Project Management Practices and Performance of Government Housing Projects in Kenya: A Case of Kiambu County

Abstract

Project success or failure frequently depends on project management practices adopted in the projects. Empirical literature has shown that projects adopt different project management practices which influence performance with Kenyan studies showing research gaps. Further, Kiambu County has experienced an increase in government housing projects but performing poorly in terms of cost overruns, delays in completion and poor-quality projects. This study sought to establish the effect of project management practices on the performance of government housing projects in Kiambu County, Kenya. The objectives were; to establish the extent of adoption of project management practices in government housing projects; assess performance of government housing projects; and evaluate the effect of project management practices on performance of government housing projects in Kiambu County, Kenya. A descriptive correlational research design was adopted on a population of 10344 individuals in the government housing projects in Kenya. This study targeted 546 project managers, project finance officers and the liaison officers in government housing projects within Kiambu County. The research sample of 231 respondents calculated through Yamane formula and selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. This study adopted structured questionnaire collecting primary data. The questionnaires were self-administered through a drop-wait-and-pick methodology. Pretesting of the questionnaire was done to 23 respondents in housing projects within Nairobi County. Validity was checked through content validity index (CVI) with reliability checked through Cronbach alpha looking at internal consistency. The data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were presented in tabular form for ease of interpretation. Findings showed that there was implementation of project management practices of project risk management, stakeholder engagement and project cost management. The performance of these projects was, however, poor in terms of costs, quality and timelines. The regression analysis showed that project risk management had a positive effect on project performance. Further, stakeholder engagement also showed a positive effect on project performance. In addition, project cost management showed a positive effect on project performance. The study concluded that project management practices of project risk management, stakeholder engagement and project cost management have a positive effect on the performance of government housing projects in Kiambu County, Kenya. It recommends more robust risk management practices to address current performance issues in the government housing projects in Kiambu County. This study recommends that other researcher undertake a similar study based on other factors influencing project performance, other measures of project performance, different projects as well as other counties in Kenya.