CHAPTER
14
Determining Project Progress
and Results
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After completing this
chapter, you should
be able to:
Develop and demonstrate use of a change
control system.
Demonstrate how to
monitor and control
project risks with
various resolution
strategies.
Create and present a
project progress
report.
BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES:
Describe the importance of formal
reporting and
communications.
Demonstrate negotiating skills.
Manage conflicts
during the project
execution
TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES:
Describe project
quality control tools,
including how and
when to use each.
Calculate current
project schedule and
budget progress, and
predict future progress, using earned
value analysis.
Document project
progress using MS
Project.
Wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com
CORE OBJECTIVES:
The fundamental reason for determining project progress and results comes down
to one thing presenting actionable, decision-making information to project leaders.
A major U.S. electric utility company is continuously faced with the daunting
task of managing over 1,200 simultaneous projects in all phases of planning, execution, and completion over a geographic area consisting of five states. These
projects are supported by over 40 departments within the utility and hundreds
of external contractors and equipment suppliers. Over 85 percent of these projects take place over multiple years. There are over 15,000 activities tracked for
active projects every month. Today, many of these projects are related to SmartGrid efforts to fundamentally change the way the electric utility system delivers
power to homes, schools, and businesses.
This utility regularly sets the standard for its industry each year by completing
over 90 percent of its projects on time and utilizing its annual project budget
within just a few percentage points. How is this accomplished?
By identifying and collecting just the right amount of financial, scheduling,
resource, and risk management data, and by focusing intently on turning raw
data into actionable information for the groups leading and supporting the
456
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4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work
4.5 Monitor and Control Project Work
4.6 Perform Integrated Change Control
5.6 Control Scope
6.6 Control Schedule
7.4 Control Costs
8.2 Manage Quality
Scope Backlog
Burn Up Chart
Earned Value Analysis
8.3 Control Quality
9.6 Control Resources
10.2 Manage Communications
Progress Report
10.3 Monitor Communications
11.6 Implement Risk Responses
11.7 Monitor Risks
13.2 Manage Stakeholder
Engagement
13.3 Monitor Stakeholder
Engagement
PMBOK® GUIDE
Topics:
Direct and manage
project work
Monitor and control
project work
Perform integrated
change control
Monitor risks
Manage
communications
Monitor
communications
Manage quality
Control quality
Control scope
Control schedule
Control costs
CHAPTER OUTPUTS
Progress report
Scope backlog
Burndown chart
Earned value analysis
Change request
Change Request
projects, the utility s project controls staff can continuously find and highlight the
information that requires leadership attention and project team action.
With the large number of projects being managed, the focus on individual projects
decreases and management of the entire group of projects as a portfolio becomes paramount. The actionable information presented highlights significant issues for individual
projects, but more important, forecasts trends over the entire portfolio and extended
spans of time, helping turn earned-value statistics into meaningful strategies.
Presenting valuable decision-making data to the multiple resource and leadership groups required to support a project provides the critical linkage between
the feedback of raw data and the ability to successfully control a single project
or an entire multiyear portfolio. Project data collection and management present
the opportunity to simultaneously manage an organization s profit, people, and
planet objectives in an optimal way.
As you move forward with this chapter and your own projects, consider the
use and impact of the project information that needs to be collected. What are
the key factors for your project financial, environmental, resource management,
scheduling, risk identification, stakeholder management, or others? Who needs
the project progress data, and exactly what do they need to know to make
good decisions and successfully achieve organizational objectives?
Identifying, collecting, managing, and presenting data that allow you to control
critical aspects of your projects are fundamental elements of project success.
Paul Kling, director project management and controls,
Power Delivery Engineering, Duke Energy
T
he word determine in the context of “determine project progress and results” has
multiple meanings. While each offers a slightly different perspective, collectively,
they help a project manager understand what she needs to do to ensure that her project
457
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458
Part 4 Performing Projects
is progressing adequately and will yield the intended results in the end. Determine can
mean the following:
To
To
To
To
To
give direction to or decide the course of
be the cause of, to influence, or to regulate
limit in scope
reach a decision
come to a conclusion or resolution1
Project managers, in the course of planning, give direction to a project. Many projects
also require replanning due to any number of causes. Project managers sometimes can
influence only how work is accomplished (when people do not report to them), but
they may be able to regulate or demand the work to be accomplished at a certain time
or in a specific manner. To be successful in influencing and regulating project work, the
project manager needs to consider the stakeholder priorities and communications needs,
as discovered in Chapter 6, and use those to design the monitoring and control mechanisms described in this chapter. Many stakeholders on projects attempt to persuade the
project manager and team to deliver more scope, but one important role of the project
manager is to jealously guard the agreed-upon scope. Throughout a project, decisions
will be made. In such instances, the project manager can do one of the following:
Personally make these decisions
Be part of a group that makes decisions
Delegate decisions to others
Facilitate the process by which each decision is made
Often, project managers need to follow up to ensure that decisions are made and then
carried out. Finally, the project manager is responsible for making sure that the project is
satisfactorily completed.
14-1 Project Balanced Scorecard Approach
To successfully accomplish all five aspects of project determination (direct, regulate,
limit, decide, and conclude) in managing project progress, a project manager can think
in terms of a balanced scorecard approach. The concept behind a balanced scorecard is
that an organization needs to be evaluated from the perspectives of customer, internal
business, financial, and growth and innovation. If one considers a project as a temporary
organization, the same perspectives make sense when monitoring and controlling a project. Exhibit 14.1 shows a project balanced scorecard approach to project determination.
When a project manager seeks to monitor and control a project, different critical
aspects are often interrelated, and thus, their impacts on each other must be considered.
