Abstract:
The public project is particularly a demanding undertaking, with the requirement to meet diverse
demands. Despite huge investment, public sector projects tend to complete behind schedule,
indicating shortfall in various project factors. The objective of this study was to examine the
effect of the project planning process on the success of public construction projects in Jimma
Town, Ethiopia. It aims to investigate the effects of project planning process and project success,
with a focus on Resource estimation, Project scheduling, Risk management strategies and
Stakeholder engagement. The design of this study was descriptive and explanatory through both
quantitative and qualitative approach method. The primary and secondary sources of data were
utilized. The primary data was collected by questionnaire and interview, while secondary data
was obtained from relevant literature and documents. The sampling was determined based on
the target population and sampling techniques such as probability random sampling and non
probability purposive sampling. A total of 142 questionnaires were distributed, for which
obtained 92.25% response rate. The collected data was analyzed using regression model in
Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 20.0. We found there are strong
relation (which the result indicates R2 80.8%) between project planning process and project
success. Also, the Study findings revealed that, resource estimation in planning process,
Schedule planning process; risk management in planning process, and stake holder engagement
has a significant effect on project success of public construction project at Jimma town
municipality. So, it is highly recommended to give attention to those factors because all of these
have an immediate and continues effect on project life cycles, to the excellent outcomes of
project success at Jimma town municipality.
