Execution and Control with Risk

Week 1: Directing and managing project execution

Module overview
The focus of this module is on explaining how to execute project plans created
during the project planning phase. The creation of a project plan was covered in
detail in the Planning and Budgeting with Risk module.

As a project manager, your goal is to complete the project work specified in the
project management plan and to meet all the project requirements during the
execution phase of the project life cycle. While the project management plan is
being implemented, you should undertake a series of management processes
that will support the following actions: monitoring and controlling of project
deliverables; assessment of the project progress and performance; and meeting
the project scope. This module will cover how to monitor and control project
execution so that potential problems are identified and corrective actions, if
required, are implemented in a timely manner. You will learn to monitor and
communicate the project progress to project team members and other
stakeholders. You will also gain an understanding of how to monitor and control
the quality of project deliverables and manage project scope changes. In
addition, you will understand the importance of effectively developing, leading,
and managing project teams. Next, you will learn about the project-closing
process, which includes obtaining the final acceptance of deliverables from
appropriate stakeholders, facilitating administrative and procurement closure of a
project, reviewing project execution for successes and failures, and archiving
project documents. The module will also explain how to manage risks that often
materialise in a project. Finally, the module will discuss the Project Management
Institute (PMI) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and ways of ensuring
personal and project stakeholders‘ integrity by adhering to ethical standards.

Week 1 provides an overview of the process of managing the execution and

control of a project. In Week 2, you will learn how to manage and control project
quality by using quality assurance and quality control processes. Week 3 will
cover the tools and techniques to manage and control project scope changes.
Week 4 will discuss the elements of developing, leading, and managing a project
team. In Week 5, you will learn to use project-planning software tools such as
Microsoft Project and OpenProj to track, monitor, and report the progress of the
project. Week 6 will focus on the process of closing a project, including obtaining
final acceptance of deliverables, archiving all project documentation, performing
post-project review, releasing resources, and handing over project deliverables.
In Week 7, you will learn about the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
and how to apply this code to project management situations. You will also learn
to address inappropriate and unprofessional conduct. Week 8 will conclude the
module with analyses of projects that had significant problems during execution.

Week 1 introduction
This week provides an overview of the process of managing project execution
and control according to the project management plan. As a project manager,
you are aware that effective communication is a key factor for managing project
execution. However, you may face challenges as you communicate with your
team and other project stakeholders. In addition to communication, other factors
such as developing, leading, and managing project team members are also
critical for successfully achieving project goals. This week, you will learn about
organising people and resources for performing the activities of a project.

The purpose of a project is the realisation of its scope. This week, you will also
learn to manage the project scope and the changes, if any, to the scope. In
addition, you will learn why it is important to obtain approval for all changes,
implement only the approved changes, and evaluate the effectiveness of the
implemented changes. You will understand the need for taking corrective action
in case unapproved changes are implemented.

The realisation of the project scope and organising people requires effective
communication. Therefore, you will learn how the project communication plan is
prepared and disseminated. You will also learn techniques that will ensure that
communication within the team and across project stakeholders is effective.

Organising people and resources

Online reading (Kor & Wijnen: pp. 157–159 and pp. 172–174)

In the planning phase of the project life cycle, you created the project scope
based on the client requirements. In the execution phase, you will organise a
team to work together on project activities so that the project meets the
requirements stated in the scope statement. As a leader and the project
manager, you also need to inspire, motivate, and challenge your team to meet
the project goals. In addition, you need to ensure that the resources required for
a project are available and used efficiently during project execution.

When executing a project, you may have to cope with competing demands
related to quality, schedule, and cost (the triple constraint). In other words, the
output of the project should meet the quality requirements and possess all the
required features described in the project scope statement. The output should
also be delivered on time and within the budgeted cost. The project manager
must prioritise the competing demands of the triple constraint. Kor and Wijnen
(2007, pp.157–159) explain five management perspectives that could help you
prioritise dissimilar items in a programme (which is defined by the authors as a
unique set of goals agreed upon in advance and pursued with limited means and
a complex set of activities). These perspectives could be used to prioritise the
three competing demands of the triple constraint:

Tempo: This perspective relates to the schedule leg of the triple

constraint. Tempo refers to the pace at which a project is successfully
completed and directly impacts the project schedule. If the primary project
goal is to deliver the output on schedule or earlier, you should
communicate with the team to achieve this.
Feasibility: Feasibility should be determined before beginning the project,
except for research-oriented projects. The feasibility of most projects is
determined during the scoping or initiating phase, but it may need to be
evaluated again during execution when assessing the impact of a change
request.
Efficiency: This perspective relates to the budgeted cost of a project. A
project task that requires fewer resources and adds the maximum value to
the project must be prioritised.
Flexibility: This perspective is useful when a change request that impacts
the project scope is approved. Flexibility relates to how fast you can
reorganise and shift people and resources when needed and in case of a
change request, how quickly you can get the team working on the
changed scope.
Goal orientation: This perspective relates to the measurement of how
well the project can achieve the defined scope.

