9 Controlling

The plans are all in place. The focus is now on executing, monitoring, and controlling project activities. For small projects these three processes are combined, and for simplicity we are calling them controlling. Keeping all the project documents current is important. These activities should not be overly time-consuming because the choice of tools and techniques in the planning phase was based on the needs of the project. If the process begins to become burdensome, the project manager should make adjustments as necessary.

Controlling Process Summary

The PMBOK® Guide, sixth edition, provides the following definitions:

• Executing process group consists of “those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project requirements.”¹ This process group involves coordinating people and resources, managing stakeholder expectations, and integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan.

• Monitoring and controlling process group consists of “those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.”² The key benefit of this process group is that project performance is measured and analyzed at regular intervals, appropriate events, or exception conditions to identify variances for the project management plan.

Controlling Process Activities

To control is to compare actual performance with planned performance, analyze variances, and recommend appropriate corrective action as needed. In the SPM methodology, controlling also includes coordinating people and resources, managing stake-holder expectations, and monitoring ongoing project management activities.

It is important to control the scope of the project to prevent scope creep. Scope creep is adding features and functionality to the project without addressing the effects on time, cost, and resources, or without obtaining approval from the customer. To control the project, the project manager should compare the plans developed during the planning process with actual project results, and then identify and analyze variances. The project manager must then determine the cause of the variance and determine how to respond. The project manager should also communicate project progress to project stakeholders.

Controlling activities are not sequential. Some occur routinely and some occur if needed. The following is a list of controlling activities:

• Update project schedule.

• Control costs.

• Prepare status reports.

• Manage issues.

• Update risk register.

• Review and approve deliverables.

• Manage scope changes if necessary.

Update Project Schedule

The project schedule should be reviewed and updated weekly. Activities that have been completed during the current week should be updated to show a completed status. The remaining activities should be reviewed to determine the focus for the current week. Any activities that are behind schedule should be reviewed, and decisions should be made immediately on how to get back on track. Any additional work details required for management purposes that do not change the project scope can be added. Sometimes the work might be planned at the deliverable level, and task-level information is needed for better control. Include additional details only if necessary. Remember that the more detailed the project schedule is, the more time will be required to maintain it. The goal is to have the right amount of detail for each project.

Even small projects get into trouble sometimes. The project manager should be aware of signs that the project is heading for trouble. For example, if the number of late activities keeps increasing each week, or the planned versus actual variances get bigger, these warning signs should not be ignored. The project manager should work closely with the team to determine the causes. If it is determined that the original estimates cannot be met and new estimates are required, the project manager should follow the change control process.

Control Costs

Controlling costs is the process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project budget and manage changes to the cost baseline. The project budget is used to control project costs and should be reviewed on a regular basis to compare planned expenditures to actual spending and identify any variance. Spending should be tracked separately for each of the cost categories (such as labor, materials, equipment, supplies, license fees, training, travel, and meals). This will add value to the variance analysis, as it will enable the project manager to determine what is causing the variance and to determine what corrective actions are required. Project costs can be analyzed by project phase as well as by time period. The time-phased budget will allow you to track spending by time period.

Prepare Status Reports

Status reporting for small projects can be simple and should occur weekly. The team should update the project manager during team meetings or by email. The project manager should complete a report and distribute it to the project sponsor and other project stake-holders. The status report should include a project description, the overall project status, major accomplishments, project variances, plans for the next period, and project issues.

Traffic light reports provide an overall summary of a project using green, yellow, and red indicators.

• Green indicates that the project is on track.

• Yellow provides a warning that there is some indication that the project might not meet completion criteria.

• Red indicates that the project is in trouble and has missed a key milestone.

This type of status report is valuable because it causes the reader to focus immediately on the problem areas. This status report should include indicators for schedule and cost, along with an explanation for the indicator color. In addition to the summary indicators, this status report should include the same components identified for the simple status report. An easy way to produce a traffic light report is to use the word (green, yellow, or red) as the indicator in the overall project status section of the status report.

Another really simple way to report variances is by breaking it down into three categories:

• Cause—What caused the schedule or cost variance to occur? Resources didn’t show up, the weather caused a delay, the permit didn’t get approved when expected, etc.

• Impact—What will the impact be on the remaining activities? Installation will be delayed by three days, we have to reschedule the subcontractor, etc.

• Correction—What action will be taken to recover the schedule or reduce some future costs? Try to run a few activities concurrently, pay overtime on critical activities to bring them back on schedule, etc.

STATUS REPORT EXAMPLE

Today is March 30, and Symone has prepared her weekly status report (figure 9.1). She is somewhat concerned that she might be losing a key resource, and therefore she has given the resource portion of the status report a yellow indicator. An issue related to this problem was also logged. The case study and practice project were due on March 30, but they are not complete. The consultants plan to complete these tasks next week.

Manage Issues

It is very important to identify and resolve issues. An issue is a point or matter in question or in dispute. It will impede project progress and cannot be resolved by the project team without outside help.

There should not be many issues on small projects; however, if an issue is identified, the project manager should document the issue and develop a plan for resolving it. Because of the small number of issues, a formal issues log might not be required for small projects. The project manager should communicate the issue and plan immediately to the project sponsor. The issue can be documented in the issues section of the status report. The information should include an issue description, plans for resolving the issue, current status, person assigned, and estimated completion date. There is no need to prioritize for small projects because time is of the essence. Any issue that arises should be considered a high priority that needs immediate action.