For example, a proposed change may impact the scope, quality, schedule, and/or cost.
However, to understand project control, one must consider each aspect individually
before assessing the impact on all other factors. This chapter begins with the project
manager controlling internal project issues. The next major section of this chapter deals
with the customer-related issues of quality and scope. The final sections deal with the
financial issues of resources, schedule, and cost. The project manager can utilize a number of tools to manage schedule overloads and conflicts and to reprioritize the work.
Earned value and project scheduling software such as MS Project can prove to be useful
to manage these issues. Growth and innovation include issues of participant development covered in Chapter 5 and managing project knowledge covered in Chapter 15.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
459
EXHIBIT 14.1
BALANCED SCORECARD APPROACH TO PROJECT DETERMINATION
INTERNAL PROJECT
CUSTOMER
FINANCIAL
Direct and manage project work
Manage quality
Control resources
Monitor and control project work
Control quality
Control schedule
Perform integrated change control
Control scope
Control costs
Implement risk responses
Monitor risks
Manage communication
Monitor communication
Source: Adapted from Kevin Devine, Timothy J. Kloppenborg, and Priscilla O’Clock, “Project Measurement and Success:
A Balanced Scorecard Approach,” Journal of Healthcare Finance 36 (4) (2010): 38–50.
14-2 Internal Project Issues
While all aspects of a project are important and interrelated when determining progress
and results, a logical starting place is with the project work that needs to be accomplished. Closely related are the risks that may impede the work and adequate communication. Collectively, these form the project’s internal issues. These issues can be
envisioned as the project’s nerve center. Problems in any of them travel to all other project areas just as nerves in a body carry information throughout. When dealing with this
project nerve center, project managers direct and manage project work; monitor and
control the project work; perform integrated change control; implement risk responses
monitor project risks; and manage and monitor communications.
14-2a Direct and Manage Project Work
Directing and managing project work is performing the work as defined in various components of the project management plan, including approved changes with an intent to
accomplish project objectives. When project managers authorize project work, they should
empower others to the extent possible, yet control them to the extent necessary. It should
be clear who is allowed to authorize each portion of work to commence. The project management plan identifies work to be accomplished, but the project manager or her appointee must tell someone when it is time to perform the work. Often, spending limits are
intertwined with work authorization (e.g., “Please perform this activity and do not spend
more than $X on it. Report back to me for approval if you need to spend more.”).
The work to be performed can come from one of several sources. The primary source is
the work package level of the work breakdown structure. However, approved corrective
actions, preventive actions, and defect repairs may also trigger work to be authorized.
When directing project work, trade-offs are often present both between projects and
other work within the project itself. Organizations often have many projects and a variety of other work that must all be accomplished. Some work is of higher priority than
other work. A project manager needs to understand where her work fits in the priority.
If her project is relatively low in priority, she may have trouble getting people and
resources to perform the project-related activities as per the planned schedule. In a case
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460
Part 4 Performing Projects
like that, the project manager and sponsor should have open and transparent communications so the sponsor can either help the project manager secure the resources needed
or understand that the project could be delayed.
Projects often are resource-constrained or time-constrained. In resource-constrained
projects, the project is limited by budget constraints. In this case, the project schedule
gets extended. When a project is time-constrained or its completion date is nonnegotiable, organizations may have to expend more resources to complete the project, and project cost is likely to exceed the planned cost. In both the resource- and time-constrained
projects, project scope is often not compromised. However, one should remember that
the project manager should have some leeway with one of the three constraints. If all
the three constraints (cost, time, and scope) are fixed, it is unlikely that the project manager and the team will be successful in completing the project within time, on budget,
and with the promised scope and acceptable quality.
As the project progresses, are there changing priorities that impact project importance?
Remember, any proposed change to the project scope, quality, schedule, or budget needs to
be processed through the integrated change control system described later in this chapter.
Projects are undertaken with scope goals and with constraints on cost, schedule, and
quality. Exhibit 14.2 gives an example of Tatro, Inc., dealing with project trade-offs.
Well-developed project charters, effective stakeholder management, and clear communications help the project manager make sensible trade-off decisions. Sometimes, an
owner representative works closely with the project manager to make these decisions.
Skills an owner representative can use when working closely with a project manager to
make these trade-off decisions effectively are shown in Exhibit 14.3.
14-2b Monitor and Control Project Work
Monitoring and controlling project work includes a series of activities such as identifying
work packages for tracking, reviewing, and documenting the progress to ensure that the
project execution meets performance objectives as defined in the project plan. The term
monitor refers to reviewing the progress and capturing project performance data with reference to the project plan; developing performance measures; and communicating performance information. Control means assessing actual performance obtained from
monitoring a work element and comparing it with planned performance, determining variances, analyzing trends to identify and implement process improvements, evaluating possible alternatives, and finally, recommending appropriate corrective action as needed.
A variance is a measurable departure from a planned baseline or expected value.
Variance is often measured in quantitative terms, but qualitative measures cannot be
EXHIBIT 14.2
PROJECT TRADE-OFF DECISIONS AT TATRO, INC.
Tatro, Inc., is a company that describes itself as a designer, builder, and caretaker of fine landscaping. It has both commercial and private (homeowner) clients. Landscaping projects for private
homes often cost well over $100,000. Homeowners who contract for landscaping projects of this
magnitude are ultra-successful people who will not change their mind once they decide they want
something special. These clients tend to focus closely on the process of a project. They wish to have
polite, skilled workers with no interruptions. The reason they wish to have the project completed is
to create a “wow factor.” Therefore, they will rarely compromise at all on either scope or quality, but
they will often compromise on the necessary cost and schedule.
