Phase 3

Executing, Monitoring, and Controlling

• The executing, monitoring, and controlling phases of the
project management lifecycle consists of completing and managing the
work required to meet the project objectives.
• This phase also ensures that the project performance is monitored
and adjustments to the project schedule are made as needed.
 Executing, Monitoring, and Controlling
Project execution is where work is performed
There are three main management activities involved in this phase:
• Hold Project Team Kick-Off Meeting
• Manage Project Execution
• Control the project
 Kickoff Meeting
• This Kickoff Meeting brings team members together to review the Project
Plan and to discuss the management methods to be used in the Execute and
Control Stage.
• Purpose:
Conducting a Project Team Kickoff Meeting allows the project manager to
ensure common understanding of the Project Plan. In addition, the project
manager can use this meeting to communicate methods s/he will use to
manage and control the project during the Execute and Control Stage and
discuss these with team members.
 Recommended actions and strategies

What to do
1 Schedule Project Team Kickoff Meeting

2 Prepare Agenda and Meeting Materials

3 Hold Project Team Kickoff Meeting

4 Project Team Kickoff Meeting Follow-up

 Manage Project Execution
• This activity controls what is and what is not included in the project based
on the scope and requirements defined in the Project Charter.
Purpose:
Changes to scope and requirements are a common threat to projects. Project
managers must watch for “scope creep.”.
 Recommended actions and strategies

What to do
1 Obtain a formal request for a scope or requirement change

2 Track the formal change request

3 Analyze the nature and extent of the scope or requirement change

4 Determine the impact of the change request

5 Identify who must review and accept or reject the scope change

6 Make necessary adjustments to appropriate project plans and staffing

7 Communicate the scope change status and resolution

 Manage Roles
This activity ensures the project is effectively staffed and the project team is
motivated to do the assigned work. Role management activities include:
• Building and managing (leading) the entire team
• Developing team member skills to enhance performance
• Adjusting staff to meet changing situations
• Purpose:
A team can make or break the project. Managing project roles ensures
people involved in the project are used in the most effective way.
 Recommended actions and strategies

What to do
1 Create an environment that permits team members to excel

2 Assume the role of a coach by providing feedback and helping to train team members

3 Set clear goals and ensure accountability and ownership when delegating responsibilities

4 Continually monitor and evaluate team performance and plan for staff changes

5 Manage changes in project staffing

 Manage Project Schedule
• Managing the project schedule is an ongoing activity to make sure the project
is meeting deadlines and providing deliverables on time.
Purpose:
Managing the project schedule helps the project stay on track. During the
Execute and Control stage the project manager uses the agreed-to baseline
schedule to track project progress and measure the performance of the project.
 Recommended actions and strategies
What to do
1 Request regular progress reports from project team members about their progress on assigned
tasks

2 Be alert to and identify any project changes that might affect the schedule

3 Identify any significant schedule slippages and take action

4 Update the project schedule by adjusting tasks and assignments

5 Prepare yourself to answer a variety of schedule related questions

6 Communicate progress against the project schedule

 Manage Budget
• Managing the project budget is an ongoing activity that answers the question:
“Are we spending what we expected to spend based on how the project is
proceeding?” The goal is to keep costs within the budget estimates.
• Purpose:
An essential part of a project manager’s job is to ensure that the project is
completed within the approved budget.
 Recommended actions and strategies
What to do
1 When tracking project finances identify budget variances as they occur

2 Understand the reasons for either positive or negative variances in the budget

3 Make adjustments to the budget to reflect any changes or revise the cost estimates

4 Assess impacts to project scope and requirements

5 Communicate any budget changes or issues to the project sponsor

6 Get approval from the project sponsor for any budget adjustments
 Manage Communications
• Managing communications makes sure that everyone involved and interested
in the project is kept informed.
• Information is made available to appropriate audiences at the appropriate
time as defined in the Communication Plan developed in the Planning Stage.
Purpose:
Communication is a fundamental way to manage stakeholder expectations
about how the project is progressing and to communicate who needs to be
doing what to the project team.
 Recommended actions and strategies
What to do
1 Follow your documented Communication Plan

2 Be clear, unambiguous, and complete in communicating with the project team

3 Recognize that communications are bi-directional

4 Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your communication plan and how the
organization is using the information

5 Adjust your communication plan to make sure it remains current and effective
 Control the project
Control Quality:
Controlling quality ensure that project deliverables and processes comply with
quality standards. Quality control and assurance activities work to eliminate the
causes of unsatisfactory results.
Purpose:
Managing quality helps prevent problems and deficiencies in project
deliverables. It also helps make project processes more efficient and effective.
 Recommended actions and strategies
What to do
1 Perform quality control and quality assurance activities as defined in the Quality Management Plan

2 Document quality problems or symptoms

3 Identify root causes of problems, not symptoms

4 Identify alternative solutions to problems and impacts of each solution to the project

5 Select the best alternative

6 Create and implement an action plan

7 Validate that quality has improved as expected

8 Log, track, and monitor problems to bring them to resolution

9 Report quality problems in project status report

10 Update the Quality Management Plan

 Control Risks
The project manager implements the risk management process outlined in the
Risk Management Plan. The project manager monitors the risk plans to ensure
the plans are being executed successfully.
Purpose:
The process described in the risk management plan helps assure satisfactory
project results by detecting the occurrence of factors than can cause risks to be
realized and by responding according to plan.
 Recommended actions and strategies

How to do it
What to do
1 Manage risk throughout the Execute and Control Stage of the project

2 Monitor risk management processes for effectiveness

3 Take corrective action as needed