneous between

different strata. In this case stratum items were staffs of each company and strata items

were companies involved in this research: Tanzania Telecom Company Ltd, Vodacom

Tanzania ltd, Tigo (T) Ltd, Airtel Tanzania Ltd and Huawei Ltd.

Simple random sampling was used to select Item from each stratum. Proportional

allocation was applied, whereby the sizes of the samples from different strata were kept

proportional to the size of the strata. That is if Pi represents the proportional of

population included in stratum i and n represents the total sample size, the number of

element selected from stratum i is n.Pi.

For the case of this research, I selected sample size n = 42 from the population of staffs

with size N = 420, which was divided into four strata with size N1 =104; N2 = 94;

N3=84 and N4 = 74, and N5=64 covered Vodacom, Airtel, Tigo, Huawei and TTCL

respectively.

In order to get sample size from each strata the following calculation was used:

Formula: Ni=nPi (where i=1,2,3,4,5)

Where Pi=Ni/N

i) For strata with N1 = 104; then P1 = 104/420

Hence N1 = n.P1; 42 x (104/420) = 10.4

24
ii) For strata with N2 = 94; then P2 = 94/420

Hence N2 = n.P2; 42 x (94/420) = 9.4

iii) For strata with N3 = 84; then P3 = 84/420

Hence N3 = n.P3; 42 x (84/420) = 8.4

iv) For strata with N4 = 74; then P4 = 74/420

N4=nP4; 42x74/420=7.4

v) .For strata with N5 =64; then P5= 64/420

Hence N5= n.P4; 42 x (64/420) = 6.4

Table 3.1 summarizes the distribution of questionnaires relative to the samples of the

study’s population.

Table 3.1: Sample of Participants in Dar es Salaam Stations only

Company Name Staffs

Vodacom T Ltd network engineers & project managers 10
Airtel Tanzania network engineers & project managers 9
TTCL network engineers & project managers 7
TIGO T Ltd network engineers & project managers 8
Huawei Co .Ltd network engineers & project managers 6
3.7 Data Collection

Both primary data and secondary data collection methods were employed in this study.

Primary data including both qualitative and quantitative data was derived from

questionnaires; checklist, questions for observation and personal interviews but mostly

using questionnaires.

25
3.7.1 Questionnaires

As stated by Sekaran (2003: 249) “questionnaire is a popular method of collecting data

because researchers can gather information fairly easily and the questionnaire responses

are easily coded. Questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data and it was divided

into 5 sections. The first section’s aim is to collect personal details and organization

information, followed by second section which aims to assess the respondents’

experience in project management. The third section evaluated the extent of failures of

telecom projects followed by the most important section which aims to find out what

the factors that influence the success in project performance, which is adopted from

Pinto’s Project Management Profile (PIP). And lastly, the study went to find out the

strategies used to ensure successful implementation of telecom projects.

3.7.2 Interviews

Interview can be structured or unstructured. Due to the nature of this study, the

researcher used both structured and unstructured interviews for data collection. This kind

of interviews contained questions which sought to investigate the respondents’

perceptions on the factors affecting projects performance for instance, their perceptions

on human capital involvement during the whole period of project implementation,

vendors reactions when projects underperform and the extent of project failures in their

respect companies. Questions were in English since the respondents were expected to be

fluent in that language although there was a room for using either English or Swahili

during discussion between the researcher and respondents. The researcher conducted

26
interviews with PMs and heads of network departments face to face interviews were

conducted in the offices of the respondents, and recorded by a tape recorder and by way

of notes taking given the consent of the respondents.

3.8 Secondary Data

Secondary data were sourced from various documents, those which have been written by

other persons and processed, but can further be used for other researches. Also, project

reports which provide information concerning projects performance and challenges in

the telecom industry.

3.9 Data Analysis and Presentation

Data analysis refers to examining what has been collected and making deductions and

inferences from it (Kombo & Tromp, 2006). The method used for data analysis depends

on whether the study is qualitative or quantitative. In this study the researcher adopted

both quantitative and qualitative methods in collecting and analyzing data.

3.10 Quantitative Data Analysis

The Statistical Packages and Software for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used

to derive descriptive statistics, frequencies, percentages and conducting t-test to

determine significance level of variables. Quantitative data were presented in tables and

analyzed quantitatively. Quantitative data including social demographic information and

data for objective one and two, extent to which projects performance affected were

analyzed using SPSS version 21.

27
3.11 Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data were also analyzed using Dedoose software, which is most effective

tool for qualitative data analysis. This involved coding of data into variables and

descriptors (fields). Responses were presented into percentages and response quotes.

After successful completion of data entry, the researcher presented both qualitative and

quantitative data under themes and sub-themes reflecting the objectives of the study and

data gathered from the field.

3.12 Validity and Reliability

Kitchen and Tate (2000) argue that validity and reliability are two factors that make a

final touch and provide green light for piloting research instruments.

Validity refers to the degree to which any inferences a researcher makes, based on the

data he or she collects using a particular instrument, is supported by evidence (Frankael

& Wallen, 2000). On the other hand, reliability is concerned with the extent to which

data collection process yields consistent results. To ensure validity and reliability, a

questionnaire was reviewed by lecturers and fellow Masters Students at the College of

Engineering and Technology at the University of Dar es Salaam. Afterwards, the

researcher solicited comments for improving on research questions and data collections

tools. In addition, a pilot study was conducted involving 10 network engineers form 3

TCs prior to the field. Lessons from the pilot study helped the researcher to well design

data collection tools and choose the best approach and data collection method.

28
3.13 Ethical Issues and Considerations

Ethical issues are crucial in research since they guide the researcher on what is

permissible and what is not, and thus are mandatory for the researcher to observe.

Morrison (1993) stipulates that ethical principles in the conduct of research include

acquiring research clearance and the informed consent of the participants as well as

maintaining confidentiality. Hence this study adhered to all ethical issues before

interviews and filling in of the questionnaires the researcher fully explained the

objectives of the study to all the respondents. In addition to that, their consent was

sought and their right to confidentiality was assured. Furthermore, the researcher fully

observed the right to privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents. In

addition, research clearance was obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam.

29
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter is the core part of this study as it consists of research findings obtained

through questionnaires, discussion and interview. It includes the following parts:

respondents, the result and analysis of the study done on the assessment of the

factors affecting performance of telecommunication projects as the main objective

with specific objectives which were to examine the extent performance level of

telecom projects, to assess performance level projects among telecom companies,

and to establish strategies to ensure successful implementation of project by telecom

companies.