Source: Chris Tetrault, president, Tatro, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
461
EXHIBIT 14.3
USEFUL OWNER REPRESENTATIVE SKILLS IN PROJECT
TRADE-OFF DECISION MAKING
Partnership
Building trust
Improving relations
Collaborating
Creating alliances
Assuring quality
Management
Planning
Managing change
Aligning resources
Leadership
Communicating
Team building
Technical
Project management
Knowledge of criteria
Source: Adapted from Denis R. Petersen and E. Lile Murphree, Jr., “The Impact of Owner Representatives in a
Design-Build Construction Environment,” Project Management Journal 35 (3) (September 2004): 35–36.
ruled out. Monitoring and controlling activities allow a project manager to keep an eye
on many project activities that can indicate how well the project performance is progressing. This prepares her to act if necessary to get the project back on track. The most
difficult part of monitoring and controlling is figuring out what metrics to keep, what
to measure, and how to report the results to various decision makers as necessary.
Monitoring and controlling are not activities that are done only once. Monitoring and
controlling activities occur along with project execution. Monitoring and controlling are
a continuous, overarching part of an entire project’s life cycle, from project initiation
through project closing. Since the purpose of monitoring and controlling project work
is to be able to take corrective action, these activities need to be timely. In fact, the
reverse of an old adage is in order. Instead of shooting the messenger when there is
bad news, reward the messenger if the message is delivered quickly enough to bring the
project back into control and at low cost.
To the extent possible, letting people self-control their work adds to their enthusiasm.
In other words, make them responsible and accountable by empowering people and delegating the work. That said, the project manager is ultimately accountable for all of the
project results and needs to develop a sense for how much control is necessary, given the
work and the person performing it.
TYPES OF PROJECT CONTROL While this section deals with monitoring and controlling project work, the remainder of this chapter deals with monitoring and controlling each of the other project management knowledge areas. Two types of control are
used extensively on projects and both compare actual performance against the project
plan. One type is steering control, in which the work is compared to the plan on a continual basis to see if progress is equal to, better than, or worse than the project plan.
Adjustments can be made as often as necessary. The second type of control is go/no-go
control. Go/no-go control requires a project manager to receive approval to continue.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.4
RESULTS OF MONITORING AND CONTROLLING A PROJECT
Phase:
Approval
to proceed
Initiating
Planning
Charter
Executing
Project
plan
1
2
Closing
Project
deliverables
3
Administrative
closure
4
Monitoring and
controlling project
This control is often used at milestones (such as those developed in the project charter)
or when someone needs to determine if a key deliverable is acceptable or not. If it is
acceptable, the project continues as planned. If not, either the work needs to be redone
or the project could even be cancelled. For both types of control, resulting change
requests can include corrective actions, preventive actions, or defect repair.
The results of monitoring and controlling project work, schedule, budget, risks, or
anything else can range from minor to major, depending on how close the actual progress is to the plan. This can be seen in Exhibit 14.4.
Depending on the extent to which actual progress performance varies from planned
performance, the results of monitoring and controlling activities can suggest anything
from modifying the charter to transferring project deliverables as planned. Some of the
monitoring and controlling decisions are listed below:
1. If the actual progress is very different from the original intent, perhaps the project
charter needs to be revisited to ensure that the project still makes sense.
2. If progress is somewhat different from what was planned but the charter is still a good
guide, perhaps the project plan needs to be adjusted.
3. If the project plan is still a useful guide, perhaps minor adjustments need to be made
in day-to-day instructions within the project executing stage.
4. Finally, if the results indicate the customer is ready to accept the project deliverables,
perhaps it is time to proceed into the project closing stage.
PERFORM INTEGRATED CHANGE CONTROL George and John are new project
managers fresh out of college. Both are approached by internal customers of their projects (managers of departments where the project deliverables will be used). Their customers tell them what a fantastic job the two of them are doing. The customers then say,
“This is great! Could you add these couple of little improvements to it? Then it would be
even more valuable to me.” George, wanting to please his customer, says, “Yes, we can
add that little bit.” John’s immediate answer is, “Let’s see what impact that might have
on the schedule, budget, quality, and project team. I will be happy to consider it, but
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
463
I want to be sure to deliver the project results we promised on time and on budget.”
George, in his eagerness to please the customer, made a classic mistake. Many great projects have been derailed because someone stroked the ego of a project manager who then
agreed to changes without understanding their impact.
Perform integrated change control is reviewing all change proposals, estimating their
impact on project goals wherever appropriate, approving or declining changes, and managing changes to deliverables, schedules, budgets, and the project management plan.
Change control is a process wherein change proposals to various project planning elements are acknowledged, formally documented, and either approved or declined after
review. Change control includes considering the impact of any change, deciding whether
to agree to the change, and then documenting and managing that change. An observant
project manager will ensure that changes that were not approved are not somehow
slipped in anyway by a stakeholder who does not take no for an answer. Proposed
changes are documented in a change request such as the one shown in Exhibit 7.14.
The decision to approve the proposed change needs to be made by the appropriate
person or group responsible for it. Generally, if the proposed change requires a modification to the project charter (or contract for an external project), then the sponsor and/
or customer would decide. If the change does not rise to that level, often a project manager is empowered to make the decision. Some organizations use a change control board,
which consists of a formal group authorized and responsible for reviewing, evaluating,
approving, delaying, or rejecting any changes to any aspect of the project plan by following
a formal communication method of documenting the decision process. The change control board often consists of the project manager, sponsor, project core team, and perhaps
other key stakeholders. Since some changes have far-reaching impacts, it is often wise to
include people with diverse knowledge and skills on the change review board.
