Project Management Basics

MONITORING & CONTROLLING THE PROJECT

Agenda Purpose & Definition Processes Performance Reports Quality Control Risk Monitoring & Control Change Requests

Monitoring & Controlling Process Group

Project Management Process Groups Monitoring & Controlling Processes Initiating Process Planning Process Executing Process Closing Process Monitoring and controlling occurs throughout the entire project lifecycle.

These are the monitoring and controlling processes used in project management to keep us aligned to our project management plan and on course with meeting the identified project objectives at the beginning of the project.

Project Management System Continuous monitoring provides insight into the health of the project and identifies any areas requiring additional attention. PMBOK Fifth Edition DLS needs a standardized approach to continuously monitor health of projects. DLS Examples: Monthly small group report outs Bi-monthly large group report outs

Purpose Control changes and recommend corrective or preventative actions. Monitor project against plan. Influence factors that could circumvent change control or configuration management.

Monitoring & Controlling Process Group Processes required to track, review, and orchestrate the progress and performance of the project, identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required, and initiate the corresponding changes. PMBOK Fifth Edition How do we keep the project on track? With the processes in the monitoring and controlling process groups.

Monitoring & Controlling Processses

Monitoring and Controlling Processes Monitor and Control Project Work Perform Integrated Change Control Validate Scope Control Scope Control Schedule Control Costs Control Quality Control Communications Control Risks Control Stakeholder Engagement

Monitor and Control Project Work OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS Tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan. Change requests Work performance reports Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Project management plan Schedule forecasts Cost forecasts Validated changes Work performance info Enterprise environmental factors Organizational process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Monitoring and Controlling project work ramps up once the project is in execution. Tracking to the project management plan and keeping objectives on track is the whole purpose of this process. Expert judgment Analytical techniques Meetings

Monitor & Control Project Work Monitor performance objectives: Track Review Report Project Team Meetings – Agendas, Minutes HG uses a standardized report out template.

Perform Integrated Change Control OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS Reviewing all change requests; approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, org process assets, project documents, and project mgmt plans; and communicating their disposition. Approved change requests Change log Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Project management plan Work performance reports Change requests Enterprise environmental factors Organizational process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES This process has the largest impact on monitoring and controlling a project. If integrated change control process is performed regularly, it minimizes changes that could create chaos, due to only performing approved change requests and no other changes. Expert judgment Meetings Change control tools

Perform Integrated Change Control For all change requests: Selected Tool: Change Control Board Request change Review change Approve change Manage change Today our change control board consists of sponsor, project lead and functional lead. Use HG Change request template.

Formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. Validate Scope OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS Formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. Accepted deliverables Change requests Work performance info Project documents updates Project management plan Requirements documentation Requirements traceability matrix Verified deliverables Work performance data TOOLS & TECHNIQUES When using outside services, you have to make sure that the vendor completes tasks. Materials and outside services have a time lag on payment from when work was done. Inspection Group decision-making techniques

Control Scope OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline. Work performance info Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Requirements documentation Requirements traceability matrix Work performance data Org process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Variance Analysis = what was planned vs. what actually happened. Scope control is managing any approved changes to the scope baseline. There are many tools and techniques to manage and control the scope, especially in a situation where the timeline is compressed. Variance analysis

Control Schedule OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Monitoring the status of the project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline. Work performance info Schedule forecasts Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Project schedule Work performance data Project calendars Schedule data Org process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Selected tool: PERT chart Performance reviews Resource optimization techniques Modeling techniques Leads and lags Schedule compression Scheduling tool

Activity Sequencing Like our PERT Charts DLS uses the PERT Chart or network diagram to track and monitor the projects progress. PM Fundamentals ver 4.062009

Control Costs OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Monitoring the status of the project to update project costs and manage changes to the cost baseline. Work performance info Cost forecasts Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Project funding requirements Work performance data Org process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES This process helps us to manage changes to the project’s cost baseline. The tools and techniques you will most likely use will be those that the organization already has in place. Earned value management Forecasting To-complete performance index Performance reviews Reserve analysis

Control Costs Largest costs for DLS projects are labor costs. Labor costs must be estimated and tracked. Labor (and other) costs are captured on the Bottom-up Cost Estimating Worksheet. Controlling costs in projects are usually not a problem when it comes to materials, equipment, and tangible deliverables. However, the biggest cost to control on a project are the human resource or labor costs. In project management, the estimating of human resource hours and the tracking of hours against those estimates help us to ensure that resources are utilized properly across the organization’s project portfolio.

Control Quality OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Monitoring and recording results of quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. Quality control measurements Validated changes Verified deliverables Work performance info Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Quality metrics Quality checklists Work performance data Approved change requests Deliverables Project documents Org process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Selected Tool: Inspection There are many tools and techniques available in the control quality process. The best way to control quality is to follow the tools and techniques that are best practices in your organization. Seven basic quality tools Statistical sampling Inspection Approved change requests review

Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control Auditing quality requirements and results from quality measurements Monitoring and recording results of executing the quality activities to assess performance and recommend changes DLS is very in tune to the quality requirements and standards of a project. This slide helps us to see that there is a difference between project quality assurance and project quality control.

Control Communications OUTPUT INPUT PROCESS Monitoring and controlling communications throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are met. Work performance info Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Project communications Issues log Work performance data Org process assets TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Selected Tool: Information Management Systems PMBOK 5 – 10.3 The project communication plan may need to be adjusted from time to time if the project stakeholders change or if the engagement level calls for different strategies to keep communication open and working on the project. Information mgmt system Expert judgment Meetings

Control Risks PROCESS OUTPUT INPUT TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Implementing risk response plans, tracking identified risks, monitoring residual risks, identifying new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project. Work performance info Change requests Project mgmt plan updates Project documents updates Org process assets updates Project management plan Risk register Work performance data Work performance reports TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Selected Tool: Risk Response Plan The constant analysis of the risks on your project and the qualitative risk analysis performed in planning, will help you to continuously monitor for residual and new risks. The role of the risk owner for each risk response plan and deliverable will alleviate the need for the project manager to have to know and monitor all risk triggers that may impact the project. Risk assessment Risk audits Variance and trend analysis Technical performance measurement Reserve analysis Meetings

Control Stakeholder Engagement The process of monitoring overall project stakeholder relationships and adjusting strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders The key benefit of this process is that it will maintain or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and its environment changes The use of various tools and techniques such as information management systems, expert judgment, and status review meetings can be extremely effective in controlling stakeholder engagement resulting in work performance information, change requests, and updates to the project management plan, various project documents and organizational process assets updates.

Team Exercise: CHANGE CONTROL Select a Monitoring & Controlling tool. Explain how you would use it. What information would you need to have to monitor the project? How would you use this information to help control the project? Let’s apply one of the monitoring and controlling tools we covered to your project to see how your project management plan would need to be updated because of a change to your project. Feel free to discuss this among your project team and utilize our teacher’s assistants as your advisors to ensure your project will still be able to accomplish its objectives!