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MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (INTEGRATION) : PERFORM INTEGRATED CHANGE CONTROL


Perform Integrated Change Control is the process of reviewing, approving or rejecting and managing all change requests to deliverables, project documents, baselines, project management plan etc. The changes are requested by any stakeholder from the project. They start verbally, then written in a form or document and entered into change management and configuration system. They may need some estimated time and cost of the impacts of the project and product. Once approved, those changes may require new or revised cost estimates, activity sequences, scheduled dates, resource requirements and analysis of risk responses alternatives. They may also require some adjustment to the project management plan and project documents.
Note that every documented change request needs to be approved or rejected by either project sponsor or project manager as agreed during the planning stage. Moreover, this process where necessary may require having the Board called Change Control Board that reviews, evaluates, approves, delays or rejects the changes to the project, records and communicates such decisions.
Few inputs that you need to refer are:
  • Project management plan that describes how to manage any change requested in the project.
  • Change requests that can be for either corrective action, preventive action or defect repair during executing stage and monitoring and control stage. They normally affect the performance and not the baselines of the project.
  • Organizational Process Assets that provide procedures on how the change request will be authorized, approved, validated and implemented.

This process can be done by:
  • Using experts who can be asked to be part of the Change Control Board.
  • Having Change Control Board Meeting for reviewing, approving or rejecting change requests. The decision made will be agreed by all members of the Board, documented and communicated to the stakeholders for more follow-up actions.
  • Using Change Control Tool that helps to manage the change requests and the resulted decisions made by the Change Control Board.

The outputs are:
  • Approved change requests that will be documented in the Change Log.
  • Change Log that documents all approved and rejected change requests.
  • Updates in Project management plan and project documents depending on the subject that change request will be applied.

References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
http://satheespractice.blogspot.com/2012/02/manage-changes-in-your-project.html

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (INTEGRATION) : MONITOR AND CONTROL PROJECT WORK


This is the process of tracking, reviewing and reporting the progress of the project in order to understand the current state of the project, the steps taken, budget, schedule and scope forecast as well as to meet the objectives as defined in the project management plan.
Monitoring is a continuous activity that includes collecting, measuring, distributing information and assessing trend to identify areas that require more attention. Control is an activity that determines whether there is a need for applying corrective action, preventive action or replanning and makes a follow-up determining if the raised issues have been resolved with the action taken.
In short, Monitoring and control project work is about comparing the actual project performance against the project management plan
The inputs of the process are:
  • Project management plan that describes all the subsidiary plans and baselines for the project.
  • Schedule forecast that determines if the project is still within defined tolerance range according to schedule baseline and identifies any necessary change requests
  • Cost forecast that determines if the project is still within defined tolerance range according to cost baseline and identifies any necessary change requests
  • Validated changes that help to confirm if the changes were really implemented
  • Work performance information that helps in making project decisions appropriately
  • Enterprise Environmental Factors that influence the process such as standards, code of conduct, regulations, stakeholders risk tolerances, project management information systems etc
  • Organizational Process Assets that may also influence the process such as control procedures, communication requirements, databases etc

The process can be done by:
  • Using experts who can interpret project information to determine the actions required so that the project expectation is met.
  • Analyzing the outcomes basing on the project variables. The analytical techniques can be regression analysis, variance analysis, trend analysis, root cause analysis etc
  • Meeting with project team and stakeholders of the project


The outputs are Change requests if there is a need to apply preventive action, corrective action or defect repair in order to expand, adjust or reduce project or product scope, costs and schedule baselines as well as quality requirements; Work performance reports that document all the information of project performance in order to generate project decisions, actions or awareness in form of memos, recommendations, updates, information notes or status reports; and Updates in project management plan because of the approved changes may affect the overall plans and baselines, as well as project documents like work performance reports and issue logs

References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
http://pmlogy.com/glossary/group/monitoring-and-controlling/

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (PROCUREMENT) : CONTROL PROCUREMENTS