4.2 Demography of Respondents

The demographic profile of the respondents was explained in terms of gender of

respondents, their education qualifications, working positions and work experience as

shown in Table 4.1, where by total of 42 individuals from five different telecom

companies were selected.

The results (Table 4.1) show that the number of male respondents was 36 (85.7%) which

is higher than number of female respondents, which was 6 (14.3%). It can be assumed

that telecommunication projects are more likely to be run/operated my males compared

to females. However, since the study collected information from both male and female,

30
it can be said that the study had views of both male and female and there was no

selection bias.

Table 4.1: Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Variables Measurements Frequencies Percentages

Gender of respondents Male 36 85.7
Female 6 14.3
Total 42 100
Education Qualification of Diploma 2 4.8
respondents
Degree 34 81.0
Masters 6 14.3
Total 42 100
Working Position of Respondents Project Manager 2 5.6
Network Engineer 34 94.4
Total 36 100
Work Experience 1-5 30 71.4
6-10 6 14.3
11-15 2 4.8
16-20 2 4.8
Above 21 years 2 4.8
Total 42 100
Source: Field data (2016)

31
Figure 4.2.1: Gender of Respondents

Figure 4.2.2: Education of Respondents

32
Figure 4.2.3: Working Position of Respondents

Figure 4.2.4: Work Experience

33
The table continues to show that a total of 34(81%) respondents were holding bachelor

degree, followed by 6 (14.3%) respondents who were holding master degree and 2

(4.8%) respondents who had diploma level of education. This shows that information in

this study was from intellectual people and therefore they can be reliable. Respondents

were working as project managers presented 5.6% of all respondents, while those who

were working as network engineers presented 94.4% of all respondents. Hence the study

collected information from key informant in telecommunication project. The results

continued to show that 30 (71.4%) respondents had worked in telecommunication

projects for the period of 1-5 years, while 6 (14.3%) respondents had working

experience of 6-10 years, 6 (14.4%) respondents had working experience of more than

11 years in telecommunication project.

4.3 Study Results

This part explains and provides answers for the specific research questions. Moreover,

the part indicates analysis methods used in each of the study objective. During analysis

stage I used mean scores, standard deviation and p-values to explain the results of

specific objectives of the study. It must be noted that the mean is the average value of

response for each item on the Likert scale. This is simply the sum of the values divided

by the number of values. The implication is that the item with the highest mean is the

one which most respondents chose or rated highly and vice versa. The mean disclosure

value has been calculated by applying the following formula:

34
Where Sum of different observation

N = Number of observation

Standard deviation is however a measure of variation. This uses all the observations, and

is defined in terms of the deviation (xi-μ) of the observations from the mean. The

variation is small if the observations are bunched closely about their mean, and large if

they are scattered over considerable distances. The following formula is used to get the

values of standard deviation of the continuous series:

Where X = Individual observation

N = Number of observations

35
4.3.1 Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects

The first objective of the study was to examine performance level of telecom projects.

Accordingly, three variables of the project performance dimensions were used to reach

to the conclusion of this objective. These include project implementation time, planned

budget and quality expected of the project. Three questions were prepared using the

aforementioned project performance dimensions and presented to the respondents who

presented their perception as regard to the performance level of telecom projects in their

respective telecommunication companies. A five point Likert scale was adapted to

capture perceptions of the respondents concerned thereof. The scale ranged from 1=very

low extent, 2=low extent, 3= moderate extent, 4=high extent, and 5= very high extent.

To analyze the results, I used descriptive analysis in which the mean scores and standard

deviation were calculated and used in the interpretation of the results. The factor with

the highest mean was the one that most respondents thought was very highly considered

and the variable with the smallest mean was the least considered. Meanwhile, the

standard deviation greater than 1.5 is an indication that respondents had greatly

diverging opinions. The results and interpretations have been given in the table 4.2

below:

36
Table 4.2: Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects

Variables Scale N Mean Std.

1 2 3 4 5
The extent to which projects implemented in 2 0 16 16 8 42 3.67 0.95
telecom companies meet quality expected
The extent to which projects implemented in 4 2 8 18 8 40 3.60 1.17
telecom companies meet planned budget
The extent to which network projects 6 6 16 6 6 40 3.00 1.24
implemented in telecom companies meet
time schedule
OVERALL MEAN 3.42
Interpretation of the mean
4.21-5.00 = very high performance
3.41-4.20= high performance
2.61-3.40=moderate performance
1.81-2.60= low performance
1.00-1.80= very low performance
Source: Field Data (2017)

Figure 4.2.1: Performance Level of Projects

37
The results in Table 4.2 show that according to the respondents point of view

telecommunication projects were highly performed in terms of meeting expected

qualities (mean=3.67) and planned budget/cost (mean=3.6). In case of meeting planned

implementation time the performance was noted to be moderate (mean= 3.00).

Generally, the results show that performance level of the telecommunication projects

among telecom companies was high (mean=3.42).

After presenting the results of this objective the researcher carried out discussion of

these results. It should be understood that the discussion material are the results of the

findings obtained from the analysis of the study findings, ideas contributed by

respondents during interviews, ideas of researcher and other people who showed interest

in this study and contributed their views in one way or another. Also, findings of other

researchers in this area were included to justify the results of present study.

Meet Expected Quality

It was argued that telecommunication companies have tried hard to meet expected

quality in their projects. However, it was important to narrate here what quality means.

Quality refers to the extent to which product meet the standard. It can be also defined as

the degree of excellence (Agbor, 2011). According to Nathan (2011) quality is the extent

to which a product conforms to technical standards. The reasons mentioned to why

telecommunication companies have been performing better in terms of projects’ quality

is that the projects have ensured availability of Internet and network services in the

country. It was also added that cyber security has been highly ensured which make the

38
wall industry reliable to the consumers. As the results customers have been satisfied by

the services offered by the telecommunication projects. According to Zhen (2010) signal

transmission quality is an important issue in the provision of telecommunication services

since customers’ satisfaction base on the speed and accuracy with which their

information is transmitted. Nevertheless the issue of customers’ satisfaction with the

telecommunication services was not much considered in this present study hence other

researchers can investigate about this.

