WHAT AN OLM IS NOT
Some commonly held misperceptions about what OLMs can do :
1. OLMs may not help with understanding a project 'at a glance'. OLMs in their initial form (i.e. table) are not easy to grasp with just one glance. To achieve this, you may need to derive a different product. See ‘Stripped/Graphic OLM’ for more on project-at-a-glance help.
2. They are not supposed to be used as a standalone management or even planning tool. OLMs are complemented by other management tools such as Gantt charts, activity timelines, budget assignments, and other necessary project tools that address activities, milestones, indicators, budget, etc. The OLM can – and should – be well connected to these (what activities are necessary to contribute to the achievement of the changes described?) but all the needed detailed plans of a project do not fit in the OLM!
3. They are not necessarily good at showing research outputs that are produced by one project for the use of another. When you have several separate projects making up a bigger program, OLMs may not be the best way to find the dependencies and interrelations between projects. Because OLMs are actor-based (they start by the WHO) and not activity-based, establishing responsibilities and inter-dependencies between projects may be difficult. However, an OLM can be used to start these discussions, and for different project implementers, to start seeing when two or more of them are working towards a shared result.
4. (related to the above) They are not helpful for ‘assigning tasks’ to partners or understanding partner responsibilities. This is a job for the Gantt chart, milestone plan, budget by partners, or other management tools your project might use.
5. OLMs are not a project management tool that describes the production of outputs – this is done with a tool such as the Gantt chart. What the OLM does do is provide guidance on how research should be carried out to achieve outcomes.
Next page: iv. Common Problems when developing OLMs
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.