Control procurement is another process in the monitoring and control stage that manages procurement relationships between seller and buyer, monitor contract performance and make changes to the contract if one of them doesn’t meet the contractual obligations for the purpose of meeting procurement requirements according to the terms written in the legal agreement.
The inputs to refer are:
  • Project management plan that explains how to manage procurement from developing the documentation to closing the contract
  • Procurement documents that are used to request the sellers’ bids, tenders, quotations or proposals
  • Agreements that explain the duties of seller and buyer for a better understanding of procurement
  • Approved change requests if there is a need to modify some terms and conditions of the contract like procurement statement of work, pricing, mode of payment, description of the product, service or result to be provided to the buyer etc
  • Work performance reports and data that explain the seller’s performance in providing the deliverable according to terms of the contract, the quality of the deliverable, costs incurred, invoices paid etc

The process can be done by
  • Reviewing the seller’s progress in procurement performance in order to identify if there will be a success or failure of their performing work
  • Doing inspections and audits to verify the compliance of the seller’s work or deliverable
  • Evaluating the performance reports supplied by the seller and compare against the agreement requirements
  • Checking payment systems to see the payments that will be made according to the terms of the contract after certification of satisfactory work provided by an authorized person in the project team
  • Settling the raised claims through negotiation when the buyer and seller can not reach an agreement on compensating a change or cannot agree that a change has happened

The outputs of this process are:
  • Work performance information that provides information about current problems to support new procurements
  • Change requests if there is a need for reviewing the contract
  • Updates in project management plan if the approved changes may affect the procurement management, procurement documents such as contract and organizational process assets such as procurement terms and conditions

References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
http://www.projectmanagementtemplates.net/Products/control_procurement.html

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (RISKS) : CONTROL RISK


Control risk is the process of identifying new risks, tracking the identified risks, implementing risk response plans and evaluate their effectiveness throughout the project in order to improve efficiency and optimize the risk responses. The process helps also to determine if:
  • The project assumptions made at initial and planning stages are valid,
  • The contingency reserve is enough or should be modified,
  • If risk management policies and procedures are followed,
  • Risks identified have changed

With these reasons, the process can lead to applying alternative strategies to manage risks and modify the risk management plan
The inputs to refer are:
  • Project management plan that describes how to monitor and control risks in the risk management plan
  • Risk register that includes identified risks, risk owners, risks responses, contingency reserve etc
  • Work performance data and information related to the performance results that are impacted by the risks such as the status of the deliverable, cost incurred and progress of the schedule

This process can be done by:
  • Performing risk assessment of the current risks and new risks as well as closing the outdated risks. Note that this should be done regularly
  • Performing risks audits to examine the effectiveness of risk responses in dealing with identified risks and their root causes. Note that this should be done more frequently depending on what has been stated in the risk management plan and the format should be clearly defined before auditing
  • Analyzing the variances and trend of the project using the planned results against the actual results. The outcome will predict the deviation of the project at completion that indicates the impact of either threats or opportunities
  • Having a frequent discussion about risks through meetings

The outputs are  
  • Work performance information that provides support in project decision making
  • Change requests if there is a need for making the corrective or preventive action as a new risk response that was not indicated previously in the risk register
  • Updates in 
    • Project management plan if the approved changes have an effect on risk management plan and in plan risk responses process, 
    • Project document such as risk register and 
    • Organizational process assets such as templates for the risk management plan and lessons learnt from the risk management activities.
References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.irisintelligence.com/risk-management/risk-management-process/

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (STAKEHOLDER) : CONTROL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT


Control stakeholder engagement is the process of monitoring the project stakeholder relationships and doing some adjustment in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as described in the stakeholder management plan.
The inputs to use are:
  • Project management plan that contains the information to be used for the Control stakeholder engagement process
  • Issue Log that contains all the issues of the project to be communicated to the stakeholders. This will help to know what information is important to which audience and thus control their engagement throughout the project
  • Work performance data as observed when carrying out the activities of the project include start and finish dates of scheduled activities, number of change requests, number of defects, actual durations, technical performance, the reported percentage of completed work etc.
  • Project documents like stakeholder register, issue log, project schedule, change-log, project communications etc that help to support the control stakeholder engagement process

The process can be done by:
  • Using information management systems that generate, store and distribute project information to the stakeholders about the progress of the project. The distributed project information can be communicated in form of graphs, table reports, presentations and spreadsheets
  • Using experts who can identify and list the new stakeholders and reassess the current stakeholders. The information can be obtained through one to one discussion, interview or focus group like panel
  • Meeting with the project team to analyse the information about stakeholder engagement

