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Project Monitoring and Control (PMC)

Conference Paper · February 2010

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROLE AND APPLICATIONS OF ICT IN INACCESSIBLE AREAS (RAICTIA-10) FEB 17-18, 2010, DEPT. OF CSE, GJUS&T,HISAR

Project Monitoring and Control (PMC)

Gaurav Kumar, Ashu Bansal,
Lecturer, Hindu College of Engineering, Sonepat. Lecturer, Hindu College of Engineering, Sonepat.
er.gkgupta@gmail.com ashubansal_pec@rediffmail.com

Abstract WP A unit of work, which is being

The scope of this process covers plan the plan phase as monitored and is the subject of this OP.
well as execution of the work package against the work A WP has a definite start and End date
package plan till completion of the work package. All with a defined goal.
discussions and meetings for status reporting, and Project A container for one or more than one
project closure are part of the scope of this process WPs.
which are described in this paper. The purpose of this OT Organization Training
paper is to elaborate the Project Monitoring and SPIF Software Process Improvement Forum
Control process using process flow diagrams, QM Quality Manager
Entry/Exit Criteria, Input/Output and steps or action WPIN Work Project Initiation Note
which are performed at each phase.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. INTRODUCTION Overall responsibility for the PMC process.
The purpose of Project Monitoring and Control is to Conducting various meetings concerning PMC
provide an understanding of the project’s progress so process.
that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when Monitoring various threshold parameters.
the project’s performance deviates significantly from PL Prepare and submit “Weekly Status”/”Iteration
the project plan. A project’s documented plan is the Review” Reports.
Issue Cause Analysis.
basis for monitoring activities, communicating status,
Maintaining and updating Action List.
and taking corrective actions. Progress is primarily Project Closure.
determined by comparing actual work product and Assist PL in preparation of weekly, status reports,
task attributes, effort, cost, and schedule to the plan at SQA
Audit.
prescribed milestones or control levels within the
HOD Review of progress reports.
project schedule. The term “project plan” is used
throughout these practices to refer to the overall plan QM Quality Manager logs the complaint. Report Metrics.
for controlling the project. When actual status
deviates significantly from the expected values,
corrective actions are taken as appropriate. 2. PROCESS & PROCESS FLOW
Appropriate visibility enables timely corrective All 4 procedures under the PMC process with Entry
action to be taken when performance deviates Criteria, Inputs, and actions to be taken by the
significantly from the plan[2]. A deviation is recommended team member to perfom the activity,
significant if, when left unresolved, it precludes the Outputs and Exit criteria for each procedure are given
project from meeting its objectives[4]. These actions below [4]:
may require replanning, which may include revising 2.1 Monitor Project
the original plan, establishing new agreements, or Meetings with their frequency and agenda items are
including additional mitigation activities within the described below which are used to monitor the
current plan. project. These Meetings may be merged if they fall
together at the same time but the Agenda items will
KEYWORDS/ABBREVIATION AND DESCRIPTION be discussed for all.
PMC Project Monitoring and Control Scrum Meeting (Daily) : Agenda Items for Scurm
PM Tool An Automated tool used to collect Meeting includes :
information for the purpose of status  Risks at Priority level 1.
reporting  Status of the tasks planned for the yesterday
Threshold Limit A variation limit defined in the PP for a  Tasks to be achieved today.
particular parameter. Crossing of the
Threshold limit for this parameters  Re-allocation of the Tasks.
calls for response from the PL.  Any Blocking Issue.
 Any Action to be taken (add tasks with owner)

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 PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL

 Status of the Iteration

 New Risks if any.
Status Meeting (Weekly) : This includes :
 Measure Current Status against Plan. Monitor Project Progress
 Review Scope changes.
 Communicate project progress and problems
Conduct Scrum
 Update an Action List to correct problem areas Identify Actions to be taken
Meeting
 Anticipate Problems and take Preventive
Actions
 Resolve outstanding issues Identify Actions to be
Conduct Status
 Monitor risks Meeting with
taken & Inform HoD
 Issue due to commitment failures, development Customer & Internal
about Risk,
issues, planning issues or process issues. Assumptions, and
senior management
Dependencies
 Share new process initiatives
 Take Corrective & Preventive action against the
issues raised by the team Conduct the Identify Issue and their
 Solve team conflicts within themselves or with Iteration Review at causes for parameters
the end of Iteration that have crossed
other support groups.
 Disseminate the activities planned for the week threshold & update the
actions accordingly
to the attendees
 PMC Sheet
 UAT status if applicable Review Metrics and
identify the action points
 Status of the Data Backup for improvements
MileStone Review Meeting (End of Milestone) : This
includes :
 Analysis of the defects and issues. Escalate the issues to the senior
 Planned and actual of last week management (if required)
 SQA Issues - discuss and take actions
 Status of the Iteration
 NC Status - analysis and preventive actions - Prepare the Monthly Status
Add them as action items Report and send it to HoD
 Risks and Stakeholders
 Metrics
 Lesson Learnt. Fig.1. Monitor Project process flow
 Best Practices
WP Closure (End of WP): This includes: Steps or functions with responsible person (shown in
brackets) with recommendation during Monitor
 Prepare Closure report.
Project include:
Kick off Meeting (After WP Plan): This includes:
 Monitor Project Progress (PL): This is done
 Disseminate the Plans.
through Meetings discussed above.
 Inform IT Service (stakeholder)
 Conduct Scrum meeting (PL): Status review of
 Take commitments.
the project.
 Risks if any.
 Identify actions to be taken(PL)
 Conduct Status meeting with customer and
Phases under Monitor Project may be described as:
Internal Senior Management. Inform HoD about
Entry Criteria for the Monitor Project includes WP
Risk, Assumptions, and Dependencies (PL):
plan is approved or WPIN is approved.
Update the Monitoring sheet, inform the
Inputs are Approved WP Plan or approved WPIN &
Customer about the Status. Use mail to inform
Plan the Plan, Previous Actions and Last week data.
customer, Prepare MoM. PL will send weekly
status and iteration review report to HoD.
The process flow for Monitor Project phase is shown
in figure1.  Report Metrics (PL/SQA): Send the data to QM
and SPIF.