Change is a reality on virtually all projects. While we cannot predict or plan what
changes will occur, we can plan for how we will deal with those changes. Some projects
are easier than others to plan, especially the later phases of the project. If the planning
team can plan most details at the outset, change control may be the primary method
they use for handling change. On other projects, where it is difficult to plan the later
phases or parts in detail until results from the early parts of the project are known,
change control is still used, but it is not enough. What is also used in these cases is the
rolling wave planning described in Chapter 9. The early parts of the project are planned
in detail, and the later parts are planned in less detail until later when additional detail is
added. Often, a detailed plan for the following section of the project is required before
being allowed to proceed. Agile projects are planned in a rolling wave fashion.
14-2c Monitoring Project Risk
During project planning, the project team normally develops a risk management plan
that is used to guide risk monitoring and response activities. They also normally create
a risk register to record each identified risk, its priority, potential causes, and potential
responses. The risk management plan and risk register are used to monitor and implement responses to project risks and to resolve them when they occur.
Monitor risks is the process of adhering to the risk response plan of tracking identified risks, identifying new risks, monitoring residual risks, and evaluating the effectiveness of the risk response process throughout the project. On some projects, the
majority of risk events that materialize are ones that the project team has previously
identified. Efforts needed on these risks largely include tracking the identified risks, executing the response plans, and evaluating their effectiveness. Project managers know it is
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464
Part 4 Performing Projects
wise to consider multiple responses to a given risk. This is true both because some risks
cannot be fully handled with just one strategy and because the first strategy may not
always be the best strategy.
On other projects, however, many unanticipated risks may materialize. This could be
partly due to poor or incomplete risk planning. It could also be partly due to events that
would have been so unlikely that the team could not have been expected to plan for
them. In either event, specific contingency plans may not be in place to deal with these
risks. Identifying these new risks is vital—and the sooner the better. Two categories of
project management methods can help to deal with previously unidentified risks. First,
the project team in planning may recognize that unknown risks may surface, and they
may add a contingency reserve of time, budget, and/or other resources to cover these
unknowns. Good project management practice suggests a need for this. The amount of
cost and budget reserves that are included can vary extensively based upon the customer’s perception of risk and the type of project that is involved. Competitive pressures
often dictate a lower limit on reserves than project managers may prefer.
The second category of project management methods includes a number of good
practices that project managers often employ anyway. These practices can be classified
according to whether the project team has full, partial, or no control over the events, as
shown in Exhibit 14.5. Note especially the second column, which deals with risks partially within a project manager’s control. A project manager cannot completely control
many situations, but by using good leadership and ethics, the project manager can certainly help create a situation in which others want to help the project.
14-2d Implement Risk Responses
Implement risk responses is the process where when a risk event occurs or is quite
likely to occur soon, the person assigned to that risk executes the strategy identified in
EXHIBIT 14.5
RISK EVENT RESOLUTION STRATEGIES
RISKS WITHIN PROJECT CONTROL
RISKS PARTIALLY WITHIN
PROJECT CONTROL
Understand and control WBS
Establish limits to customer expectations
Understand project context and
environment
Closely monitor and control activity
progress
Build relationships by understanding
project from client’s perspective
Actively monitor project environment
Closely manage all project changes
Use honesty in managing client
expectations
Understand willingness or reluctance of
stakeholders to agree to changes
Document all change requests
Work with client to reprioritize cost,
schedule, scope, and/or quality
Increase overtime to stay on schedule
Carefully escalate problems
Isolate problems and reschedule other
activities
Build team commitment and enthusiasm
RISKS OUTSIDE PROJECT CONTROL
Research challenging issues early
Source: Adapted from Hazel Taylor, “Risk Management and Problem Resolution Strategies for IT Projects: Prescription and Practice,” Project Management
Journal 37 (5) (December 2006): 55–60.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
465
the risk management plan. Exhibit 11.12 outlines the most typical strategies with examples of each. One core team member should be assigned to each risk. That person should
be alert to any trigger condition that suggests the risk event may happen and be prepared
to implement the response strategy quickly. Possible outcomes of implementing a risk
response include updates to the risk register, approved change orders, and perhaps lessons learned so that both this project and future projects may avoid that same risk event
in the future.
14-2e Manage Communications
Manage communications as defined in Chapter 6 is all the work connected with the
project communications plan, starting with planning for it; generating it; organizing
and sharing it; and, finally, storing and disposing of it. This includes determining project
information needs and establishing an information system as described in Chapter 6.
Then, while the project is under way, the project manager and team need to determine
any additional information needs that were not already uncovered, collect information
on executed work and work in progress, and then report progress to all stakeholders.
COLLECT INFORMATION ON EXECUTED WORK AND WORK IN PROGRESS Project managers gather data on the work they have authorized so they can understand
the progress being made. This information is necessary for scheduling additional work,
for understanding how the project is doing with respect to the schedule, and for quality
purposes. A project manager may try to gather data to answer the following typical
questions:
How well is this particular activity proceeding in terms of time and budget?
How well is the entire project proceeding in terms of time and budget?
How much more money will need to be spent to finish?
To what extent does the quality of this work meet requirements?
How many hours of human resources have we used to complete this activity, compared to how much we estimated?
What methods have we used that are worth repeating?
What methods have we used that need to be improved before we do that type of
work again?
What evidence supports the answers to the above questions?
REPORT PERFORMANCE
Performance reporting includes gathering work performance data and using it to create work performance information and reports. Work performance data are the actual and raw observations and measurements during execution of
project activities. Work performance information is the performance data collected from
these processes, analyzed in context, and then integrated, considering relations across
areas. Work performance reports are the compilation of work performance information
in some physical or electronic form that are presented as project documents intended to
generate awareness, discussions, decision making or other suitable actions.