The outputs of this process are:
  • Work performance information that provides the status and progress information on the project in order to make project decisions
  • Change requests if there is a need of making some adjustment or improvement in project stakeholder engagement plans and strategies
  • Updates in 
    • Project management plan if the needed changes and strategies are identified particularly in stakeholder management plan and other components, 
    • Project documents such as issue log and stakeholder register when the new stakeholder is identified or current stakeholder does not have any impact on the project and 
    • Organizational process assets such as stakeholder notifications, project reports, project presentations, project records, feedback from stakeholders and lessons learnt documentation.
References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://pmstudycircle.com/2012/06/stakeholder-analysis-stakeholder-management-strategy/

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (COMMUNICATIONS) : CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS


This is the process of monitoring and controlling the communications throughout the project to ensure that the project information meets according to the project stakeholders’ needs, i.e. the right message is delivered to the right audience at the right time by the right method.
The inputs are:
  • Project management plan that describes how the project information will be generated, communicated, monitored and controlled. The information can be stakeholders’ requirements, reasons for the distribution of the project information, frequency and timeframe for the distribution of the project information, individual (s) responsible for distributing and receiving the project information etc
  • Project communications with different formats, level of details and degree of confidentiality delivered from different sources of information.
  • Issue log that documents all the issues of the project and communicated to the stakeholders in order to ensure a common understanding of those issues and who is responsible to resolve what issue.
  • Organizational process assets such as report templates, communication technology available, allowed communication media, policy, guidelines and standards that define communications etc

Control communication process can be done by:
  • Using information management systems that generate, store and distribute project information to the stakeholders about the progress of the project
  • Using experts who can assess the impact of project communications. They can also agree the actions to be taken, when and who will be responsible for taking such actions.
  • Meeting with the project team to discuss the most appropriate ways to communicate the project performance. The meetings can be facilitated through online or face to face with suppliers, vendors, clients and other stakeholders.

The outputs of this process are:
  • Work performance information that provides the status and progress information on the project at the certain level of detail to be communicated to stakeholders according to their requirements.
  • Change requests if there is a need of making some adjustment, improvement, action or intervention in project communications management
  • Updates in project management plan particularly in project communications plan and other components, project documents such as issue log and performance report and organizational process assets such as reports templates and lessons learnt documentation.



References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.pm-primer.com/control-communications-2/

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (QUALITY) : CONTROL QUALITY


Control quality is the process of monitoring and recording the results of executing quality project activities in order to
  • Identify the causes of poor process or product quality and recommend or take action to eliminate them
  • Validate that project deliverable and work meet the requirements specified by the key stakeholders necessary for final acceptance

The inputs to use are:
  • Project management plan that explains how to control quality in the project through quality management plan
  • Quality metrics that explain the attributes of the project or product and how they will be measured
  • Quality checklist that contains a list to be used to verify the work of the project and its deliverables if they meet the requirements
  • Work performance data that provides the progress of the project. The data shows the relationship between planned and actual performance. For instance, planned vs actual schedule performance, planned vs actual cost performance etc
  • Approved change requests that will be used to modify like to detect repairs, revise work methods or revise the schedule
  • Deliverables produced by the project to be validated
  • Project documents such as agreements, quality audit reports, change-log, training plans,
  • Organizational process assets include organization’s quality standards, procedures and policies to use for quality control

The process can be done by:
  • Inspection whereby the examination of the work or product is determined if it follows the documented standards
  • Using six basic quality tools like checksheets, Pareto, histogram etc, (refer perform quality assurance process)
  • Using statistical sampling whereby few samples are selected and tested
  • Reviewing the approved change requests to verify if the requested changes were implemented as approved

The outputs are:
  • Quality control measurements as the documented results of control quality activities
  • Validated changes that will be accepted. The rejected ones will need a rework
  • Verified deliverables with correctness in order to formalize the acceptance
  • Work performance information of the project especially when there is some rejection, the causes, the rework required and some adjustment to make.
  • Change requests will be initiated if they will change what has been recommended in the project management plan
  • Updates in project management plan, project documents like quality standards, agreements, quality audit reports etc and organizational process assets like lessons learnt documentation and completed checklists

References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/quality-control-inspection-services-12457908497.html

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (SCHEDULE) : CONTROL SCHEDULE


