An Assessment of Professionalism Level in Project Implementation in Kenya: A Case Study of Thika Municipal Council

Implementation of projects is preceded by project planning, plans that are contained in project documentation available in the preliminary stages. These plans include among others, technical proposals, budget plans, risk management plans, plan of action, and quality management plans. Nevertheless project planning is one thing and implementation is another. This study sought to explore how professionalism is connected to the success of project implementation. Literature review was guided by the theory on project management, best practices on implementation, as advanced in the ten factor model which was developed by (Pinto & Slevin, 1988a) in their Project Management Handbook. Thika Municipal Council of Kenya was taken as the case study representing Kenya Government bodies. Our Analysis found out that in general, Professionalism in Kenyan public sector was found wanting especially in the way projects are handled. In particular the research found out that, issues on time management, recruitment and client involvement were not keenly observed.
Our research concluded that practitioners in the government bodies should derive benefit by paying attention to professionalism as advocated by various project-management theories for diverse classes of projects.