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROLE AND APPLICATIONS OF ICT IN INACCESSIBLE AREAS (RAICTIA-10) FEB 17-18, 2010, DEPT. OF CSE, GJUS&T,HISAR

 Review Metrics(PL) : Metrics could be Project

specific or reported by QM
 Identify Issue and their causes for parameters Fig.2. Customer Complaint Resolution process flow
that have crossed threshold (PL/Team): If none
of the parameters have crossed the threshold Steps or functions during Customer Complaint
limit then this step may be skipped. Resolution include:
 Identify issues for root cause analysis and update  If Customer Complaint is not received, Inform
the actions accordingly (PL): Do root cause the PL (Team Members / HoD)
analysis for all the Safety related defects.  Acknowledge the Customer opinion / dislike /
 Escalate to the senior management, if complaint regarding the project work / team
required(PL) performance / product performance or any other
Outputs for the Monitor project includes (PL)
Measurement data (Effort, Defects, Schedule, CRs,  Communicate regarding the customer complaint
Cost), Weekly Status Report to customer, MoM of / issue to HoD/QM and SPIF. Inform the Team,
the customer joint review meeting, Updated Action if appropriate(PL)
items, Updated Monitoring Sheet.  Quality Manager logs the complaint (QM): Use
Exit Criteria includes Weekly monitoring sheet is Organization Customer Complaint database.
updated with status and the Action items identified,  Do a Root Cause Analysis of the complaint with
Customer specific report has been prepared and sent the PL/QM and/or team and identify Risks
associated, Impact of the Complaint, Preventive
2.2 Customer Complaint Resolution & Corrective Actions and Closure Date (HoD)
Entry Criteria for this phase includes Work Package /  Communicate to the customer, regarding the
Maintenance Request handled by company and Issue Closure Date and Actions to be taken(HoD / PL)
or complaint received/ generated from customer  Track the complaint till its closure(HoD / PL)
source within the Project. Output includes Customer Complaint Database and
Input includes Trigger of Customer issue (through Updated Action items.
mail / teleconference / meeting). Exit Criteria includes Updated Action items and
Figure2 shows the process flow for Customer Customer Complaint Database.
Complaint Resolution..
2.3 Issue Cause Analysis
Customer Logs a Complaint Entry criteria includes Issue received/ generated
through Mail/Meeting/Telephone from any other source within the WP and Action
Identified anywhere in the WP i.e. meetings, Risk
plans etc.
Send Acknowledgement Input includes WP Plan, Collected project data,
Inform PL
to the Customer Previous Issues if any and Previous Action items if
any.
Figure3 shows the process flow for Issue Cause
Inform the HoD & QM Analysis.
Inform Team (if appropriate)
Track the Defects, Issues & Actions
QM logs the complaint in
Complaint Database
Initiate Analysis Publish the Root
for the same Cause Analysis report
Perform Root Cause Update
Analysis & Identify Complaint
Actions to be taken Database Escalate the Issue (If any Identify
project parameter crosses Actions to be
the threshold) taken
Inform the Customer
regarding the closure date
and the actions to be taken Identify the owner & assign
the action points for the issue