Performance can be reported either at fixed time intervals or at key project milestones. Detailed progress can be reported informally but frequently within the project
team and to functional managers who control resources—perhaps weekly or even daily
on a project with critical time pressure. More general progress may be reported formally
but on a less frequent basis to sponsors, senior management, and clients—perhaps semiweekly or monthly. If regular reports and meetings already exist within the parent organization that can serve for performance reporting vehicles for a project, they can
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Part 4 Performing Projects
Phovoir/Shutterstock.com
466
substitute for these reports. On the other hand, if your project needs additional or different meetings and reports, then develop and use those as well.
Progress reporting within the project team and to functional managers who control
resources is often done in the form of meetings. The emphasis should be on specifics.
Each team member can report for each deliverable for which he is responsible: the target
date, status, and what other work or information on which progress depends. Once all
the deliverables have been reported, the project team can update the risk register and
issues log. Recommended changes that are within the project manager’s discretion are
either approved or rejected and then documented. Recommended changes beyond the
project manager’s discretion are formally sent to the sponsor or change control board
for consideration. Approved changes become part of the project plan with activities,
responsibilities, and timing assigned. Consequently, the project baseline will be updated.
Finally, progress reporting meetings are a great time to capture lessons learned.
Performance reporting to sponsors, management, and clients can be in the form
of either meetings or reports. Think in terms of three time horizons, as shown in
Exhibit 14.6. It is often helpful to establish an agenda for progress report meetings
based upon what sponsors wish to know concerning each of these three time horizons.
1. Past time period—The first time horizon is the immediate period between your last
report and now. When looking back like this, it is important to be able to state what
was planned to be accomplished during that time and what actually was accomplished. Any variance or difference between the approved plan and actual performance, along with reasons for the variance, should also be part of the retrospective
portion of performance reporting.
2. Current time period—The second time horizon is from now until the next performance
report is due: What work is to be accomplished during this time period (current plan)?
What risks and issues are foreseen? Finally, what changes need to be approved?
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
467
EXHIBIT 14.6
TIME HORIZONS FOR PROJECT PERFORMANCE
Past time period
Current plan
Current risks
Current issues
Changes
Approved plan
Actual progress
Variances
Reasons
Previous
Report
Current time period
Current
Report
Future time period
Plan to
completion
Future risks
Future issues
Next
Report
Project
End
3. Future time period—The third time horizon is after the next reporting period. Spon-
sors especially want to know what future risks and issues are envisioned because they
may be able to head some problems off before they grow. Remember the concept of
rolling wave planning—the plan for the later part of the project might still be evolving, but what is known about it right now?
14-2f Monitor Communications
Monitor communications is monitoring and controlling communications throughout the
project life cycle to make certain that the information needs of all the project stakeholders
are met. The project manager and core team often discuss whether the project communications are following the plan, how effective they are, and how to improve their effectiveness.
AGILE
Self-directed teams on agile projects are largely empowered to decide what work to do
and when to do it, consistent with the prioritizing of deliverables by the product owner.
On Agile projects, change is expected, and the only part that is planned in detail at the
outset is the first iteration. Subsequent iterations are planned in a rolling wave fashion.
Within an iteration, there is great reluctance to change. Conducted well, agile projects may
have less risk because communication is so frequent and specific; because during each iteration, the team needs to demonstrate that the project deliverables perform correctly; and
because it is common practice to maintain a visible, monitored, prioritized risk list.
Communication is frequent and rapid on agile projects. Often, a directional indicator
showing that things are getting better or worse in some manner is more valuable than a
more detailed and polished report. Teams generally display highly visible information registers so everyone concerned can tell in a transparent manner how the project is proceeding.
Progress report meetings are held every morning as brief (15 minutes) standup meetings.
Each core team member discusses the previous day as the past time period and today as the
current time period. The more distant future is generally not discussed in these meetings.
Documentation often starts very tersely and becomes more complete as the deliverables are better understood. Progressively more complete working product is the primary
measure of progress.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.7
BURNDOWN CHART WITH IDEAL LINE
Estimated effort hours
left in iteration
300
Burndown Chart
“Ideal Line” Where
Velocity Is 300 Effort
Hours
200
100
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Days left in iteration
Agile projects often use a Burndown Chart to show the amount of work remaining. A
Burndown Chart is useful to Scrum Masters as it projects how close to plan the team is
within a given time box—that is, it is a graphical representation of work effort remaining
in an iteration (or similar) versus the days left in an iteration.
The vertical axis is typically the number of effort hours remaining in an iteration. The
horizontal axis identifies how many days are left in an iteration. Exhibit 14.7 displays a
straight line, which is called the ideal line. It depicts a team with a velocity of 300 effort
hours and 10 days of iterations.
The way this works is that each day, the members of the Scrum Team let the Scrum
Master know how many effort hours of work they have left to complete for the current
iteration. Velocity, which is used to draw the ideal line, is determined by tracking the
team’s historical progress. Exhibit 14.8 displays a Burndown Chart with the team constantly behind schedule.
EXHIBIT 14.8
BURNDOWN CHART WHERE TEAM IS BEHIND SCHEDULE THE
ENTIRE ITERATION
Estimated effort hours
left in iteration
300
Burndown Chart
Where Team Is
Behind Schedule the
Entire Iteration
This line represents the
effort amount of work
remaining by day left in the
iteration
200
100
The dashed
line is the
“ideal line”
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Days left in iteration
Source: Brain Vanderjack PMP, MBA, CSM, SAFe Certified
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
469
14-3 Customer Issues
The second major perspective included in a balanced scorecard approach to project control is that of the customer. Customers need the deliverables of the project. They want
the results to be useful (quality) and complete (scope).
