With every project, the importance of the monitoring and controlling process is highly stressed to review the progress and make changes in it to eliminate chances of future setbacks and to increase the workflow. This process involves tracking the actual project performance with the planned project management activities. It can mainly be looked as a control function that takes place at all stages of a project i.e. from initiation through closing. For small projects, monitoring and control project work is comparatively an easy task. However, as you are aware, project Management is more stringently required for large projects where the project manager requires a formal effort to monitor and control how the processes are going.
Monitoring is checking the progress of the project to ensure compliance with project scope, timelines, deliverables and schedules. Project control is measuring such progress by comparing and contrasting actual progress with project plans and schedules and taking corrective action as required. Monitoring and controlling process group activities help to keep the project on track. The monitoring and controlling process oversees all the task and metrics necessary to ensure that the approved and authorized project is within scope, on time, and on budget so that the project proceeds with minimal risk. Monitoring and Controlling process is continuously performed throughout the life of the project.
Monitoring and controlling is a method of observation project activities remain on the correct track and produce deliverables in accordance to these projects. Adaptive projects tend to be less stable incomparison to straightforward projects which makes it easeier to regulate and monitor. Adaptive projects that require frequent changes may be extremely cost deffective and time consuming where as a planned project follows a track and has expected values and limited variances that you can score accordingly to how to achieve a better performance on the project rather than changing the project entirely.
I believe one of the most important techniques/activities in monitoring and closing is conducting Design Change Requests. It is in this process that documents and processes are brought up to spec allowing to include several updates to a project that may not have been reflected earlier, such as scope changes, design changes, etc. It also contributes to the collaborative process as any team member on the project can submit the request, allowing for input to come from anyone. This can help to raise flags where they are needed and remediate changes that need to happen that would have gone unnoticed without this freedom of collaboration. Without the Change request process, documents would either never get updated, or would be haphazardly updated, allowing the possibility of serious error in the future.
Keeping these Design change requests in order and constantly carrying them out is integral to the integrity of a project. It is easy to overlook changes and not update them properly as team members get flooded with multiple tasks and assignments but properly documenting changes in regards to scope and design are important as it keeps other members up to date. It also prevents future work backlogs if other members on a team run into the same issue.
I ran into a situation at work where members on a team were not updating their change requests properly and it led to the whole team getting set back on multiple projects because changes were not monitored properly. The project manager of the team could not effectively understand why some changes were being made and the issue had to get escalated to upper management.
Monitoring is about collecting data. Controlling is about analyzing that data and making decisions about corrective action. Taken as a whole, monitoring and controlling is about gathering intelligence and using it in an effective manner to make changes, as necessary. Precise data are worthless unless they are analyzed intelligently and used to improve project execution. At the same time, project execution uninformed by the latest data on changing currents in the project can lead to disaster.
During the Monitoring and Controlling phase, organizations need to juggle several responsibilities, including keeping to the schedule, staying within budget, avoiding scope creep, and managing risk. Another technique on how to monitor and control projects is to report Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). During the planning phase, you may have established a series of checkpoints or milestones for your project. Alternatively, you might have set goals of completing a specific number of deliverables per day, week, or month. Quantifiable measures like these, which are used to evaluate the success of your project, are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
During the project monitoring and controlling phase, keeping tabs on KPIs is essential to ensure your team is on the right track. If you start falling behind on production, you may not make your deadline for your deliverables. One way to keep your entire team up to date is to set up automated status report that go out to all interested parties. Instead of relying on someone to send out daily updates, you can systematize the entire process using work management software.
Source: Project Monitoring and Control - techniques to control budget, status and planning https://www.workfront.com/project-management/metrics/kpi
Project variance reports are expressed as what was supposed to have happened since the last reporting cycle called “current period” and what was supposed to have been done on the project since it started known as “Cumulative variance.”
Thank you for clarifying the difference between this and a quantitative variance report used in design controls. In your experience how are the variances assessed in qualitative reports like the Cumulative variance report?
I agree with several of the commenters above. I think communication control may be one of the most effective and necessary parts of Monitoring and Controlling. While there are many techniques and tools that can be used during this process, such as statistics to determine result variation and demonstrations that can show whether or not the project is functioning, ultimately the success of such is dependent on how this information is shared and digested.
If an error is found but is not properly addressed or communicated via systems like the design change request structure, then no change can be made since the individual who noticed the error has failed to communicate where the error occurred.
Similarly, if someone notices an error and submits it via the design change request structure but the submission is ignored, then again the error fails to be addressed and dealt with.
So in short, I don't think that of the specific techniques addressed, there is one that is far more essential than all the others. (In fact, I think the success of a technique depends on the team and on what the project is). Ultimately, while there is no essential technique, it is essential that all members on all levels maintain proper communication so that these techniques may succeed.
