Effect of Project Management Practices on Project Success: A Case of Sustainable Graduation Project in Gasabo District, Rwanda

Despite increased government investment in multiple sectors, project sustainability continues to experience delays and overruns, largely attributed to poor project management practices. This study seeks to evaluate the effect of project management practices on the success of sustainable graduation projects in Rwanda. It focused on the effect of project planning, project stakeholder management, project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation on the success of sustainable graduation projects. It was guided by the theory of action, stakeholder theory, resource-based theory and theory of change. It employed descriptive and correlational research designs. A sample size of 89 respondents was drawn from 837 people using the Yamane formula. This study used stratified and simple random sampling. It employed a questionnaire for data collection. The analysis focused on descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that there is positive and statistically significant effect of project planning (B=0.310; p˂0.05) on the success project, there is positive and no statistically effect of stakeholder management (B=0.016; p˃0.05) on the success of project, there is positive and statistically significant effect of project implementation (B=0.325; p˂0.05) on project success, and there is positive and statistically significant effect of monitoring and evaluation (B=0.322; p˂0.05) on success of project. The study concludes that there is an effect of project planning, stakeholder management, project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation on the success of the project. The study recommends that managers should assess the effectiveness of planning techniques, improve stakeholder collaboration, allocate resources, and base project evaluation on feedback. Further, NGOs should establish a comprehensive M &E system with a budget and determine clear roles and timelines. Gasabo District should promote long-term saving for beneficiaries and integrate social protection interventions.