Status Report

Figure 9.1: Status report

If it is determined that a formal issues log is necessary, the issues log should contain the issue, priority, date the issue was identified, name of the person who identified the issue, name of the person assigned the issue, current status, date resolved, and resolution.

The project manager should have a defined issues escalation process. This process should be communicated to and adhered to by the project team. The escalation process should identify the time-frame the team is given to resolve an issue and how to treat issues that the team is unable to resolve within that timeframe.

Update Risk Register

There is very little risk management activity for small projects. However, if risks were identified, the project manager should review the risk response plan periodically. Updates to the plan include identifying additional risks and changes in risk priorities, updating the status, and closing risks that no longer apply.

Review and Approve Deliverables

Small projects usually do not have a formal quality plan. It is important, however, to build quality into the deliverable review and approval process. The two types of deliverable reviews are in-process and completed. During the in-process deliverable review, the project manager should meet with the sponsor and other stakeholders as needed to verify that the work performed on deliverables is meeting their expectations. In-process reviews provide an opportunity to make midcourse corrections. During the completed deliverables review, the project manager ensures that each deliverable meets the stakeholders’ needs and that the stakeholders are willing to take ownership.

The project manager should receive formal approval for final deliverables. It can be in the form of an email indicating acceptance. A deliverable review and approval log can be used to track the progress of project deliverables. This log can also be used as a contents document that provides hyperlinks to the deliverables.

Deliverable Review and Approval Report Example

It is May 16, and Michael has received and stored the deliverables. He has chosen to use the deliverable review and approval log (figure 9.2) as a contents document and has hyperlinked the deliverables for easy access.

Manage Changes

Change control is managing the scope of the project. Scope changes do not occur often for small projects, but they could include adding or removing deliverables, changing the effort or duration required to complete the work, or changing the project budget. If a scope change is needed, the project manager should document the requested change and identify the impacts on the project in terms of effort, cost, and duration. The scope change request is communicated to the project sponsor, who has to approve the request before any changes to the plan are made. If the scope change request is approved, the project manager should update the project schedule to include the new activities and communicate the change to the project stakeholders.

Change requests are either accepted or rejected. The project manager can monitor the type, frequency, and status of change requests by using a project change log. The project change log should be in the form of a spreadsheet and should include the change number, change title, description of change, submitted by, submission date, decision, and status. The project change log can also be used to track project date and budget changes, as well as any other items the project manager considers to be important for managing project scope changes.

Deliverable Review and Approval

Figure 9.2: Deliverable review and approval

Signs a Small Project Is Heading for Trouble

Here are some signs that a small project is heading for trouble:

• Due dates are missed.

• There is no scope control—work is added without assessing the impact and getting approval.

• Project plans are not current or nonexistent.

• Project data is disorganized or missing.

• Project team is dysfunctional.

Small projects should not have many changes. In the case of an exception, the project manager should use a change request log to track the changes. The log should include the scope change request number, scope change description, responsibility, date requested, date resolved, status, and resolution.

CHANGE REQUEST EXAMPLE

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Symone was pleased with the progress the team was making, but the risk identified at the beginning of the project became an issue. The existing technology will not support a blended training solution; therefore, additional funding is needed to purchase the technology and hire a technical resource to implement the solution. This change will require approval; therefore, Symone filled out a change request (figure 9.3). The change was approved.

Action Items

Small projects do not require a separate action item log. Action items are unplanned activities that occur during the project and require little effort (usually a couple of hours) and have a short duration (usually no more than a couple of weeks). Most action items are identified during meetings and are assigned to a team member because work is required to answer a question or complete an activity. Action items can be handled in one of two ways: they can be added to the project schedule, or they can be captured and monitored in the meeting minutes. If you need to track action items, refer to chapter 8 for an example of an action plan.

Change Request

Figure 9.3: Change request

LEADERSHIP CONNECTION

The project manager is responsible for executing, monitoring, and controlling the project. Controlling leadership activities include:

• Take responsibility for the project.

• Build and empower teams by understanding the stages of team development and responding to the needs of the team.

• Insist that team members use the project management processes.

• Facilitate problem-solving and decision-making sessions.

• Track issues and drive them to closure.

• Initiate project communications with all stakeholders.

KEYS FOR CONTROLLING SUCCESS

Keys for controlling success include:

• Carefully monitor project progress, respond to variances, and communicate to project stakeholders.

• Manage issues and risks, and escalate when necessary.

• Identify the impact a requested change will have on the project resources, schedule, and budget; obtain approval to incorporate the changes into the project.

• Have a positive attitude, especially during difficult times.

Controlling Process Guide

Description

The executing and controlling processes occur in parallel. Executing is the process of completing the work as defined in the project management plan or planning documents. Controlling is the process of measuring and monitoring project activities so that corrective action can be taken when necessary.

Purpose

The purpose of the executing and controlling process is to define the activities required to keep the project on schedule. Controlling activities are not sequential. Some activities occur routinely and some occur only if needed.

Inputs

• WBS

• High-level deliverable list

• Detailed deliverable/task list

• Project schedule

• Project budget

• Risk register

• Communications plan

• Project plan

Tools and Templates

• Status reporting template

• Issues log template

• Deliverables review and approval log template

• Scope change request template

Outputs

• Updated project schedule

• Updated risk register

• Status reports

• Issues log

• Scope change request

Activities

1. Update project schedule.

2. Control costs.

3. Prepare status reports.

4. Manage issues.

5. Update risk register.

6. Review and approve deliverables.

7. Manage scope changes.