IV 1021 Lecture 6 Monitoring and terminating Gunnar

IV 1021 Lecture 6 – Monitoring and terminating Gunnar Wettergren gunnarw@dsv. su. se © Gunnar Wettergren 1

Agenda Monitoring the project Controlling the project Evaluating/Terminating the project © Gunnar Wettergren 2

Monitoring and controlling the project © Gunnar Wettergren 3

Definitions and relationships Monitoring and Control are opposite sides of selection and planning bases for selection dictate what to monitor plans identify elements to control Monitoring is collection, recording, and reporting of information Control uses monitored information to align actual performance with the plan © Gunnar Wettergren 4

What, why and when What: The central parts for any PM to monitor are time, cost, and performance Why: A PM’s main focus is to get a project completed on time, within budget, and delivering what the customer wants When: Design control system before project start and monitor throughout the project lifecycle © Gunnar Wettergren 5

Monitor and control vs. Real work One could make a case for that the more you monitor and control the less real work you perform However, without these processes in place how can you keep track of the project The Planning-monitoring-control (PMC) process is central to a PM’s tasks © Gunnar Wettergren 6

The PMC process Planning Monitoring Control © Gunnar Wettergren 7

How to do it? How do we create this process What must be considered How to use it © Gunnar Wettergren 8

Designing the monitoring system © Gunnar Wettergren 9

Starting point What do we need to monitor? Performance • Activities and project progression Time • Critical path • Estimations • Milestones Cost • Total project cost • Activity costs © Gunnar Wettergren 10

Monitoring system creation Start with the project action plan Define measurements for cost, performance, and time Important to remember that you must include all levels of activities Furthermore, mechanisms for collecting the data must also be in place Avoid tendency to focus on easily collected data © Gunnar Wettergren 11

Continued. . The monitoring system should also include Change tracking/control Documentation processes Telephone logs Code storage …. © Gunnar Wettergren 12

Example of measurements Performance Activity completion (Subjective reports) Code errors Number of bugs Number of changes Cost Different ratios • Budgeted cost / Actual cost > 1 Time Project member reporting (Important what increments you use) © Gunnar Wettergren 13

Collecting data and reporting © Gunnar Wettergren 14

Types of data Frequency counts Raw numbers Subjective numeric ratings Indicators and surrogates Verbal characterizations © Gunnar Wettergren 15

From where do we get the data Among many Economy systems Project members Change management systems MS Project/Project server © Gunnar Wettergren 16

Analyzing data Frequently some sort of post-processing must be done in order to understand the collected data Budget breakdowns Mathematical analysis Etc. © Gunnar Wettergren 17

Example of data analysis Core concepts of project management. Mantel et al, 2004 © Gunnar Wettergren 18

Reporting Reports Project Status Reports Time/Cost Reports Variance Reports Not all stakeholders need to receive same information Avoid periodic reports All involved need to know their status © Gunnar Wettergren 19

Report types Routine Exception Special Analysis © Gunnar Wettergren 20

Controlling the project © Gunnar Wettergren 21

Background The purpose of project control is to reduce the difference between the plan and reality Very difficult task Humans are involved Hard to identify the problem source We must make sure we don’t remedy the symptom © Gunnar Wettergren 22

Purpose We are not trying to punish the ”guilty” but to remedy problems Two main purposes Management of organizational assets (Physical, human, and financial) Obtaining the wanted result © Gunnar Wettergren 23

Designing a control system Benefit Again primary purpose is to correct errors Control systems must be cost effective Cost of control system © Gunnar Wettergren 24

PM mechanisms used for control Process reviews Evaluating and controlling the method of work Personnel assignment Identify top performers Be careful, you do not want to create an elite group Resource allocation Reassign resources between tasks © Gunnar Wettergren 25

The control system itself Control object Input Process Output Control system I Sensor P o I o Effector O P Comparator P I Adapted from Schoderbek et al. 1990, p. 111 © Gunnar Wettergren 26

Project evaluation © Gunnar Wettergren 27

We must perform Project evaluation Project audit © Gunnar Wettergren 28

Project evaluation How did we do? The project evaluation appraises the progress and performance relative to the plan Should not be done only after project completion Purpose is to improve the process of carrying out projects © Gunnar Wettergren 29

Evaluation criteria Original criteria for selecting and funding project Success to date Business/Direct Success Future Potential Contribution to Organization’s Goals Contribution to Team Member Objectives © Gunnar Wettergren 30

Project audit process Timing depends on purpose Three Levels general audit detailed audit technical audit © Gunnar Wettergren 31

The audit report Introduction Current status Future project status Critical management issues Risk analysis / management Final comments © Gunnar Wettergren 32

Project termination © Gunnar Wettergren 33

When to terminate Sunk cost approach Goal fulfillment Comparison to set failure/success factors © Gunnar Wettergren 34

Termination types Project Extinction Termination-By-Addition Termination-By-Integration Termination-By-Starvation © Gunnar Wettergren 35

Termination process Core concepts of project management. Mantel et al, 2004 © Gunnar Wettergren 36

Project final report Main purpose is to facilitate organizational learning Evaluate what worked and what did not Should include: Project performance Adminstrative performance Organizational structure Project teamwork Project management techniques © Gunnar Wettergren 37

Summary / Questions lecture 6 © Gunnar Wettergren 38