The Monitoring and Controlling cycle manages all the undertaking and measurements important to guarantee that the affirmed and approved venture is inside scope, on schedule, and on financial plan so the task continues with insignificant danger. Monitoring and Controlling interaction is consistently performed for the duration of the existence of the venture. How this process is done or what technique is preferred? I think it depends on the project manager and on the project type; therefore, Dr. Simon said how he prefers the programmable monitoring and controlling techniques, which is used the computer software to monitor and control because it fast and easy to check and follow. However some of the constructional project requires the old school style especially on site monitoring and control.
As we all know the severity of monitoring and controlling is very high especially in regards too changes and also to reduce the number of setbacks in the future. There are several right answers to the asked question and I think it depends on what approach you are taking as a pm. Adequate communications according to me seems like the most important technique for proper monitoring and control. As it important to convey appropriate information each step of the way, and also for proper changes to occur necessary risks and rewards should also be communicated. Additionally if the changes are not accepted it equally important relay as to why the change is not possible as proper solutions from that feedback can be extracted.
As we all know the severity of monitoring and controlling is very high especially in regards too changes and also to reduce the number of setbacks in the future. There are several right answers to the asked question and I think it depends on what approach you are taking as a pm. Adequate communications according to me seems like the most important technique for proper monitoring and control. As it important to convey appropriate information each step of the way, and also for proper changes to occur necessary risks and rewards should also be communicated. Additionally if the changes are not accepted it equally important relay as to why the change is not possible as proper solutions from that feedback can be extracted.
Of the monitoring and controlling techniques discussed in the lecture, the most essential of these seems to be the metrics which are used to determine the state of the project. By looking at the schedule and cost variance, a project manager can determine whether the project is behind or ahead in schedule or under or over budget and plan accordingly.
Monitoring and controlling techniques provide the business with a tangible means of checks and balances as well as keeps the team members honest. Correspondence control is a vital element in the monitor and controlling of projects in my opinion because in today's workforce we deal with multiple forms of correspondence, and depending on how many different sources of correspondence sources the job utilizes it can be difficult to properly keep track of the incoming and outbound correspondence. Not often but there are times that correspondence gets lost in the shuffle and as a result, the customer of the organization suffers. Although there is always a chance of human error, there are steps the organization can take to decrease the chances of costly errors by having control over the correspondence. Processes in which this can be accomplished is through: a correspondence management system, establishing order and maintain important contacts of the facility, create facility approved templates (saves time as well), centralizing the location of correspondence so that it is easily accessible for other teammates, and finally using the proper techniques to protect the correspondence.
There are numerous monitoring and controlling techniques which were mentioned in this week’s lecture. Which technique do you believe is the most essential in this phase of the design control and explain why? If you know any other techniques on how to monitor and control projects please state them.
I think review and status meetings are easily the most beneficial types of control methods. These meetings allow you as the project manager to open up a space to address any concerns regarding challenges or delays, express, and frustrations and partake in conflict resolution, make sure that everyone still has the scope in focus. They are also the best space to make sure that the project is on time, on budget, in accordance with the current market, etc. These meetings are the best to address things that are currently happening and things that can potentially happen so they can either be adverted or tackled as a team. I also think with everything progressively becoming more virtual it Is very easy to only communicate via email or text with your team and as the project manager collects reports and send out updates, but sometimes meeting even on zoom or skype can impact the team morale, make sure things are answered in live time, avoid having to answer things multiple times, and make sure the whole team is still accounted for.
The Monitoring and Controlling process has been an established part of the project management life cycle in order to carry out the proper tasks in a timely manner. There were multiple techniques to carry out this phase of the project. Each of the multiple techniques presented during the lecture, share importance to this part of the process. From the techniques that were provided during the lecture, I think that the scheduling technique was one of the more important techniques. The time management of a project directly impacts the ability to reach the set goals of a project that were established in the beginning. Monitoring and Controlling allow for each aspect of the project to be checked over again to ensure no missing areas. Project success is dependent on timing, and the schedules are established in the beginning. Any changes must be documented for future reference. Cost management is another essential part that can impact the completion of the project that must be kept in mind. If these techniques are changed and not accepted, then the life of the project can be dependent on it.
I agree that having a solidly built schedule is one of the most important techniques in monitoring and controlling a project. Scheduling is established early to allow the team to understand all possible timeframes of a project. Any time a project has to make an adjustment to a given timeline, it can cause issues down the line. Taking more time in one area that was not on the schedule will delay other parts down the line. Delays will ultimately cost more money for the project. Certain projects can not sustain price increases at certain milestones in the project. Scheduling can be a delicate and important aspect to monitoring and controlling.