Further, telecommunication companies do not face operation difficulties following

establishment of new projects. This means that the newly executive telecommunication

projects have been meeting expected quality/standard. In short, level of technology in

telecommunication industry has been improved day after day. It was argued that all

telecommunication companies have been adopting new hybrid technologies which have

become advantageous to the managers, operation officers and users. The new

technological devices are durable and cost savers. One of the of the respondents put it:

Box 1:

Before there were very few companies in Tanzanian telecommunication

industry, therefore competition was not so tight. But the influx of many
companies in this industry raised competition hand in hand with the
formation of different strategies among these companies in order to win
such competition and stay on top of the market. One of the greatest
Another respondent said that
strategies used is improvement of their telecommunication service quality
through improvement of the delivering methods and channels.
39
 Box 2:

In the past it was common to face telecom service outages but today such
thing is not common except in the deep rural areas where telecom masks
are very few and their operation depend much on the electric from national
grid which is not stable…but in towns, especially in the cities like Dar es
Salaam, operation of telecommunication companies use various source of
energy such as oil and gas in generators, solar and electricity from
national grid. These entire sources ensure maximum availability of electric
power needed for telecommunication operations.

The respondents furthermore suggested that telecommunication projects have been

characterized by the purchase of quality construction projects by all telecommunication

companies in the country. There is substantial empirical evidence that use of quality

material is among the factors that influence the best performance in engineering projects.

At this point, it becomes clearer that engineers must understand the quality of the

material/products they want to purchase for construction of their projects so as to ensure

the best performance. In line with this the researcher stressed this in order for the

telecommunication project to perform efficiently and effectively.

Meeting Planned Budget

The results continued to show that telecommunication companies have also performed

better in terms of meeting their planned budgets. It was believed that good performance

in financial matters associated with telecommunication projects has been attained as the

results of good accountabilities whereas project operators are accountable for their

40
decisions and actions toward project operations and submit themselves to whatever

scrutiny is appropriate to their duties. Apart from that, financial departments have

managed with the skilled personnel with technological accounting devices (both soft and

hardware). Also, accountants have an obligation to report and/or answer to the

companies’ managements on the consequences of their actions and decisions.

Moreover, it was argued that all project implementers (engineers, technicians, financial

officers and managers) in the telecommunication projects have been working together as

a team to make sure projects are done in sequence order and ensure that each project is

done within the budgeted cost. In case of selecting consultants, the companies have been

using proper tendering procedures in order to get qualified and trustworthy consultants

who will not abandon projects on the way.

Meeting a Planned Time Schedule

Concerning time performance, it was discovered that the projects were performing

somehow better. According to the established interpretation scale in this study, it was

found that according to the views of respondents, telecommunication projects were

characterized by moderate performance. This was due to the fact that some projects have

been facing time overrun and failed to be completed within budgeted time. More

directly, time management in engineering projects has become a reason for concern

basing on the fact that it has an impact towards economic development of the country.

Amidst its importance towards economical development, time management in

engineering projects include telecommunication projects has not been maintained in

41
African countries (Yakubu & Sun, 2009). This has largely been attributed by failure to

adhere to the principles and practices of project time management which has made it so

difficult for the engineers to accomplish the work allocated to them within the planned

period of time, hence leading to delay of the project. Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) cited in

Abraham (2013) acknowledged that in Africa time management in engineering projects

has to a smaller extent been attained. According to them the main causes of unfavorable

time management are miscalculation, inadequate equipment, inadequate management,

redesign, weakness in design and additional work, adverse weather condition, financial

constraints e.g. late payments and unskilled personnel.

It is also important to understand that time management is the act or process of planning

and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities,

especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency and productivity (Akunkunde, 2011).

Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to

manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects, and goals complying with a

due date. From one to attain proper time management, he or she must create conducive

environment to effectively, set priorities, carry out activities around those priorities and

reduce time spent on non-priorities (Azhar, 2008).

Project time prediction is very important in determining the funds needed for the

accomplishment of the project through forecasting on the different changes that may

create an impact towards the development of the project. The study also emphasized that

for successful project time prediction. There is the need to have enough information

regarding availability, accessibility and usability of all resources and/or materials needed
42
in carrying out the project. The study noted that improper estimate of projects duration

affect utilization of funds negatively.

It was noted that one of the greatest reasons for time overrun in the telecommunication

projects performed by visited companies was design change. The study indicates that

design changes were attributed to increased complexity with the degree of resource

scarcity following the alteration of the previous plan. Design changes could also

attribute to the change in the technology where by new equipment could be used in

carrying out the re-planned activities. According to Beach (2008) there is overwhelming

evidence in the literature in support of the poor performances of the project following

changes in early design. These poor performances occur in terms of cost incurred, time

needed to complete the project as well as construction quality required.

4.3.2 Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects

The second specific objective was to identify factors affecting success of telecom

projects among telecom companies. Variables for determining factors affecting

performance of telecommunication projects were prepared in form of short sentence and

presented to the respondents who were asked to give their opinions. The same five

points Likert scale model of response which range from 1=very low extent to 5=very

high extent was adopted. Descriptive analysis was first employed followed by t-test.

The results of descriptive analysis have been given in the Table 4.3 below, whereby

mean score, standard deviation was used to rank the results according to the descending

43
order of their importance. The variables with highest mean are the ones voted to have

high effect in telecommunication projects and vice versa.

The results in Table 4.3 revealed that respondents of this study suggested almost all the

variables analyzed had high effect in the success of telecommunication projects in the

country. This is because the mean values were ranging from 3.41 to 4.2, which implies

that the variables had high effects in the success of telecommunication projects. Except

for the size of the project and number of the project undertaken per year; the two were

voted to have just moderate effect in the success of telecommunication project.

According to the descending order of importance (i.e. decrease effect) the factors have

been presented as follow: project fund (mean=4.05), clearly defined roles and

responsibilities (mean=3.95), accurate schedule and plans (mean= 3.90), project

management techniques (mean= 3.86), project management techniques (mean= 3.86),

top management support (mean= 3.81), project team motivation (mean=3.81), training

the human resources (mean= 3.76), availability of adequate resources (mean= 3.71),

experience and expertise of the project manager/leaders (mean=3.71), client/vendors

consultation (mean= 3.71), employees involvement within the project (mean= 3.62),

monitoring and evaluation (mean= 3.57), competent project team members (mean=

3.57), technical expertise (mean= 3.52), project size (mean= 3.10) and lastly, number of

projects undertaken per year (mean=3.05).

44
Table 4.3: Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects-Descriptive

Variables Scale N Mean Std.

