Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

The project is underway, and it is my job – as Project Manager (PM) – to herd the ducks, ensure we are making our way toward a successful execution of the project plan ("PM plan") and ultimately into wrap up and closing. I must continually check our progress against the charter and the PM plan as well as the work breakdown schedule (WBS). Are we still within scope? If not, what measures must be taken to get us there? The time factor is important. 

I work closely with the staff to ensure everything is on track, activities are progressing as planned, and we are monitoring the systems and processes set up during the planning and execution phases. I use performance reports to update stakeholders and include processes we have implemented to control risk situations as necessary. I make sure our vendors and we are meeting contractual obligations and that our legal rights are protected. Team leaders are making certain any contractors needing to work together are doing so or are in the process of establishing those relationships.

"Monitoring and Controlling" and the previous process group -- Executing -- work in a continual loop as the project progresses and the team tracks and controls the work.

 

In a move very different from the other Process Groups in this portfolio, I offer a file "up front."  The Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" broke almost every monitoring/controlling rule.  It seemed best to place the file here instead of having several copies throughout this group PMI 3.6 Monitoring and Controlling - 'Dreamliner' Outsourcing.

 

Monitor and Control Project Work

 
Subject matter experts (SMEs) are collecting and measuring performance against the objectives of the PM plan.  Continuous monitoring tells the team “how we’re doing” and reporting helps me resolve performance issues as quickly as possible.  However, I must remember most published data are at least a month old. As the PM, I must monitor -- and be proactive with -- trends.  

 

Control charts allow us to see, at a glance, if we are within acceptable limits to produce a quality product. If this sample chart (from our Dow & Taylor text’s CD) were tracking a critical process on a medicine fill line, I might be concerned when it was brought to me. The data points are within the limits. However, the scattered range is troubling for an industry where failure is not an option and variation is often considered negative PMI 4.4 Monitor and Control - Control Chart sample.

I was unable to procure a blank log sheet from one of my former projects but found this sample online (retrieved from GMPSOP.com) PMI 4.4 Monitor and Control - Log Sheet sample.

A log sheet that confirms a deviation from the norm can launch an investigation into the cause of the abnormality. I created this basic investigation template for a project. It helped me ensure my text consistently matched Food and Drug Drug Administration and requirements PMI 4.4 Monitor and Control-Documenting Deviation from Norm.

 

Perform Integrated Change Control

 
Much of “controlling” is “changing and tweaking” while change requests are reviewed against the charter, project plan, and WBS.  An important piece to this puzzle is keeping current with requests and ensuring either (a) the changes are made or (b) the reason for not making them is well documented according to change control procedures or company/client standard operating procedures (SOPs).

All modifications must be managed since they affect other (and perhaps all) Project Management Knowledge Areas.  Any stakeholder can initiate a change request, but the person(s) authorized to accept or reject it in specific areas should be defined in the roles and responsibilities documentation. For example, if Person G is a biologist, they might be responsible for the “yay” or “nay” to a change within an environmental impact statement. Depending on performance, cost, or schedule impact, functional managers, SMEs, or the Project Sponsor (or higher) may have approval authority for changes.

 

This document excerpt, from a project communications plan, demonstrates one instance of CCB and change control processes impacting documents, people, and processes during projects PMI 4.5 Perform Integrated Change Control - Change Control Referenced in a Project Document.

A friend sent me this article discussing a process to create a change control plan outline. I found it very helpful and share it, here. PMI 4.5 Perform Integrated Change Control - Change Control Plan Template

 

Verify and Control Scope

 

With functional team leads and members inspecting the control charts, log sheets, and other monitoring mechanisms throughout the effort, I should be able to manage scope as issues arise. If my group is diligent about its duties, we should be ready to accept and sign off deliverables on schedule and they should be within scope.