14-3a Manage and Control Quality
As previously defined in Chapter 12, manage quality is the process of using and improving the quality plan and policy to perform tasks that will most likely lead to creating
project outputs to customers’ satisfaction. This forward-looking, broad management process (often known as quality assurance), both ensures that work is performed correctly
and that key stakeholders are convinced that the work is performed correctly.
Also as previously defined in Chapter 12, control quality is “the activities … used to
verify that deliverables are of acceptable quality and that they are complete and correct.
Examples of quality control activities include inspection, deliverable peer reviews, and
the testing process.”2 This backward-looking, detailed set of reactive technical activities
verifies whether specific project deliverables meet their quality standards.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL TOOLS
A variety of quality management
and control tools can be used effectively on projects. Some of the most common tools
and their primary uses on projects are shown in Exhibit 14.9.
The following discussion presents a small example of a project process that is used to
demonstrate a few of the project quality tools. A straightforward presentation of each
tool is demonstrated. Multiple variations exist for some of the tools, and an interested
student can find more detailed examples and instructions in a statistics or quality
textbook.
Flow Chart A flow chart is a tool that project managers use as they begin to control
quality. Flow charts can be used to show any level of detail from the overall flow of an
entire project (such as a network diagram of the project schedule) down to very specific
details of a critical process. Flow charts show clearly where a process starts and ends.
A box shows each step in the process. Arrows show the direction in which information,
money, or physical things flow. Exhibit 14.10 is a flow chart of the process of estimating
project cost.
This is a high-level flow chart of the process. Perhaps the project team looks at this
and realizes labor cost estimates are unreliable. They might decide they need more
detailed understanding of this step. One method would be to create a more detailed
flow chart of just that step. Another method is to gather some data using a check sheet
such as the one shown in Exhibit 14.11.
Check Sheet Check sheets are customized for each application. Decide exactly what
data will be useful in understanding, controlling, and improving a process, and create a
form to collect that information. It is helpful to also collect the date or time when each
event happened and notes regarding the impact or any special circumstances. When creating categories on a check sheet, it is wise to have a category titled “other” because
many times, a problem comes from an unexpected source.
Pareto Chart Once a check sheet is used, the gathered data can be displayed on an
analysis tool such as the Pareto chart shown in Exhibit 14.12. The purpose of the Pareto
chart is to quickly understand the primary sources of a problem using the 80/20 rule,
wherein 80 percent of defects often come from only about 20 percent of all the sources.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.9
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY TOOLS
TOOL
CHAPTER
DESCRIPTION
Charter
3
High-level agreement to start project describing authority, scope,
expectations, and resources
Lesson learned
3 and 15
Knowledge from experience captured and shared
Stakeholder analysis
6
Identification and prioritization of stakeholder desires
Communication management plan
6
Document that guides and assigns responsibility for communication with
stakeholders
Voice of the customer
7
Captured desired benefits and features in customer’s own words
Brainstorming
7
Quick generation of many ideas to identify gaps, issues, roadblocks, or
potential solutions
Quality metrics
7
Crisp definition of what and how to measure specific performance
Project risk review
11
Thorough document review to uncover risks
Root cause analysis
11
Technique to discover underlying reason for problem
Cause and effect diagram
11
A visual outline, often resembling a fish skeleton, used to identify and
organize possible causes of a stated outcome
Supplier, input, process, output,
customer (SIPOC)
12
High-level view of process and stakeholders
Quality audit
12
Structured process to ensure project activities comply with organizational
policies
Benchmarking
12
Identifying and analyzing best practices for improvement ideas
Flow chart
14
A visual model used to show inputs, flow of work, and outputs and to
identify possible data collection points for process improvement
Check sheet
14
A simple, structured form used to gather and organize data for analysis
Pareto chart
14
A vertical bar graph used to identify and plot problems or defects in
descending order of frequency or cost
Histogram
14
A vertical bar chart used to show the average, extent of variation, and shape
of measurements recorded for a process variable
Run chart
14
A special type of scatter diagram in which one variable is time, used to see
how the other variable changes over time
Control chart
14
A run chart with process average and control limits used to distinguish
between common and special causes of variation
Note that, in this example, the error of using an incorrect scope shows the highest
cost impact by far. Therefore, that is probably the first place the project team looks for
improvements.
Cause-and-Effect Diagram Exhibit 14.13 shows how the largest bar on the Pareto
chart often becomes the head of the fish on the cause-and-effect diagram—the result
that the project team tries to improve.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
471
EXHIBIT 14.10
ESTIMATING PROJECT COST FLOW CHART
Calculate
material
cost
Identify
possible
project
Compare
scope with
fabricator
Calculate
labor
cost
Determine
desired
markup
Calculate
financing
cost
Negotiate
job
Calculate
equipment
cost
Following
Process
Previous
Process
Process end
Process start
The cause-and-effect diagram (also commonly known as the fishbone diagram,
because it resembles a fish skeleton, and the Ishikawa diagram, named after its developer) is constructed with each “big bone” representing a category of possible causes.