Control schedule is the process of monitoring the status of the project activities according to the schedule baseline, determining if the project schedule has changed and managing changes as they occur. Note that control schedule process helps to determine the rate of producing the validated and accepted deliverables in a given time.
This process can use the following inputs:
  • Project management plan that describes how to monitor and control the project schedule in the schedule management plan, how to compare the actual work delivered and accepted with the estimates of work completed according to schedule baseline and if there is a change, how to manage that change.
  • Project Schedule that provides types and quantity of activity resources, and amount of durations as well as costs for the project activities.
  • Project Calendar that provides the working days and shifts for the activities.
  • Work performance data that provides the progress of the project like which activities have started, which activities have partially done (percent complete) and which activities have finished.
  • Schedule data that provides information for describing and controlling schedule like schedule milestones, activities, activity attributes, identified assumptions and constraints.
  • Organizational Process Assets such as monitoring and reporting methods and tools to use for control schedule, the existing schedule control related procedures, guidelines and policies etc

Control schedule process can be done by:
  • Doing performance reviews in order to measure, compare and analyze the schedule performance like the actual start and finish dates, percent complete and remaining duration for the work in progress
  • Using project management software that has the ability to track the planned dates against the actual dates, report the variances and predict the effects of changes to the project schedule.
  • Applying resource optimization technique whereby the activities and resources required for those activities are scheduled as long as they are available.
  • Increasing lead time and decreasing lag time in order to bring the activities that are behind into alignment with the plan
  • Compressing the schedule either fast-tracking or crashing for the remaining work in order to bring the activities that are behind into alignment with the plan
  • Using the scheduling tool that generates the start and end dates based on the inputs of the activities, resources, durations, leads and lags etc. This helps to analyse and produce an updated project schedule.

 The outputs are:
  • Work performance information that provides the updates or progress on the project including which activity has started, which in on progress and which has completed. This information will be documented and communicated to the stakeholders
  • Schedule forecasts as predictions based on the work performance information provided when the project is executed.
  • Change requests to the schedule baseline will be produced if there are recommendations to reduce the schedule variance.
  • Updates in 
    • Project management plan if the approved change requests have an effect on the project cost and schedule, 
    • Project documents such as project schedule, schedule data and risk register because of compressing schedule and 
    • Organizational process assets like causes of variances, preventive and corrective actions taken with their reasons and lessons learnt from this process.


References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JwdW11tn6E

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (SCOPE) : CONTROL SCOPE



Control scope is the process of monitoring the status of the product and project scope, and managing changes in order to maintain the scope baseline throughout the project. Remember that control scope process helps to avoid scope creep.
This process can use the following inputs:
  • Project management plan that describes how to monitor and control the project scope, how to compare the actual results with the scope baseline to determine the change and how to manage the change on the project if occurs.
  • Requirements documentation that lists all the requirements needed for the product and the project along with their acceptance criteria. This helps to detect any deviation in the scope agreed for the project or product to the stakeholders.
  • Requirements traceability matrix that helps to detect the impact of any change in the scope.
  • Work performance data that provides the number of change requests received, number of change requests accepted or number of deliverables completed etc
  • Organizational Process assets such as monitoring and reporting methods and templates to use for control scope process, the existing scope, procedures, guidelines, policies regarding the same

The process can only be done by Variance analysis, that determines the cause and degree of differences between the scope baseline and actual results and decides whether the corrective or preventive action is required.
The outputs are
  • Work performance information that provides information for making the decision regarding scope including categories of changes, the identified scope variances and their causes, their impact towards schedule or cost, and forecast of the future scope performance,
  • Change requests for corrective, preventive action or defect repair after being analysed the scope performance and
  • Updates in 
    • Project management plan if the approved change requests have an effect on the project scope, cost and schedule 
    • Project documents such as requirements documentation and requirements traceability matrix and 
    • Organizational process assets like causes of variances, preventive and corrective actions taken and lessons learnt from this process.
Note that failure to control scope will cause the project to get behind the schedule and to over-run its budget.