 

Here is an example of a control chart (from our Dow & Taylor text’s CD) that might concern me while verifying or attempting to direct project scope. If this sample chart were tracking a process that should remain close to the mean average line, there is a problem. However, if it were demonstrating the number of vehicles finished, every two days, for the XYZ fleet mentioned above, there may not be an issue. XYZ may only care about the total at the end of the contract. Control charts are a powerful management tool, but the particulars of the questions being asked must be clear in order to interpret them properly PMI 5.4 and 5.5 Verify and Control Scope - Control Chart sample.

At times, a primer on how not to accomplish a task teaches us more than “Do this.” A case in point is this class assignment about the first Panama Canal project. The effort was headed by (successful) Suez Canal builder Ferdinand de Lesseps and is a lesson in ensuring we, as Project Managers, take time to plan each undertaking thoroughly to remain within scope. This file is not an in-depth research paper, but an in-class task completed in about an hour PMI 5.5 Control Scope - First Panama Canal Project.

 

Control Schedule

 
As the Project Manager, it is my job to continually monitor progress reports from the SMEs against the PM plan schedule baseline. I will help where necessary and manage change as appropriate. Posting the most recent timetable and the Stop Light results in the war room is an excellent tool. It helps the functional leads and SMEs see, at a glance, updates and started/completed activities.

Especially on large projects where participants may be in different buildings (or countries), it is imperative some type of electronic update also be used.  If we have a project intranet, the schedule is posted there, as well.  The dashboard would also include the Stop Light indicators.

 

This paper represents a project in Management Science. This student’ s team solved a linear programming problem, finding the optimal number of shower stools and canes to produce within specific manufacturing limitations. From the beginning – since this project disrupted Geriatric Furniture’s regular timetable – one of the most difficult constraints to manage was the schedule. PMI 6.6 Control Schedule - A Manufacturing Example

  
Control Costs

 
Since projects have limited budgets, we all must corral costs. The first rule of thumb is to continually compare the budget with the “actuals.” The best proactive tool at my disposal is a well-designed chart of accounts. This allows me to drill down to find problems and ask pertinent questions: who charged account AM897 after it was supposedly closed ... and why was the account left open? Why did Employee XYZ charge to my project? Why (and by whom) were five extra hours charged to account SI045? 

To stay apprised, I also monitor the earned value: the expenditure of funds vs. the value of work provided. If this is a large, lengthy project, I may need Accounting to continually recalculate net present value (NPV) of money or a major expenditure (such as equipment or land) and report to me.

If my project is a sacred cow of the CEO, even a negative NPV may have fallen on deaf ears. News reports are full of projects that are overpromised and undercapitalized but deemed viable because someone-at-the-top wants them to proceed.

 

Tracking earned value is a good barometric reading of where we are vs. where we should be. This chart shows (among other things) earned value against planned value. Since the planned value appears to be much greater than the actual value earned, I realize the project is either behind schedule, over cost, or both PMI 7.3 Control Costs - Sample Earned Value Update. The client is not getting his money’s worth at this time. Hopefully, this disparity is simply a misjudgement during planning. It’s research time.

If I should come into a troubled, long-term, expensive project as a replacement PM, I would review any net present value data collected during planning. In this example, the problem is clear. Planning predicted a two million dollar loss but the project went forward PMI 7.3 Control Costs - NPV_ Do we Accept the Project.

There are several spreadsheets I could use to keep on top of the budget. Two are shown here: PMI 7.3 Control Costs - Cost-Volume-Profit spreadsheet to help me get a handle on variable expenses and their impact and PMI 7.3 Control Costs - Cash Budget spreadsheet where I can see costs at a glance.

 

Perform Quality Control

 
Quality control comes in many shapes and sizes: it may be team members monitoring, sampling, or recording results according to protocols or technical writers ensuring documentation will pass a government audit. Following the quality plan is key and timely inspections are an important part of that effort. 

Control charts, cause-and-effect diagrams (“ fishbone”), and run charts are tools we can use to discern which problems are linked to specific root causes.  However, return to that most important tool we have for quality control: prevention. 