1 2 3 4 5
Project fund 0 4 10 8 20 42 4.05 1.06
Clearly defined roles and 0 2 8 22 10 42 3.95 0.80
responsibilities
Accurate schedule and plans 0 6 8 12 16 42 3.90 1.08
Project management techniques 0 2 10 22 8 42 3.86 0.78
Top management support 0 4 12 14 12 42 3.81 0.97
Project team motivation 0 8 4 18 12 42 3.81 1.07
Training the human resources 0A 2 14 18 8 42 3.76 0.82
Availability of adequate resources 0 2 16 16 8 42 3.71 0.84
Experience and expertise of the 0 4 16 10 12 42 3.71 1.00
project manager/leaders
Client/ vendors consultation 0 6 12 12 12 42 3.71 1.04
Employees involvement within the 0 6 12 16 8 42 3.62 0.96
project
Monitoring and evaluation 0 6 12 18 6 42 3.57 0.91
Competent project team members 0 8 10 16 8 42 3.57 1.02
Technical expertise 0 6 16 12 8 42 3.52 0.97
Project size 0 10 20 10 2 42 3.10 0.82
Number of projects per year 2 8 20 10 2 42 3.05 0.91
OVERALL MEAN 3.67
Interpretation of the mean
4.21-5.00 = very high effect
3.41-4.20= high effect
2.61-3.40=moderate effect
1.81-2.60= low effect
1.00-1.80= very low effect
Source: Field data (2017)

45
The results were subjected to one sample t-test in order to determine which

factors/criteria significantly affect success of telecommunication projects. This test was

chosen since it is used when an investigator wants to know whether the mean of the

score/variable from which the sample is drawn is the same as the hypothesized mean (or

average mean of the scores). Hence, mean of each identified individual criterion was

tested against the average mean; the average mean was calculated and found to be 3.67.

But since this is non-parametric test and the results based on the people/respondents

perceptions, therefore, in interpreting the results of t-test let us neglect the observed

negative signs of t-values and that of Confidence Intervals (CIs) and concentrate on the

meaning of p-values. These negative values are the results of the effects of the mean

difference, which was obtained after subtracting the value of average mean from the

actual mean of the given variable. Now, the results of such t-test have been shown in

Table 4.4.

The results of t-test indicate that factors that have significant power to predict success of

telecommunication projects are project size (p<0.001), number of the project undertaken

per year (p<0.001), clearly defined roles and responsibilities (p=0.026) and project funds

(p=0.026). The remaining factors are not good predictors of success of

telecommunication projects. After that discussion of the obtained results followed as

explained below:

46
Table 4.4: Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects T-test

Test Value = 3.67

t df Sig. Mean 95% Confidence
Difference Interval of the
(2-tailed)
Difference
Lower Upper
Availability of adequate
.344 41 .733 .044 -.22 .30
resources
Top management support .933 41 .356 .140 -.16 .44
Project size -4.538 41 .000 -.575 -.83 -.32
Number of projects per year -4.435 41 .000 -.622 -.91 -.34
Technical expertise -.978 41 .334 -.146 -.45 .16
Training the human resources .726 41 .472 .092 -.16 .35
Project team motivation .849 41 .401 .140 -.19 .47
Client/ vendors’ consultation .275 41 .784 .044 -.28 .37
Monitoring and evaluation -.699 41 .489 -.099 -.38 .19
communication within the
.986 41 .330 .140 -.15 .43
project team
Project management techniques 1.549 41 .129 .187 -.06 .43
Accurate schedule and plans 1.412 41 .166 .235 -.10 .57
Clearly defined roles and
2.302 41 .026 .282 .03 .53
responsibilities
Employees involvement within
-.343 41 .733 -.051 -.35 .25
the project
Experience and expertise of the
.289 41 .774 .044 -.27 .35
project manager/leaders
Competent project team
-.629 41 .533 -.099 -.42 .22
members
Project fund 2.313 41 .026 .378 .05 .71
Source: Field Data (2017)

47
Figure 4.4: Factors Affecting Success of Projects

Project Funds

It was noted that funds is the main factor affecting almost all projects, including

telecommunication projects. Certainly, project fund has been seen to be the biggest factor

that affects success of telecom projects among telecom companies. Availability of enough

funds to perform all required activities of the project was mentioned to associate with better

performance of the project, while lack of enough budget disappoints project performance.

48
One of the respondents from TTCL network engineering said that sometime they fail to

accomplish projects implementation on time because of lack of enough funds.

It has also been pinpointed by Belassi and Tukelo (2016) that lack of enough budget is

the number one challenge to the Uganda Telecom Company to expand its services in

upcountry. From most literature reviewed, it is obvious that a significant number of

authors consider shortage of funds to be the most important hindering factors in African

projects and other third world countries. Therefore, due to that the companies, especially

telecom companies, must make sure that enough budget is allocated to the important

projects which aimed at expanding their services.

Box 3:

…if the purchasing budget is not enough to buy all required material then
the project has to wait and that make the activities to take more time than
expected.

Clearly Defined Roles and Responsibilities

The second factor affecting performance of telecom project was mentioned to be clearly

defined roles and responsibilities among project executors. The study argued that in

order to prevent misunderstanding among project members as well as prevent

unnecessary delays each personnel/player or department should have specific task to

perform. Well-stated job description should be provided to everyone according to his or

her task(s) in the project.

49
Accurate Schedule and Plans

According to the descending order of priority, accurate schedule and plans were

mentioned to be the third factor with high effect in the performance of telecom projects.

It was noted that project time prediction is very important in determining the funds

needed for the accomplishment of the project through forecasting on the different

changes that may create an impact towards development of the project. The study also

emphasized that for successful project time prediction; there is the need to having

enough information regarding availability, accessibility and usability of all resources

and/or materials needed in carrying out the project. Further, it was argued that improper

estimate of projects duration affect utilization of funds negatively.

One of the ways of developing a better schedule is conducting of activities sampling

which is one of the tools/techniques used by management in all productive projects for

productivity measurement, and obtaining information about the time spent on productive

and non-productive activities by workers. In trying to know what could be the cause of

delay in telecom project; the researcher got the chance to chat with one of project

managers who put out that:

Box 3:

One of the weaknesses in the telecom organizations/companies in this

country is lack of activity sampling which is the common tool method for
analyzing possible cause of poor performance in the project.

50
Project Management Techniques

However, the researcher also narrated that successful projects time evaluation is

catalyzed by high degree of knowledge and understanding on what is needed in carrying

out the project through the use of technical experts with experience on what activities

can easily affect cost performance of telecom projects. However, weak management of

the project can be observed if project is at the hands of managers with low management

skills this is because a misunderstanding will exist between project workers. On other

hand, lazy manager is not able to keep detailed and accurate records of expenses, hence

stimulate misuse of the funds. Jackson (2012) proclaimed that many uncertainties in

engineering projects, include financial uncertainty, stems from the complexity of the

management in realizing early warning of misunderstanding among project team

members and resolve the situation.

