• What is the current status of the project in terms of cost and schedule? • How much will it cost to complete the project? • When will the project be completed? • Any problems that needs to be addressed • What are the causes for cost or schedule overruns?
The Project control Process
Control is the process of comparing actual performance against plan to identify deviations, evaluate possible alternative courses of actions and take appropriate corrective action. The steps involved are:
1. Setting a baseline plan 2. Measuring progress and performance 3. Comparing plan against actual 4. Taking action
Setting a Baseline Plan
Baseline plan provides the elements for measuring performance. This is derived from the cost and duration information found in the work breakdown structure.
Measuring Progress and Performance
Time and Budgets are the 2 key quantitative measures of performance. Measuring performance on the basis of time is relatively easy. Measuring performance on the basis of budget is relatively difficult and cannot be just done by measuring actual vs budget. Qualitative measure of performance is done on the basis of customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.
Comparing Plan against Actual
Here the key performance indicators are compared with the plans laid in the starting of the project. Periodic monitoring and measuring the status of the project allow for comparisons of actual vs expected plans.
Taking Action
If deviations are significant than correction measures will be needed to bring the project in sync with the original or revised plan. Sometimes, scope or conditions can change, which in turn will require a