 

Kaoru Ishikawa’s cause-and-effect – or “fishbone” – diagram is in my PM toolbox because it helps me visualize where a problem may have originated. This basic example is from a class in my MSPM program. The scenario was built around a log-cabin-in-a-box manufacturer. I think you will find it interesting and a good reference because it has something few fishbone diagrams possess: simplicity PMI 8.3 Perform Quality Control - Fishbone Diagram.

These are notes from a tour of a local (Albuquerque) restaurant/salsa manufacturing company in 2010. It quickly became clear the firm functioned above-and-beyond when it came to quality control issues PMI 8.3 Perform Quality Control-El Pinto Tour.

Stampin' Up! is a company that has progressed from distribution dinosaur to high-tech marvel. The change in customer service and quality of product – and the technology that got them there – is a very interesting story in quality assurance and control PMI 8.2 and 8.3 Perform Quality Assurance and Control - Stampin Up.

 

Report Performance

 
My leads and/or SMEs are continually collecting and analyzing data against our baseline and packaging their data for my review. This may take the form of variance datasheets or spreadsheets or relating the PM plan to recently-developed issues. We may consider the status of identified risks, where-we-are on implementing change requests, and a brief overview of which WBS work package comes next in the operation.

Once my team leads provide status on deliverables and schedule, I can combine that with other data to get a good picture of our performance (or non-performance). Although this is not a comprehensive list, these spreadsheets can help me track performance on our project.

 

PMI 10.5 Report Performance - Direct Materials Requirements spreadsheet (Do we the parts on hand to stay within our SOP standard?)

PMI 10.5 Report Performance - Production Budget spreadsheet (Can we meet our inventory quota for April and stay within our SOP standard?)

PMI 10.5 Report Performance - Direct Labor Budget spreadsheet (We’re behind on widgets. Do we have the budget to authorize overtime?)

 

Monitor and Control Risks

 
My leads and SMEs continually monitor the project risks identified in the Risk Plan and Risk Register and report results to me. They also are on alert for new or changing risks and are always watching for alternative strategies should we need to take corrective action. 

The Risk Register is an integral part of monitoring and managing risk and I add/update items as necessary. Once we are past the timeframe for a risk and it no longer poses a threat, I can mark it as closed.

 

This risk register excerpt is part of a risk assessment worksheet template used by a manufacturing company for whom I contracted as a business analyst. When completing our risk registers, we considered existing controls to temper the issue, the risk level and likelihood of the risk occurring, and the rational for those “scores.” As needed, we suggested risk controls and the date they should be incorporated to have the highest likelihood of preventing or mitigating the risk PMI 11.6 Monitor and Control Risks - Risk Register.

As one might imagine, monitoring and controlling risk in the U.S. pharmaceutical environment is planned to the “ nth” degree, using procedures, policies, and best practices. However, sometimes the best laid plans ...  PMI 11.6 Monitor and Control Risks - Two Experiences in Pharma PMI 11.6 Monitor and Control Risks - Coffee and Bare Feet in the Lab

  
Administer Procurements

 
The project is on track and the members and leads are diligently working through our processes. We are hitting our targets with cost and schedule and monitoring consistently points to our having a quality product when the acceptance paperwork is signed. It is not, however, time to sit back and relax. 

Team leaders and SMEs are closely managing the relationships with our vendors, monitoring both “sides” of the contracts, and making changes as appropriate. If they need me, I am available to assist them.

It is as important to ensure our company lives up to its end of the bargain as it is to make certain we are afforded all the services for which we pay. Payment, in itself, is an important issue. I stay in close contact with Accounts Payable, making sure our vendors are compensated in a timely manner.

To that end, I must execute reviews of each vendor. Are they performing as expected? Should we pay them at this agreed-upon juncture? If I believe the answer is “No,” I must follow corrective actions per procurement (or legal) documents. 

 

Transitioning to the Closing Process Group

 
The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group activities wind down and we near the project close. While my leads and SMEs are gathering concluding data (lessons learned, final deliverables reviews, signed documentation, etc.), I start my final review of the planning documents to compare against our actuals.  We now move toward closing the project (or phase) and procurements.