CPE 520 : PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 7 : PROJECT
MONITORING AND CONTROL
‘AZZAH NAZIHAH BINTI CHE ABDUL RAHIM
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• Overview of the
1 plan-monitor-control cycle.

• Data collection and reporting

2

• Discussion of project control

3
WHY MONITOR/
CONTROL?
INTRODUCTION

⦿ Monitoring is the collection, recording, and

reporting of project information
⦿ Control uses the monitored data to bring
actual performance into agreement with the
plan
⦿ Monitoring and Control are the opposite sides
of project selection (which dictates what to
monitor) and planning (which identifies the
elements to be controlled)
WHY MONITOR?
⦿ All interested parties have available, when
needed, the information required to exercise
control over the project through the use of
tools such as project portfolio.
ITEMS TO BE CONTROLLED?

SCHEDULE

BUDGET

SPECIFICATION
S
PLAN-MONITOR-CONTROL CYCLE
⦿ The plan–monitor-control cycle constitutes a
“closed loop” process
⦿ There is often a temptation to minimize the
planning–monitoring–controlling effort so that
“real work” can be done
PLAN-MONITOR-CONTROL CYCLE
SITUATION EXAMPLE
⦿ INADEQUATE PLANNING PROCESS
DESIGNING THE MONITORING
SYSTEM
⦿ Things don’t always go according to plan (no
matter how much we prepare)
⦿ To detect and react appropriately towards
deviations and changes to plan

HY ?
W
DESIGNING THE MONITORING
SYSTEM
⦿ Identify special characteristics of scope,
cost, and time that need to be controlled
◼ specific performance characteristics should be set for each level of
detail in the project

⦿ Real-time data must be identified

(i.e.,collected) to measure achievement
against the plan
◼ mechanisms to collect this data must be designed

⦿ It is important to avoid the tendency to

focus on easily collected data
DESIGNING THE MONITORING
SYSTEM
Common Errors:

1)monitoring easy measures instead of relevant

measures,

2)monitoring activity in place of results,

3)monitoring inputs as surrogates(substitute) for

outputs,

4)monitoring measures that don ’ t change from

one period to the next.
DATA COLLECTION FORMATS
Frequency counts

Raw numbers

Subjective numeric ratings

Indicators and surrogates

Verbal characterization
DATA COLLECTION FORMATS
⦿ FREQUENCY COUNTS
◼ A simple tally of the occurrence of an event. Often a count of
events per time period or as a fraction of some standard
◼ Eg: Complaints per month, defects per thousand products, fraction
of luggage lost.
DATA COLLECTION FORMATS
⦿ Raw numbers
◼ Actual numbers are used, usually in comparison
to some expected or planned amount
◼ Eg : Ringgits spent, hours required, and weight
consumed
⦿ Subjective Numeric Ratings
◼ Subjective estimates of some quality offered by
specialists in the topic
◼ Eg: Rankings of performance.
DATA COLLECTION FORMATS
⦿ Indicators and Surrogates
◼ When it is difficult to find a direct measure of a
variable
◼ Eg : Body temperature as indicator for infection,
Years of experience surrogate for expertise.
⦿ Verbal characterization
◼ Other variables that are difficult to measure
◼ Must have limited terminology and uniformly
understood by all parties
◼ Eg : Team spirit, client-supplier cooperation
DATA ANALYSIS
AGGREGATION TECHNIQUES
-eg : averaging values

FITTING STATISTICAL DISTRIBUTION

- Fitting to the data to ascertain relationship

CURVE FITTING
- Curve are fit to the data in order to help
estimation
REPORTING
⦿ Purpose:
◼ Reflect current reality (PERT/CPM)
◼ Alerting team members/help maintain team
morale
REPORTING
⦿ Routine performance reports:
◼ Project status reports
◼ Time/cost reports
◼ Variance reports

⦿ Avoid periodic reports. Why??

◼ Abundance of unnecessary information, hiding the
important ones
◼ Due to the explosion of electronic media (for
collecting and disseminating data).
⦿ Let the project’s milestones, scope changes,
problems, and the project team’s needs for
information dictate the timing of reports.
TYPE OF REPORT

Routine
-status, progress, and forecast reports

Exception
-For special decisions or unexpected situations where
affected team members need to be aware, and the
change itself is documented

Special Analysis
Results of a special study which documents a particular
opportunity or problem within the project itself
DELIVERING REPORTS
BENEFITS OF REPORTING
⦿ Mutual understanding
⦿ Establish & maintain a communication
⦿ Maintain the visibility
⦿ Help communicate the needs
⦿ Minimizing confusion during changes
⦿ Status reports help keep the project team
motivated
MEETINGS

⦿Why PEOPLE tend

to hate
MEETINGS???
MEETINGS - GUIDELINES
⦿ Should be used PRIMARILY for group decision
making
⦿ NOT for mere progress report
⦿ Distribute written agenda in advance of
meeting to ensure that all attendees are
properly prepared for the meeting
MEETINGS - GUIDELINES
⦿ Chair of meeting should be taking the
minutes
⦿ Avoid attributing remarks to individuals in
the minutes – make it private
⦿ Avoid excessive formality
⦿ If meeting Is held to address specific crisis,
restrict meeting to this issue alone.
5 MINUTES BREAK :D
VIRTUAL REPORTS, MEETINGS, AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
⦿ The Internet can be used to communicate
and report about the project’s status
◼ irrespective of the location of the project team members