These five management perspectives can help you evaluate a new requirement
and subsequently organise people and resources by knowing which of the three
demands of the triple constraint should be prioritised. The priority of each
perspective will vary with the project as will the need to manage the project team
members and resources. You can use the following process to determine the
priority of each project goal:

1. Call a meeting of all the important project stakeholders, including the

project sponsor and a customer representative. If some or all of the
stakeholders are unable to assemble at one place, use teleconferencing
or video conferencing as a solution for the meeting.
2. In the meeting, determine the priority of each project goal in terms of the
five perspectives. The important goals should be prioritised by assigning
them a numerical value (the assignment may be subjective). Then, using
the assigned numerical values, you can sort and rank individual goals.
3. Adjust priorities and values until there is a consensus that the priorities of
all the project goals are correct. By involving all relevant stakeholders in
this meeting, you will assure broad support for the ranked priorities.
4. Document the outcome of this meeting.

Every project is unique, so the prioritisation that works in one project may not
work in another. A model of the cycle of control may be helpful here. When a task
is assigned, you measure progress and compare it with the plan. If progress is
satisfactory, no adjustments are needed. If an adjustment is required such as
when the progress shows deviation from the plan, you communicate this to the
project team members. You then measure progress against the adjusted work
expectations and the cycle continues.

Checklist 10.6, a restatement of the five perspectives discussed earlier, (Kor

and Wijnen, 2007, p.172) presents several warning signals for a project under
‗Beware the following‘. Looking out for these signals and the circumstances in
which they may occur will help you in organising and managing people and
resources efficiently in specific situations.

Let‘s discuss how you can deal with specific circumstances should they arise in
your project:

If the senior management does not consider a project to be important in

the short term and puts the project on hold, determine whether the project
has enough strategic or long-term value for it to be executed.
If the support for your project from senior management or client
stakeholders is dwindling, then determine why you are still executing the
project. If the project is not really contributing any value to the company,
consider recommending termination if politically possible. If you cannot
terminate the project, try to use the assigned resources in ways that will
benefit the company.
If some of the problems in your project seem to have no remedial
measures, examine the risk management plan. Are the problems
occurring because of a new risk? Do you have a plan to manage the new
risk? If not, develop a mitigation plan. Reassess the value of the project to
the company to determine if it is worth pursuing.
If the stakeholders, such as customers or senior management, want
ambiguity in your project probably because they can change the scope
without a formal change request, determine whether other projects faced a
similar problem and check how they solved it.
If your manager is micromanaging you, look for the reason. If it is probably
because you are failing to provide accurate and timely information to the
project stakeholders, communicate more effectively. If you think it is
because the project is important and of great significance to the project
stakeholders, adopt more proactive ways of executing the project such as
offering ideas and suggestions rather than asking your supervisor for
solutions. Be sure to keep your superior and project sponsors well
informed about all aspects of the project.

If your project is not facing any of these circumstances, you can continue
executing the project, depending on the priorities that you identified in the
meeting with the important stakeholders.
Integrating and performing project activities

‗Integrate‘ means to bring together to form a unified whole. In the context of a

project, integrating refers to bringing together people and resources so that the
scheduled project activities can be performed. Unless mandated by the
organisation or the project requirements, the composition of the team is one of
the first decisions to be made. You need to decide who should be assigned to the
project. One way this can be accomplished is by matching the skills needed for
each project task with the skills available in the organisation‘s resource pool.

Not all people are likely to be required throughout the project execution phase.
As the nature of the project tasks changes and as the project progresses, the
skill set needed may be different from the skill set required initially. Therefore,
you may want to get resources on an as-required basis. For this, the project
schedule needs to be communicated to the functional managers so that you are
able to obtain the required resources in time to perform the scheduled activities.

However, when people are assigned on an as-required basis, it is possible that

they are not clear about their specific responsibilities during the execution of the
project.