Top Management Support

The study shows that top management support is among the factors that highly affect the

success of project among telecom companies. It can be said that top managers provided

strong support to their team so as to implement those projects at the time required. It

revealed that in the visited telecom companies there was the good relationship between

top management and other staff from middle and lower class, and the hierarchy of power

is clearly defined. The top management can provide fund and other materials so as to

implement their projects at the time required by setting objectives for each activities to

be carried out within the projects.

51
However, it was discussed that weak management of any project can results to the over

budgeting, time overrun, abandonment or collapse of the project, the phenomena which

signify poor performance. In an interview with respondents it was noted that if a project

is at the hands of managers with low management skills as regard engineering work,

misunderstanding will exist between project workers. As a result of this, some part of

construction funds as well as time will be lost in solving disputes. On the other hand, a

lazy manager is not able to keep detailed and accurate records of expenses, hence

stimulate misuse of the funds. Jackson (2012) proclaimed that many uncertainties in

engineering projects, including financial uncertainty, stems from the complexity of the

management in realizing early warning or misunderstanding among project team

members and resolve the situation. One of the engineering consultants, who introduced

himself as Eng. Steven Mwelele, asserted that:

Box 3:

Effective engineering project management can be attained where by project

managers can be able to see the big picture, anticipate variables that can
impact a cost control or activities schedules, and have a plan in place to
deal with potential problems.

The researcher of this study was in support of the Eng. Mwelele’s views and

supplemented them by stating that good managerial skills to the project managers;

contribute in high level of preparedness so as to take advantage of opportunities that

52
arise. These skills keep their resumes up- to- date so they can respond quickly respond to

constraints as they arise in the course of the project before they will bring difficulties in

the project.

Project Team Motivation

Team member or staff motivation refers to both internal and external factors that

stimulate the energy and desire in people to become more commitment to their jobs so as

to attain a set goal (Iyer &and Jha, 2015). Internal factors are those within the

organization such as promotions, retention increased payments, trainings and skills

development among others while external factors political stability within the area, costs

of leaving, and environmental conditions among others. It can also be termed as a

driving force that causes a change from desire to will in life (Chang, 2012). In short, it

can be summarized that motivation is the way of apprising employees to work towards

achievement of organization objectives.

In this study it was highly accepted that team motivation has high effect in the

performance of telecom projects. Concern team motivation in the visited companies it

was discovered that there were motivations for the team members within the project that

encouraged and motivated them to perform their duties effectively. The companies had

introduced some incentives for the technological staff to trigger their zeal for working

places, the manner which increase their effectiveness in their duties.

Availability of Adequate Resources

53
There is high relationship between better performance and availability and accessibility

of required resources. In this study it was accepted that availability of materials for

telecom projects has been getting easy due to the increase of utilization of telecom

services. Although most of the required material and/or equipment are imported but

there are a large number of producers of these materials/equipment required for telecom

projects in developing countries where we import from. The increase of telecom

materials/equipment production has even led to the decrease of purchasing cost. It was

researcher’s argument that availability of enough materials/equipment plays a significant

part in improving the cost performance through facilitating the accomplishment of the

activities within the stipulated time depending on the level of “know-how” to use the

available equipment.

Also, most of telecom companies had enough financial and information resources to

implement their specific goals and objectives. In the study conducted by Cheng, et al

(2012) concerns construction projects in the republic of South Africa it was commented

that there is direct relationship between performance of construction projects and

availability of construction materials.

However, to have the best engineering projects in the country, there is a need of proper

education system for extensive science and technology so as to ensure continuation of

proper use of the modern equipment. It was also mentioned that availability of human

resources (i.e. experts in telecom field) is not so pressing in the country due to the fact

that there are many university leavers who can perform many telecommunication chores.

54
On top of that, it was narrated that nowadays university and colleges in this country has

been able to produce skillful people in the engineering and technological arena.

Experience and expertise of the project manager/leaders

It was accepted that most of the locally available technicians and engineers in electrical

and telecommunication industry have enough skills to perform their jobs well. They also

tend to utilize their skills to the maximum in order to win market competition. One of

the respondents said that “some of engineering projects in this country fail not because

there is no skilled people to perform them; rather, it is because of lack of financial and

material resources.” It was also added that managers and leaders in engineering projects

have skills relating to the engineering works but they lack management skills which is

also virtual for the project to perform better. The overwhelming evidence available in

supporting the idea that management skill is very important in performance of any

project is the ability to organize team in proper manner so as to implement the designed

project successfully.

On the other side, inadequate project management skills and miscalculations are the

bigger contributors of construction delays. This has been also reported by various

research reports from different scholars and researchers who conducted their studies in

engineering related projects. Oluwoye (2003) reported that poor supervision is a major

problem facing the Ghana water and electricity supply projects. Enshassi et al (2009)

added that inadequate supervision is the source of endemic project delay in Ghana and

Nigeria, and their economic and social impact is often discussed. Nonetheless, some

55
studies (Adrian, 2002; Howell, 1981, among others) indicate that workers on a

construction project are unproductive for 50 percent of their time on site and this is due

to the poor management’s control. For that reason, it can be understood that improving

management skills and practices in engineering industry can therefore reduce poor

performance significantly, which in turn leads to the economic and social growth of the

country.

Employees’ Involvement within the Project

Employee involvement or engagement was also voted to have high effect in the

performance of engineering projects. It was discussed that in the projects where

employees engaged/involved better performance can be attained easily compare to

where employees disengaged. The readiness of worker to participate effectively to the

project can be brought by clearly defined responsibilities to each staff that might lead to

clear implementation of the project. In this study it was noted that there was moderate

participation of technical staffs within the telecom projects due to the moderate

relationship that existed among staff and managements. Engaged employees are those

who give full discretionary effort at work, and are highly vigorous and dedicated to their

job, while disengaged employees are those who are motivationally disconnected from

work, who do not have the energy to work hard and who are not enthusiastic at work

(Towers, 2009). Many researchers have shown the positive effect of employee

engagement (i.e., HR outcome) on organizational performance. According to Bakker et

al (2008), there are at least four reasons why engaged employees perform better than

non-engaged employees. First, engaged employees often experience positive emotions

56
(e.g., happiness, joy and enthusiasm). Second, engaged employees experience better

health. Third, engaged employees create their own job resources and personal resources.