⦿ Software programs allow the project

manager to utilize the organization’ local
area network or intranet
⦿ Virtual project teams … with members
spread worldwide
VIRTUAL REPORTS, MEETINGS, AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
VIRTUAL REPORTS, MEETINGS, AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
⦿ ADVANTAGES
◼ Enhance PM’s ability to manage
◼ Valuable real-time reports – without lengthy
phone conversation, or costly on-site meeting
◼ User don’t need access to “resident copy of the
software
◼ Internet provide information (technical aid,
databases, expert contacts)
◼ “Turn of the century”- effective and timely use
of project information for Planning,
Monitoring, Communicating.
TECHNIQUE FOR MONITORING &
CONTROL
⦿ Earned Value Analysis
◼ EV of a task or project is the budgeted cost of
the work actually done
◼ It is calculate by multiplying the budgeted cost of
the task by the percentage completion of the
task
◼ The percent of a task’s budget actually spent is
not a good indicator of percent completion
◼ Budgeted cost of a task is CLEAR, but the
percentage of completion is NOT.
EV : ESTIMATING COMPLETION %
⦿ 50-50
◼ Task is listed as 50% complete when initiated and
remaining 50% added when task is completed
⦿ 100%
◼ 100% complete when finished.. Before that is 0%. Will
always appear ‘behind schedule’
⦿ Proportional Rule
◼ Ratio of cost (or time) expended to cost (or time)
budgeted
◼ Neither is an accurate estimator of percentage
completion
⦿ Critical Input Rule
◼ According to amount of critical input that has been
used. May be misinformation
EV ANALYSIS
⦿ EV chart : basis for evaluating cost and
performance to date
⦿ If total value of the work accomplished is in
balance with the planned (baseline) cost and
actual cost, top management don’t need to
go for detail analysis of individual tasks.
⦿ CONCEPT : combine cost reporting &
aggregate performance reporting into one
comprehensive chart.
EV ANALYSIS
 COST-SCHEDULE GRAPH

BAC = Budgeted cost at completion

EAC=Estimated cost at completion

CV=Cost variance

CPI=Cost performance Index

SV=Schedule variance

SPI=Schedule performance Index

EV=Earned value or BCWP

AC=Actual cost or ACWP

PV=Planned value or BCWS

CV= +ve (Under planned cost), CV=0 (On planned cost), CV= -ve (Over planned cost)

SV=+ve (Over schedule), SV=0 (On schedule), SV=-ve (Behind schedule)

EV ANALYSIS - VARIANCES
EV ANALYSIS - VARIANCES
EV ANALYSIS - EXAMPLE
PROJECT CONTROL
⦿ Definition : Control, the act of reducing
differences between the plan and actuality
is the final element in the
planning-monitoring-controlling cycle
⦿ Control is a difficult task because
◼ it involves human behavior
◼ problems are rarely clear cut … so that the
need for change and redirection is also fuzzy
◼ Identification of the real problems is difficult
PROJECT CONTROL - PURPOSE
PURPOSE OF CONTROL
⦿ Organizational Assets:
CONTROL SYSTEM - PURPOSE
⦿ Correct errors … but not to identify and
punish the guilty
⦿ Control the investment, subject to
diminishing returns
⦿ Consider impact on creativity and
innovation
⦿ Ensure that short-run results are not
emphasized at the expense of long term
results
PRIMARY MECHANISMS BY WHICH
PM EXERTS CONTROL

Process Review
-reach objectives rather than the results
-Eg: R&D projects , team members can be held responsible for adherence
of proposal, budget and schedule; but not on FINAL outcomes

Personnel Assignment
Based on past project- assign workers according to
performance/experience

Resource Allocation
-Allocation to the more important/productive tasks
COMPONENT OF CONTROL SYSTEM
TYPE OF CONTROL SYSTEM

Go/No-Go controls
-predetermined standard must be met for
permission to be granted to continue

Post-control (postperformance reviews)

-applied after the project has been completed
-purpose is to allow future projects to learn
from past project experience
SAMPLE PROJECT MILESTONE
STATUS REPORT – GO/NO-GO
SCOPE CREEP
⦿ Uncontrolled changes in project’s scope
⦿ Frequently cited by PM as the single most
important problem they face
⦿ Common reasons:
◼ Client modifications to project
◼ Modifications resulting from insights gained by
project team members
◼ Availability of new materials
◼ Introduction of new technologies
CHANGE CONTROL SYSTEM
⦿ Review all requested changes
⦿ Identify all impacts the change may have
on other project tasks
⦿ Evaluate advantages and disadvantages
of requested change
⦿ Install process so that individual with
authority may accept or reject changes
CHANGE CONTROL SYSTEM
⦿ Most importantly: communicate accepted
change to concerned parties
⦿ Ensure that the changes are implemented
properly
⦿ Prepare reports that summarize all
changes made to-date and their impact
CONTROLLING SCOPE CREEP
⦿ Include a change control system in every
project contract
⦿ Require all changes be introduced by a
change order
⦿ Require approval in writing by the client’s
agent and senior management
⦿ Consult with project manager prior to
preparation of change order
⦿ Amend master plan to reflect changes
CLASS DISCUSSION