For ensuring clarity about team members‘ responsibilities, a project manager can
create a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) or a ―Responsible, Accountable,
Coordinate, and Inform‖ (RACI) matrix (a type of RAM). In a RACI matrix, names
or roles are listed on one axis and scheduled activities are listed on the other. A
code is placed at the intersection of an activity and a role:

R means that the identified person or role is responsible for performing the
task.
A means that the identified person or role is the final decision maker for
the task.
C means that actions for the scheduled activity need to be coordinated
with the identified person.
I means that the identified person or role needs to be informed about the
plans, progress, or completion of the task.

As the project proceeds, there may be attempts to second-guess the

management concepts and principles. In this case, a RACI matrix can be used to
remind people of what was agreed.

Implementing the project scope

Textbook reading (Sanghera: pp. 348–350)

The whole purpose of any project is, of course, to implement the scope
developed to meet the business need. As described in the Introduction to
Project Management module, the project scope represents the work that must
be done to develop a product or service that meets client requirements.
Implementing the project scope is a significant activity because the cost and
schedule of a project are directly linked to the amount of work to be completed.
Any change in the requirements or amount of work needed in a project directly
impacts the cost and schedule of the project.

During project execution, you should implement the defined project scope by
following the project plan (which is developed to fulfil the project scope
statement). You must also protect the boundaries of the scope statement by
preventing uncontrolled changes to the project.

Scope control is an important aspect of scope implementation. Perhaps the best

way to control the scope is to trace each client requirement throughout the
project execution phase. To control the project scope, ask the following
questions:

Is each client requirement represented in the project scope statement?

Is each part of the project scope statement represented in the WBS?
Can it be demonstrated to the client that each requirement has been fully
met?

Answers to these questions will help you identify scope creep, which is important
for controlling the project scope. The PMI defines scope creep as ‗adding
features and functionality (project scope) without addressing the effects on time,
costs, and resources, or without customer approval‘ (PMBOK, 2008, p.440).

Implementing approved changes

Textbook reading (Sanghera: pp. 309)

Changes can occur in projects for several reasons. Some of these reasons may
be technical (such as a change in technology used to develop the project
deliverable) and some procedural (such as the implementation of a process
better than the planned process to execute a task). Other possible reasons may
be financial (such as new financial considerations because of a change in the
project stakeholder) or people related (such as incomplete requirements
gathering during project planning). When a change is made to the original project
plan, the change control process is initiated. This process encompasses a series
of steps beginning with the approval of the change and ending in implementing
the approved change. Submitting a change request is the first step toward getting
a change approved. A statement of the impact of the change must be included in
the change request, which should then be evaluated by the Change Control
Board (CCB). CCB‘s criteria for judging the appropriateness of the change
request varies based on the organisation or the project but it usually includes
criteria such as the strategic direction of the company, the need to make
resources available for the next project, and the importance of satisfying the
client. The CCB may approve or disapprove the proposed change. Implementing
a change which might be or probably will be approved introduces risk into the
project. A change request might be rejected or changed before approval.
Therefore, only approved changes to the scope should be implemented.

Once a change has been approved, it must be implemented. The project

baselines and other affected project documentation need to be revised to reflect
the impact of the change. Also, the team must be informed about the approved
change and how it affects each team member.

In the event that a change request is implemented, several risks may occur
because the team members:

May not understand that the change affects their work;

May not understand how the change affects their work;
May not want to perform any rework resulting from the change;
May do more than the change request authorises.

The challenge for you as a project manager is to make sure that everyone
understands exactly what the change means, both individually and to the project.
You can ensure a consistent understanding regarding a change through effective
communication.

Implementing and evaluating a communication plan

Online reading (Roberts: pp. 147–148)
Textbook reading (Sanghera: pp. 292–296)

Communication is the key to performing all the project management tasks

effectively. It assumes greater significance in the execution phase of a project
that involves tasks such as organising people and resources, implementing the
project scope, and implementing approved changes. Communication is also
important if a company has outsourced a project task to a business partner in a
different country.

Suppose a Sweden-based R&D company outsources project tasks to a

consultancy company in India. At the beginning of the business relationship, both
companies need to spend time and effort in setting up the protocol for project
operations, including that for project communication. When people on both sides
follow the protocol, they can ensure accurate, timely, and correct communication
of all project-related issues. Because of the geographic distance and therefore
limited opportunities for face-to-face communication, the project teams located in
the two countries can use e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing. In
addition, by documenting and sharing the discussion points or outcomes of
project meetings with key members of the other project team, teams can ensure
consistent understanding of the issues discussed as well as the creation of a
record for future reference.
A project communication plan is an important tool that defines the strategy for
sharing project information with all team members and project stakeholders at
the right time and in a form that they can use. Week 6 of the Planning and
Budgeting with Risk module presents detailed information on the components of
a project communication plan. Roberts (2007, pp.147–148) explains a
communication plan and its components. A project manager can use a
communication plan to share the right information with team members and
project stakeholders. For example, the project manager needs to provide the
senior management the high-level project status, such as information on whether
the project will be completed on time and within the budget. However, team
members need to be provided with information such as new developments in the
project and the schedule for their tasks. It is important to ensure that information
shared with team members is in a format that they can understand. The
communication plan includes details of the formal channels of communication,
such as e-mail, printed reports, Web sites, and project schedules, that a project
will use, but you can also use informal channels, such as individual
conversations.