For example, in Exhibit 14.13, one of the possible categories is “deliverable design,”
meaning that maybe something about the design of the project’s deliverables contributed
to problems with the “head of the fish”—in this case, using incorrect scope to estimate
the labor cost. Once categories of possible causes are identified, the project team brainstorms ideas with the goal of identifying as many potential causes as possible. Once the
EXHIBIT 14.11
CHECK SHEET FOR LABOR COST ESTIMATING
LABOR COST ISSUE
DOLLAR IMPACT
DATE DISCOVERED
ACTION TAKEN
Incorrect scope used
Category of labor
Quantity of labor
Hourly rate
Pace of labor learning
Unexpected experience level
Mathematical error
Other (be specific)
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.12
PARETO CHART OF LABOR ESTIMATING PROCESS PROBLEMS
Cost of Labor Estimating Errors
$50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
Cost
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
Other
Unexpected
experience
level
Wrong
category of
labor
Wrong pace
of labor learning
Wrong hourly
rate
Quantity of
labor
Mathematical
error
Incorrect
scope used
0
Type of Error
team can think of no additional possible causes, they decide to test one or more possible
causes to see if they actually have an impact. Testing can be done by gathering more data
on the project as it is currently operating. Alternatively, a project team can test a new
method and then collect data on it.
EXHIBIT 14.13
PARETO CHART CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP
People
Methods
$50,000
$45,000
$40,000
$35,000
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
Incorrect scope used
Mathematical error
Quantity of labor
Hourly rate
Pace of labor learning
Unexpected experience level
Category of labor
Other (be speci c)
Incorrect
scope used
Timing
Deliverable
design
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
473
EXHIBIT 14.14
HISTOGRAM OF IMPACT OF NUMBER OF DAYS TO CREATE ESTIMATE
4 Days
5 Days
6 Days
7 Days
8 Days
≥9 Days
Histogram Once the additional data are gathered, they can be analyzed using a histogram, run chart, and/or control chart. For example, if one of the potential causes of
using incorrect scope is that the client demands the cost estimate within four days of
job notification (that is, within the timing category), perhaps the charts would appear
as shown in Exhibit 14.14, Exhibit 14.15, or Exhibit 14.16.
A project manager can interpret several things from a histogram such as the one
shown in Exhibit 14.14. First, if nothing unusual is happening, a normal or bell-shaped
EXHIBIT 14.15
RUN CHART EXAMPLE
100
90
Percent Acceptable
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
M
T
W
R
F
M
T
W
R
F
Day
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.16
Percent Acceptable
CONTROL CHART EXAMPLE
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Upper
control
limit
Process
average
Lower
control
limit
M
T
W
R
F
M
Day
T
W
R
F
curve might be expected. However, this histogram is highly skewed, with much more
impact happening when the client demands an estimate within four days. When the client
demands the estimate in four days, the impact is approximately $1,600. When comparing
that to the total impact of about $15,000 for using the wrong scope, this error appears to
explain only a bit more than 10 percent of the total problem. It might be worth changing
this, but most of the problem will still exist. Therefore, changing this factor alone does not
solve the entire problem.
Run Chart Perhaps the project team wants to see how one specific aspect of the work
process may change over time. If they collect data for two weeks on a daily basis and
show them on a run chart such as the one in Exhibit 14.15, they could determine trends
in how the process is changing over time.
The team could look for three types of variation. First, is there a trend either up or
down? In this example, there is an upward trend. Second, is there a repeating pattern,
such as a low every Monday or a high every Wednesday? In this case, it is too early to
tell. Both Tuesdays are up from Mondays, and both Thursdays are low, but day of week
does not seem like the major source of variation. The third type of variation is abrupt
changes, such as either a single point far higher or lower than the others or all of the
points suddenly being much higher or lower than previous points. The question teams
ask when trying to find this variation is: “How big of a change is big enough to count?”
Control Chart Quality control charts are helpful in answering this question. Exhibit
14.16 displays the same data on a control chart with a process average and control limits
shown. This chart shows the final point above the upper control limit. This means the
variation is enough that it is not likely to have happened purely by chance. Something is
causing the variation—some sort of special cause.
When considering any of these quality control tools, remember that it is easy to get
lost in the details, but the purpose of quality control is to make sure the agreed-upon
scope and quality are met per the project charter.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
14-3b Control Scope
Control scope is the act of closely monitoring the project and product scope status and
only allowing necessary changes to the scope baseline. Ideally, project managers
and teams practice scope control proactively. They attempt to understand what might
cause changes to either the product scope (the features of the project deliverables) or
the project scope (the work that must be done to create the deliverables). Once a project
team discovers something that may cause a need to change the scope, their first
effort is typically to head it off. It is easiest if the stakeholders can still be satisfied and
project objectives can be met without changing the scope. However, many times, it may
be necessary to make a scope change. A scope change is any change to the project work
activities or deliverable. When the scope changes, the project cost and/or schedule also
need to change. For this reason, proposed scope changes are processed through the integrated change control system to determine what impact each might have on other critical
aspects of the project goals. Some scope changes start as proposed changes to cost or
schedule, just as some changes to cost or schedule start as proposed scope changes.
As with any type of proposed change, one must have a scope baseline in order to
understand scope changes; that is, the approved scope definition and work breakdown
structure must be clearly understood. Only then can the project team determine how
big a proposed scope change is, what impact it will have, and how to best manage it.
Variance analysis is the process of determining both the cause and the amount of
difference between planned and actual performance. Variance analysis includes determining how large the difference is between the actual and planned scope (or schedule
or budget), the reasons for the difference, and whether any action is necessary to resolve
it. For scope variances, the action can include updating the scope definition and work
breakdown structure.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
AGILE
Quality is enhanced on agile projects by having the appropriate team members resolve
issues quickly. Success of the product is predicted by having team members, including
the product owner, use the product before users do.