References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.pm-primer.com/control-scope/

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE (SCOPE) : VALIDATE SCOPE


Validate Scope is the process of formalizing or confirming the final acceptance of the completed project deliverables in order to increase chances of the product, service or result acceptance.
The inputs to use are:
  • Project management plan whereby the formal acceptance of the deliverable as a basis for comparison has been stated in the scope baseline and how to obtain the accepted deliverable has been explained in the scope management plan
  • Requirements documentation that lists all the requirements needed for the product and the project along with their acceptance criteria
  • Requirements traceability matrix that links all the requirements to the origin and traces them throughout the project lifecycle
  • Verified deliverables that will be checked for correctness in the Control Quality process (to be discussed)
  • Work performance data that includes the degree of agreement with requirements, number of nonconformities or number of validation cycles performed in a period of time

The process can be done by:
  • Inspection or sometimes it can be called as auditing or review that involves measuring, examining and validating activities to determine if they meet the requirements and product or project acceptance criteria
  • Group decision-making technique whereby through groups, the conclusion can be reached when the validation is performed by the project team and stakeholders. The conclusion can be decided by either everyone in the group (unanimity), by more than 50% of the members of the group (majority), by largest block in the group (plurality) or by one person who makes the decision for the group (dictatorship)


The outputs of the process are 
  • Accepted deliverables approved or acknowledged formally by the customer or sponsor, 
  • Change requests when the unaccepted deliverables that require a change documented along with their reasons for nonacceptance,  
  • Work performance information that provides the updates or progress of the project like which deliverable has started, which is in progress, which has finished, and which has been accepted 
  • Project documents updates that provide the status of the deliverable ready to be approved by the customer or sponsor in form of signatures.


References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.slideshare.net/MohammadKhan43/project-scope-management-2-31432611

MONITORING AND CONTROL STAGE

 

Monitoring and Control is the fourth stage in project management with eleven (11) processes that are used to track and review the progress and performance of the project, identify the required changes to the project management plan if there is any variance and initiate those changes. It also involves providing recommendations for corrective or preventive actions and insights to the sensitive areas in order to increase more attention. This stage covers all the knowledge areas except human resource. Those processes are
  • Validate scope
  • Control scope
  • Control schedule
  • Control costs
  • Control quality
  • Control communications
  • Control risks
  • Control procurements
  • Control stakeholder engagement
  • Monitor and Control project work
  • Perform Integrated Change Control
Note that monitoring and control will be continuously implemented until when the project is officially closed.


References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/1675-looking-at-project-monitor-and-control/


EXECUTING STAGE (INTEGRATION) : DIRECT AND MANAGE PROJECT WORK


This is the last process in the executing stage of the knowledge area called Integration whereby the project work defined in the project management plan is performed and approved change requests are implemented for purpose of achieving the project objectives. In short, the process is all about the management of project work including but not limited to:
  • Perform activities,
  • Create project deliverables,
  • Manage resources,
  • Establish communications channels,
  • Issue change requests,
  • Manage stakeholders,
  • Manage risks,
  • Document lessons learnt etc

The inputs that Direct and Manage Project work process used are:
  • Project management plan that contains details of all subsidiary plans related to the project work (kindly refer all the knowledge areas in the planning stage)
  • Approved change requests that were reviewed and approved by Change Control Board. These requests may be for 
    • corrective action to realign with the performance of project work, 
    • preventive action to ensure the future performance of the project work or 
    • defect repair to modify the non-conforming product. 
Note that the implementation of the change requests will impact the schedule, budget and scope to mention a few.

  • Enterprise Environment Factors, the internal and external environments that may impact the process such as organizational culture and structure, infrastructure, personnel administration, organizational risk tolerance and acceptance etc
  • Organizational Process Assets that can influence the process including standard guidelines, work instructions, project files from the previous projects, defects management issues etc

Direct and Manage project work process can be done by:
  • Using experts who can assess and judge the inputs to use for the process. The experts are the consultants, suppliers, customers, professionals, and other units of the organization
  • Having meetings to discuss the project topics, brainstorm together, make decision and exchange information. The meetings must also have agenda, purpose, objectives, time frame and minutes.
  • Using project management information system that provides working tools for the process


The outputs of the process are 
  • Derivables with unique features required for the project, 
  • Work performance data collected through execution in order to be analyzed in the monitoring and control stage (to be discussed soon), 
  • Change requests, formal proposals to modify a deliverable, document or baseline initiated internally or externally, and 
  • Updates in the project management plan and project documents


References:

PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide 5th Ed.) USA, Project Management Institute
https://ultraconsultants.com/category/project-management/page/3/