Fourth, engaged employees transfer their engagement to others.

However, employees’ engagement is a relatively new concept in the academic

community but has been heavily promoted by consulting companies (Knight, 2011). It

can be defined as the harnessing of organizational members selves to their work roles

where people express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role

performances. In order to be engaged, an individual has to think, feel and act on their

job. In other words, this mental state constitutes a driving force which requires physical,

cognitive and emotional resources. The concept has also been defined as an individual’s

involvement, satisfaction and enthusiasm for work (Harter, et al., 2012). Knight (2011)

added that top management must be able to analyze the integration of concept of

employee engagement into corporate strategy. Employees’ engagement, which may be

aligned with job satisfaction, is all about employees’ connection and commitment to

their organization. According to Kressler (2003), in order to compete today; companies

need to win over the minds (rational commitment) and the hearts (emotional

commitment) of employee in ways that lead to extraordinary effort. When employees are

involved in making decision on some issues concerning their organization, they feel

proud to be part of that particular organization and once they are proud they will be in a

position to measure their performance individually.

During discussion the study argued that through proper designing of project activities

while taking into account of the unknown disparities, the project management can
57
reorganize and figure out the possible impacts of disparities in the project; and at the end

resulted into proper implementation of project activities through increased degree of

employee engagement which usually help in solving management problems that can cost

the project. The researcher suggested that for the proper close monitoring of the project

performance there is the need of fully involvement of all key players from the beginning

to the end of the project.

Monitoring and Evaluation

It was discussed that insufficient detailed evaluation is one of the greater roots for poor

performance in telecom project and even other non-telecom projects. Detailed evaluation

is termed as process that critically examines a project that involved collection and

analysis of information about a project activities, characteristics, and outcomes with the

main aim of making judgments about the project in order to improve its effectiveness.

Olawale and Van (2011) attested that detailed evaluation is dependant of the different

aspects such as resource needs evaluation, implementation evaluation, outcome

evaluation and impact evaluation. Chang (2002) and Mwandosya (2008) noted that

project detailed evaluation is a determinate of cost performance through providing

information on how to improve project designs and implementation. It also helps in a

periodic assessment of the project and identifying areas for improvement so as to

ultimately help in the realization of project goals more effectively. In the context of cost

overrun, it was argued that insufficient detailed evaluation of the project prior to

commencement of the project implementation leads to the poor estimation of the

resources needed to carry out the project.

58
Competent Project Team Members

Involvement of competent (enough skilled) staff in telecom project is one of the aspects

of good performance. It was argued that presence of enough skilled and knowledgeable

staff in telecom companies ensures good performances of the telecom projects in the

country. This is because the project teams are aware of what is supposed to be done and

the right time to do the task. They can also understand quick ways of solving the

emergency telecommunication problems. The study continued that it is very difficult for

the telecom company without experienced technical staff to perform well in terms of

technological advancement. This is the reason why the respondents of this study asserted

that in order for the telecom company to work effectively and perform their duties well,

there must be enough number of personals with skills and knowledge on engineering

and/or information communication technology.

The study argued that no organization or institution which can perform successful

without having skilled manpower. The presence of enough skilled technical staff within

the technological company, such as telecom companies, can also give the management

confidence to believe that the company has ability to continue providing service to the

client since all core duties can be performed well and in time. Therefore, telecom

companies must be filled with enough technological skilled staff. Additionally, it should

be understood that the presence of enough skilled staff in telecom companies does not

59
only mean the person with high level of education and qualification but also the

professional approach to the technological activities. The work force must be adequately

educated in technological areas so that the technical projects will be performed

effectively.

Faniran (2009) has explained the problem of lacking proper knowledge and skills in the

technological companies by saying that the shortage of skills and capacity has been

identified as the single greatest impediment to the success and development of modern

technology in many sub-Sahara countries. This clearly means that in order for successful

technological companies (i.e. whether telecom companies or not) as well as developed

technological industry in the country, there is the need of having enough personnel with

skills and knowledge on procurement activities. At this point, it becomes clearer that

technological companies like telecom companies should conduct thorough academic

investigation of all job applicants in order to ensure the companies are equipped with

technologically skilled people. The companies should also provide regular refreshment

trainings to those who are ready employed. The refreshment trainings will enable

employees to learn new ways of performing their duties which are used in other

countries.

Project Size

Another factor that can affect performance of a telecom company is the size of the

project. It was said that when the project is bigger than the ability of the work force, the

project will experience poor performance. Feng et al (2010) put it that project size

60
management has become a major challenge face some engineering projects. These may

be due to increasing design complexity, more rigorous federal and state regulations, as

well as socioeconomic changes that affect the workforce.

Lastly, about sixteen factors were analyzed in this study to affect performance of

telecom companies. But there must be some other factors affecting performance of

telecom projects and therefore, researcher suggested that another study to be conducted

while analyzing other factors apart from these which can also have an impact in telecom

projects.

4.3.3 Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecommunication Projects

This is the third specific objectives of the study and was looking for strategic factors to

ensure successful implementation of telecom projects in Tanzanian telecom companies.

Different variables were prepared and presented to the respondents in order to give their

opinions on which variables should be considered as the best ways of attaining good

performance in telecom projects. The variables were presented to the respondents in

form of short sentences with response mode of five Likert scale points that range from

1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. Data collected were subjected to the descriptive

analysis in which mean and STD were considered in drawing conclusion. In the

interpretation of the results after conducting descriptive analysis of the findings the

mean scores of 1.00-2.32 have been taken to present variables which were

“unimportant” in ensuring successful implementation of telecom project. The mean

score of 2.33-3.65 have been taken to represent variables that were “fairly important”

61
and the mean scores of 3.66-5.00 have been taken to present variables that were “very

important” in the success of telecom projects. The results have been presented in Table

4.5.

According to the opinions of the respondents it can be said that for the telecom project to

be successful there is the need for the telecom companies to make regular meetings and

share information within and across the companies (mean 4.14), conduct regular project

monitoring (mean 4.05), should also use proper technological tools to monitor cost and

scheduling the progress of the project (mean 3.95), together with consulting project

management experts before beginning the project (mean 3.93). Also, it was accepted that

adhering to the policy and legislation pertain to technology may influence success and/or

performance of telecom projects.

Table 4.5: Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecommunication Projects

Strategies Scales Mean Std.