Track the Complaint till closure Track the Issue till Closure
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Fig.3. Issue Cause Analysis process flow
Steps or functions during this phase include:
 Track the Defects, Issues & Actions on a
continuous basis, for updating(PL)
 Initiate analysis for the defects, issues and their
causes. The analysis methods can be:
Brainstorming/discussions, Pareto Analysis and
Fishbone analysis (PL/SQA/Team)
 Send the Root Cause Analysis report to
SPIF(PL)
 Identify Actions to be taken for the identified
causes mainly common for a project
(PL/SQA/Team)
 Assignment of Action Points to users along with
planned closure date and track
Closure(PL/SQA/Team)
Output includes Updated Issues and Updated
Actions.
Exit Criteria includes Updated Issues and Actions are
available
2.4 WP Closure
Entry Criteria is defined in WP Plan.
Inputs are WP Plan / Monitoring sheet / Last Status
Report, Issues / Action items and Consolidated
Project data.
Figure4 shows the process flow for WP Closure.
Initiate WP Closure Activities
Collect WP Data / Prepare WP
Information Closure Report
Organize WP Closure Meeting
Identify and close any actions
from the meeting
Submit WP related work-products
& Project Closure Report to SQA
Fig.4. WP Closure process flow
Steps or functions during WP Closure:
 Initiate closure activities and collect relevant
Work Package information/ data/ feedback (PL):
Closure Activities are WP Backup, Release of
resources and Analysis of Project Data.
PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL
 Prepare Work Package Closure Report(PL)
 Call for Work Package Closure Meeting(PL):
List of Invitees are Team including PL.,SQA and
HoD (if required)
 Identify and close any actions from the
meeting(PL)
Output includes WP Closure Report, MoM of WP
Closure meeting and Updated Actions.
Exit Criteria includes Resources are released and
communicated by E-mail [4].
3. SUB PRACTICES FOR MONITOR PROJECT AGAINST
PLAN
3.1 For Monitor Project Planning
 Monitor progress against the schedule.
 Monitor the project's cost and expended effort.
 Monitor resources provided and used.
to  Monitor the knowledge and skills of project
personnel.
 Document the significant deviations in the
project planning parameters.
3.2 For Monitor Commitments
 Regularly review commitments (both external
and internal).
 Identify commitments that have not been
satisfied or that are at significant risk of not
being satisfied.
 Document the results of the commitment
reviews.
3.3 For Monitor Project Risks
 Periodically review the documentation of the
risks in the context of the project’s current status
and circumstances.
 Revise the documentation of the risks, as
additional information becomes available, to
incorporate changes.
 Communicate risk status to relevant
stakeholders.
3.4 For Monitor Data Management
 Periodically review data management activities
against their description in the project plan.
 Identify and document significant issues and
their impacts.
 Document the results of data management
activity reviews.
3.5 For Monitor Stakeholder Involvement
 Periodically review the status of stakeholder
involvement.
 Identify and document significant issues and
their impacts.
 Document the results of the stakeholder
involvement status reviews.
3.6 For Conduct Progress Reviews
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 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROLE AND APPLICATIONS OF ICT IN INACCESSIBLE AREAS (RAICTIA-10) FEB 17-18, 2010, DEPT. OF CSE, GJUS&T,HISAR

 Regularly communicate status on assigned company as per the strategies that are followed in the
activities and work products to relevant company.
stakeholders.
 Identify and document significant issues and REFERENCES
deviations from the plan. [1] QAI (India) - “The essentials of Project
 Document change requests and problems Management”.
identified in any of the work products and [2] Watts S. Humphrey, Pearson Education-
processes. “Introduction to the Personal Software
 Document the results of the reviews. Process”.
 Track change requests and problem reports to [3] QAI (India)-“Software Metrics”.
closure. [4] Organization Procedure Project Monitoring and
3.7 For Conduct Milestone Reviews Control– AVL India Software Private Limited.
 Conduct reviews at meaningful points in the [5] CMMI Project Monitoring and Control -
project’s schedule, such as the completion of http://www.software-quality-
selected stages, with relevant stakeholders. assurance.org/cmmi-project-monitoring-and-
control.html
 Identify and document significant issues and
[6] S. Gopalakrishnan – Key Best Practices@Polaris
their impacts.
Software driving Operational Excellence, CSI
 Document the results of the review, action items,
Article January 2010.
and decisions.
[7] Project Monitoring Control process overview
 Track action items to closure. www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~cs682/reading/2-
OtherProcesses.ppt
4. SUB PRACTICES FOR MANAGING CORRECTIVE
ACTION TO CLOSURE
4.1 For Analyzing Issues
 Gather issues for analysis.
 Analyze issues to determine need for corrective
action.
4.2 For Taking Corrective Action
 Determine and document the appropriate actions
needed to address the identified issues.
 Review and get agreement with relevant
stakeholders on the actions to be taken.
 Negotiate changes to internal and external
commitments.
4.3 For Managing Corrective Action
 Monitor corrective actions for completion.
 Analyze results of corrective actions to
determine the effectiveness of the corrective
actions.
 Determine and document appropriate actions to
correct deviations from planned results for
corrective actions [5].

CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have proposed the process and
process flow which may be followed to ensure the
project monitoring and controlling of software
product development in a software company. Also
sub practices for Monitoring project against plan and
managing corrective actions till closure are
explained. Lastly all processes are adaptable, means,
they may be changed according to the needs of the
company and also they vary from company to

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