When evaluating the implementation of a communication plan, you can be either

proactive or reactive. A proactive project manager thinks about the following
questions:

What effect will the new information have on my project?

Who on the project requires this information?

In addition, a project manager adopting proactive ways will contact the

stakeholders to determine whether they receive the required information in
project-related communication. In contrast, a reactive approach is to assume that
all project-related communication is relevant and useful to the recipients.
However, this type of approach may give rise to the following problems:

The stakeholders may not be receiving the required project details;

The team members may not interpret all project communication correctly;
The differences in stakeholders‘ and team members‘ interpretation and
understanding of project communication may create conflicts in the team.

An efficient project manager will ensure that stakeholders and team members
understand the intended message. For example, the project manager can
explain the various fields and details in the project schedule so that team
members derive correct information. In addition, when sharing the same
schedule with the stakeholders, the project manager can include other high-level
details about the project status and other information relevant only to the
stakeholders. In this way, the project manager can avoid overwhelming the team
members with complex information and eliminate all possibilities of assumptions
being made and at the same time, ensure that all the required information is
shared with the stakeholders.
Assumptions can also cause confusion among people. For example, you are the
project manager for a software development project. You have two programmers
on your team, one is from India and the other is from China. You assume that
both programmers speak English and would be able to communicate with each
other. The assumption is proven wrong when both the programmers need to
collaborate to perform specific tasks on the project. You discover that the two
programmers don‘t understand each other because while they both speak
English, they do so with very different accents. You could have avoided this
situation by meeting both the programmers face-to-face before project execution
had begun.

Let‘s look at a different form of communication. Take the example of a

construction project—construction drawings and project specifications are the
main form of communicating a building‘s design. Therefore, it is critical that the
construction drawings are interpreted accurately and any assumptions are
confirmed with the right person prior to the plan being implemented.

Week 1 summary
This week provided you with an overview of managing project execution and
control. You learned about the importance of organising people and resources to
create an environment in which the project scope can be successfully
implemented. In addition, you gained an understanding of why you have to
manage competing demands related to the triple constraints of quality, schedule,
and cost when executing a project. You also gained an understanding that as a
project manager, you can prioritise the three competing demands by using the
five management perspectives: tempo, feasibility, efficiency, flexibility, and goal
orientation.

Next, you were introduced to situations that are warning signals for a project.
Identifying these situations at the right time will help you organise and manage
people and resources efficiently.

The week explained that in order to execute project activities, you need to
organise the project team. In order to determine who should be assigned to the
project, you can match the skills needed for each project task with the skills
available in the organisation‘s resource pool. If you obtain resources on an as-
required basis, you can create a RAM to clearly identify the responsibilities of
each project team member.

Next, you gained an understanding of the importance of implementing the project

scope. During the execution of a project, you should implement the defined
project scope and protect its boundaries by preventing uncontrolled changes to
the project. Scope control is an important aspect of scope implementation.
Having a thorough understanding of your project scope should make it easy for
you to quickly detect scope creep. A change should only be made to the project
scope through a formal change control process following an official approval.
Once a change request is approved, update all project documentation and clearly
communicate implications of the change request to avoid risks associated with
implementing the change.

Finally, you explored the importance of implementing the communication plan

explaining why communication is the key to performing all project management
tasks such as organising people and resources, implementing the project scope,
and implementing approved changes. In addition, you also gained an
understanding about the importance of evaluating a communication plan in order
to determine whether people are getting the information that they need in a timely
manner and in a valuable form.

References
Kor, R. & Wijnen, G. (2007) 59 checklists for project and programme managers,
University of Liverpool [Online]. Available from:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/ohecampus/search/ebooks.htm (Accessed: 20
November 2009)

Andersen, E., Grude, K. & Haug, T. (2004) Goal directed project management:
effective techniques and strategies, London: Kogan Page Limited.

Roberts, P. (2007) Guide to project management, University of Liverpool

[Online]. Available from:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/ohecampus/search/ebooks.htm (Accessed: 20
November 2009)