1 2 3 4 5

Have regular meetings and share information 3 1 3 15 20 4.14 .724

Regular project monitoring 3 2 4 13 19 4.05 .640
Use proper technological tools to monitor cost 0 2 14 10 16 3.95 .704
and scheduling the progress of the project
Consulting project management experts before 2 6 2 15 17 3.93 .704
beginning the project
Adhering to the policy and legislation pertain 4 4 11 13 10 3.50 1.000
to technology
Interpretation of the Mean
3.66-5.00=very important factor
2.33-3.65= fairly important factor
1.00-2.32= unimportant factor

62
Source: Field Data (2017)

Figure 4.6: Strategies to successful implementation of projects

Regular Meetings and Information Sharing

It was argued that having regular meetings and manner of information sharing helps in

avoidance of unplanned delays in telecom projects. Regular meetings and information

sharing act as the means of ensuring all activities are in line with the planned time and

budget. In line with the concept of regular meetings and information sharing, it was

agreed that early delays can be recovered through improved communication, addition or

63
reduction on the amount of resources depending on the need, resolving of problematic

technical issues and re-justifying of the projects implementation process. Different

authors say that through proper communication within different department in the

engineering and technological projects implementation processes have been simplified.

This is because proper communication between key players called for share of

knowledge within the project and this may, in turn, lead to the proper utilization of

available resources.

Regular Project Monitoring

For the successful telecom project there is the need of establishing effective project

monitoring and valuation using recognized and accepted methodologies. This has been

coupled with effective demonstration of leadership in management of the project. It was

argued that managers should be capable of providing effective planning and monitoring

of all activities in and outside the project. Gunaydın and Dogan (2004) also noted that

increased project cost performance has been attained through the use of a project

management system as a model for management philosophy and strategy in proper

planning, organizing, leading and controlling the use of project resources. It was further

argued that through proper monitoring; it is possible for project managers to identify the

performance of the projects so as to attain the best results regarding utilization of the

allocated resources. A number of researchers such as Hwang and Lim (2012) have

indicated that there is a close relationship between cost performances of the projects and

project monitoring activities. The researcher of this present study is in support of this

close relationship. This is because monitoring help to ensure that objective activities are
64
met within an estimated budget and time, identifying successes, identifying problems

and weakness so they can be rectified before they cause harm to the entire project.

For the proper monitoring of project there is the need of preparing a checklist. It was

accepted with respondents that in determining cost performance of complex project such

as telecom projects, preparation of checklist is virtual important factor and was

effectively considered in almost all visited companies in this study. One of respondents

said:

Box 4:

…preparation of the check list is relevant in providing a schedule that can

lay out the day to day tasks to be carried out within the budgeted cost.

Feng et al (2010) explained that checklist helps in ensuring consistency and

completeness in carrying out a task with an example of “to do list.” Therefore, improper

checklist preparation can lead to the misuse of the funds. This being the fact the study

concluded that proper preparation of check can assist in monitoring project activities for

the better performance; since it bringing out the best picture of how the project should be

managed.

Another useful way of project monitoring is preparation of good accountability. The

discussion argued that proper preparation of activities’ accountabilities in telecom

projects is a widely used financial and economic appraisal tool for attaining value for

65
many. It is particularly useful when making choice in implementation of project

activities and when the project is complex and involved a stream cost overrun. Sound

accountability can be attained through use of an integrated project planning approaches

and developing a baseline plan representing the budgeted cost of work scheduled. The

baseline plan allowed the preparation of a cumulative spending curve and daily, weekly

as well as monthly cost histogram for both project design and implementation activities.

The researcher was in support of the above and suggested that improvement of manner

of preparing effectively accountabilities is the most necessary factors in monitoring cost

performance of any project not only telecom projects.

Use of Proper Technological Tools

The use of proper technological tools to monitor cost and scheduling the progress of the

project was also voted to be important factor for successful telecom project

implementation. It was said that in carrying out telecom projects implementers usually

look on the ways of increase project simplicity by doing several activities such as

adopting use of modern equipment. The modern equipment work faster and therefore

help to speedup project implementation processes while reducing inputs such as number

of labourers who need to be paid for their labour. According to Abraham (2013) the new

computerized equipment have created a significant impact towards increased

productivity in all sector of economy especially in technological industry. In addition to

that, this has also contributed to the reduction on the rate of accidents in the engineering

sites. It should be noted that accidents reduce project funds since a victim has to be

compensated with the money which was not initially estimated in the budget. There is no
66
doubt that modern technological equipment (i.e. computerized machines) simplifies

works than previously equipment.

67
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter provides summary of the findings, conclusions and recommendations to the

main findings presented in Chapter Four by relating them to the specific objectives of

the study while reflecting on the methods used to obtain and analyze data. The chapter

ends with identifying areas for further research.

5.2 Summary

The study posed three research questions to be answered and the questions were: what is

the performance level of telecom projects? What are the factors affecting

performance/success of telecom projects among telecom companies? What are the

strategies to ensure successful implementation of projects by telecom companies? The

questions were answered and here are the summary of the findings relating to them.

5.2.1 Performance Level of Telecommunication Projects

Studying performance level of telecom project was the first aim of this study. Various

variables were analyzed in order to understand thereof. Descriptive statistic was the only

analysis performed on the data pertains to this objective. The study found that visited

telecom companies had performed better on meeting expected qualities of their telecom

projects, control cost overrun and time overrun. Generally, the results show that

performance level of the telecom projects among selected telecom companies was high.

68
5.2.2 Factors Affecting Success of Telecommunication Projects

The second specific objective was to analyze factors affecting success of telecom

projects in which the researcher conducted descriptive analysis and t-test to reach to the

conclusion of this objective. According to the descending order of importance, the study

found that factors affecting performance/success of telecom projects were the following:

project fund, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, accurate schedule and plans,

project management techniques, project management techniques, top management

support, project team motivation, training the human resources, availability of adequate

resources, experience and expertise of the project manager/leaders, client/vendors

consultation, employees involvement within the project, monitoring and evaluation,

competent project team members, technical expertise, project size and number of

projects undertaken per year. The results of t-test have shown that project size, number

of the project undertaken per year, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and project

funds were factors that could significantly affect success/performance of telecom

projects.

5.2.3 Strategies for Successful Implementation of Telecom Projects

The last specific objective called for the strategies for successful implementation of

telecom project. It was noted that for successful implementation of telecom projects

there is the need for the telecom companies to make regular meetings and share

information within and across the companies, conduct regular project monitoring, use

proper technological tools to monitor cost and scheduling the progress of the project,

69
consulting project management experts before beginning the project as well as adhering

to the policy and legislation pertain to technology.

5.3 Recommendation

Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations have been identified

for the purpose of increasing performance of telecom projects in the country. These are

as follows:

 The study recommends for the more proper planning of activities in telecom

projects through the use of proper managerial and technical skills. This will help

avoiding unplanned delays in carrying out project activities; improve on project

simplicity and recovery early delays among others. Hence better cost, time and

quality performance will be attained.

 There is need of maintain good/proper accountability with high level of fairness

and transparency from the time of preparation to the implementation of the

project so as to always meet the planned budgets.

 The study further recommends conducting frequently critical project

performance appraisal and involvement of all key players in project decision-

making process. This will help in good project screening, risk identification and

proper strategies formulation which will ensure better performance.

 Having presented the different measures for improving performance in the

telecom projects, the study recommends well implementation of the so listed

70
 measures in order to meet the required performances in all aspect of the telecom

projects.

5.4 Areas for Further Research

Actually the study focused on the factors affecting performance of telecom projects in

Tanzania while focusing on the projects carried out in Dar es Salaam. Therefore, there is

the need for other researchers to conduct other related studies but focusing on telecom

projects carried out in other regions in order to get the full picture of factors affecting

performance telecom projects in Tanzania. Additionally, there is the need to conduct

other studied on telecom project performance that include other variables such as

customers’ satisfaction with the telecom services in the country, and return of the

projects to the telecom companies.

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Information Quarterly , pp 52-59.

Zhen, Z. (2010). Application of innovative Critical Chain Method for project planning

and control. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management , Vol 4(1) pp

5-13.

Websites

http://www.mst.go.tz/index.php/arrrchieve/78-news/130-hotuba-ya-bajeti-2015-16

http://www.gsmamobileeconomy.com/GSMA_Global_Mobile_Economy_Report_2015.

pdf

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/fpc/Documents/secteurs/technologies-

medias-et-telecommunications/deloitte_the-future-of-telecoms-in

africa_2014.pdf

https://www.tcra.go.tz/index.php/quarterly-telecommunications-statistics#2014-

quarterly-statistics-reports accessed on 25th April

https://www.tcra.go.tz/index.php/quarterly-telecommunications-statistics#2014-

quarterly-statistics-reports accessed on 25th April

http://www.academia.edu/2359178/Investig -accessed on 21st April 2016

http://www.slideshare.net/djadja/imt-lecture-managing-telecommunication-project-

mmbiztel-09nov09-accessed on 5th May 2016

77
http://ppi.worldbank.org/snapshots/country/tanzania

APPENDICES

78
 Appendix I: QUESTIONNAIRES

UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Master of Science in Engineering Management

(Questionnaire)

ASSESMENT OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING PERFOMANCE OF

TELECOM PROJECTS IN TANZANIA

The aim of this questionnaire is to collect the information about the factors
affecting telecom projects performance in Tanzania. It requires to be filled with facts as
relevant as possible. All data obtained through this questionnaire will be used only for
academic research and will be strictly confidential. After the data being analyzed and
presented the interested participants for this study will be given the feedback.

SUBMITTED BY ………………………………….

SUPERVISED BY ………………………………………

PART ONE: GENERAL INFORMATION:

Please tick as appropriate

79
 1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ()

2. Company name……………….

3. What is your highest educational qualification?

Std VII ( ) O’level ( ) A’level ( ) Diploma ( ) Degree ( )

Masters ( ) PhD ( )

other (please specify) …………………………………

4. What is your current designation within the company?

Project manager ( )

Network development manager ( )

Network engineer ( )

Finance manager ( )

Procurement manager ( )

Other please specify…………………………………………

5. How long have you been in the telecom sector?

1 –5 years ( ) 6 –10 years ( ) 11 –15 years ( )

16 –20 years ( ) above 21 years ( )

6. How many years have you been involved in network projects implementations?

1 –5 years ( ) 6 –10 years ( ) 11 –15 years ( )

80
16 –20 years ( ) above 21 years ( )

PART TWO: ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFOMANCE LEVEL OF TELECOM

PROJECTS AMONG TELECOM COMPANIES

8. To what extent are the network projects implemented in your organization meet time
schedule

very high extent ( ) high extent () moderate () low extent () very low extent ()

9. To what extent do the projects implemented meet the planned budget?

very high extent ( ) high extent () moderate () low extent () very low extent ()

10. To what extent do the projects implemented meet the quality expected?

very high extent ( ) high extent () moderate () low extent () very low extent ()

PART THREE: FACTORS AFFECTING SUCCESS OF TELECOM

PROJECTS

9. Below are factors affecting telecom projects performance. From your experience
express your own opinions by putting (tick) on each of the following factors to show
the extent at which they have affected the performance of telecom projects in your
organization.

81
FACTORS 5=very 4=high 3=moderate 2=low 1=very
high extent extent low
extent extent

Availability of adequate
resources

Top management support

Project size

Number of projects per year

Technical expertise

Training the human resources

Project team motivation

Client/vendors consultation

Monitoring and evaluation

Communication within the

project team

Project management techniques

Accurate schedule and plans

Clearly defined roles and

responsibilities

Employee’s involvement within

the project

Experience and expertise of the

project manager /leaders

Competent project team

members

Project fund

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11. Based on your experience in telecom projects management, what are the other
factors affecting the performance of telecom projects in your organization?
i. ………………………………………………………………………..
ii. …………………………………………………………………………
iii. ……………………………………………………………………………..

PART FOUR: STRATEGIES TO ENSURE SUCCESFUL PROJECTS

IMPLEMENTATIONS

11. Below are some of the strategies that can be used by telecom operators to ensure
successful project implementation. Please provide your own opinions on these
strategies by putting a tick on each strategy.

STRATEGIES Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree

Use tools to

monitor costs, and

budgets

Applying software

for planning and

scheduling the

progress of the

project

Regular project

83
monitoring

Consulting project

management

experts before

beginning the

project

Have regular

update meetings

and share

information

12. Please in your own opinions based on your experience in projects management and
the experience gained from being involved in projects, what else can be adopted in
telecommunication industries in order to promote successfully implementations of
telecommunication projects?
i. ……………………………………………………………………………………..
ii. ……………………………………………………………………………………..
iii. ……………………………………………………………………………………
iv. ……………………………………………………………………………………
v. ……………………………………………………………………………………

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