14-4 Financial Issues
Cost control is obviously a financial issue. Cost, schedule, and scope are often so closely
intertwined that they are monitored and controlled simultaneously, and a change in one
of them impacts the others. The amount of resources of all kinds needed to perform the
project has a direct impact on cost, so we also cover controlling resources here.
14-4a Control Resources
Control resources is a process by which all of the physical resources needed to perform
the project are planned and monitored, and changes are made if needed. This occurs
throughout the life of the project. Obviously, if needed resources are late, the project
can be delayed. If needed resources are in short supply, the cost and schedule might
both be impacted unfavorably. Project managers need to look ahead at potential trends,
be willing to proactively solve problems, and work cooperatively with a myriad of stakeholders to ensure the needed resources are available when required.
14-4b Control Schedule and Costs
Schedule and cost control are very similar in concept to control. The project manager
should start with the approved cost and schedule baseline. Next, the current status of
the schedule and cost should be determined.
If the schedule or budget has changed by at least a previously agreed amount, changes
should be formally recommended and managed through the integrated change control
system to ensure that any impacts on other areas are considered. Cost control often has
one additional consideration—that is, ensuring that no more money is spent than the
authorized amount. This may force other changes on the project, such as delaying the
schedule or reducing part of the project scope. While many methods exist for controlling
cost and schedule, the two discussed in this chapter are two of the most common: earned
value management and project scheduling software such as MS Project.
Very often, the project manager must work with his or her company’s finance department or CFO to get the proper data on accounts payable, accounts receivable, and other
information. The project may require the help of someone skilled at financial software. If
the project manager is not personally adept at using such software, the finance department representative might be included in the project team either as a core team member
or in SME capacity.
14-4c Earned Value Management for Controlling Schedule and Costs
Earned value management is “a disciplined, structured, objective, and quantitative
method to integrate technical work scope, cost, and schedule objectives into a single
cohesive contract baseline plan called a Performance Measurement Baseline for tracking
contract performance.”3 Earned value allows a project team to understand the project’s
progress in terms of cost and schedule as well as to make predictions concerning the
project’s schedule and cost control until the project’s conclusion. Earned value is used
as a decision-making tool. The project manager can quickly assess how the project is
doing according to the baseline plan and whether the project will end without major
cost and/or schedule overruns. The earned value data presents a snapshot of the status
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
477
of his or her project at a given point in time. It is valid only for the day that the cost and
schedule progresses are measured.
When interpreting earned value management, cost and schedule must be considered
independently. A project can be either ahead or behind the planned schedule and either
over or under the planned budget. Second, all earned value terms deal with one of two
time frames. Each represents either status as of the last date that project data were gathered or a prediction for the end of the project. Exhibit 14.17 lists 11 questions and
answers that introduce all of the earned value management terms.
Exhibit 14.18 uses an example to show each of the earned value management terms.
Currently known values for the example are stated, followed by their definitions. Variances, indexes, and estimates are next defined, and calculations for the example are
shown.
CURRENTLY KNOWN VALUES In this example, the first several items are provided:
PV
$250,000, EV
$200,000, AC
$400,000, and BAC
$750,000
Each of these terms also has a formal definition.
Planned value (PV) is “the approved value of the work to be completed in a given
time. It is the value that should have been earned as per the schedule.”4 In our example,
we expected to spend $250,000 for the work we planned to have accomplished by now.
EXHIBIT 14.17
EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT TERMS
QUESTION
TIMING
ANSWER
ACRONYM
How much work should be done?
Now
Planned value
PV
How much work is done?
Now
Earned value
EV
How much did the is done work cost?
Now
Actual cost
AC
How much was the total project
supposed to cost?
End
Budget at completion
BAC
How much is the project schedule ahead
or behind?
Now
Schedule variance
SV
How much is the project over or under
budget?
Now
Cost variance
CV
How efficient is the project so far with
its schedule?
Now
Schedule performance
index
SPI
How efficient is the project so far with
its budget?
Now
Cost performance
index
CPI
How much more do we expect to spend to
finish the project?
End
Estimate to complete
ETC
What do we now think the total project
will cost?
End
Estimate at completion
EAC
How efficient do we need to be to finish
on budget?
End
To-complete
performance index
TCPI
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Part 4 Performing Projects
EXHIBIT 14.18
EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE
Now
$000s
BAC
1,000
900
800
$750,000
700
600
500
400
300
400 = AC
250 = PV
CV
SV
200
200 = EV
100
Start
Expected
Completion
Time
Earned value (EV) is the value of the work actually completed to date. In our example,
the work that has been completed is worth $200,000.
Actual cost (AC) is the total of costs incurred in accomplishing work on the activity
during a given period. In our example, we owe $400,000 for the work that has been
completed.
Budget at completion (BAC) is the total amount budgeted for the entire project. In
this example, our approved budget for the entire project is $750,000. Now that we know
these four pieces of information, we can calculate answers to all of the remaining questions
listed in Exhibit 14.16.
VARIANCES Schedule variance (SV) is the difference between the earned value (EV)
and the planned value (PV), and it denotes schedule performance. In our example, it is
$50,000. We know we are behind schedule because
calculated as $200,000 $250,000
the variation is negative (unfavorable):
SV
EV
PV
Cost variance (CV) is the difference between earned value (EV) and actual cost (AC),
which reflects cost performance. In our example, it is calculated as $200,000 $400,000
$200,000. We know we are over budget because the variation is negative
(unfavorable):
CV
EV
AC
The two variances help us understand, in dollar terms, how poorly or well we are performing on cost and schedule. In this example, we are performing poorly in terms of
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
479
both cost and schedule. These are commonly used indicators. However, some people
prefer to use efficiency measures to understand in percentage terms how well or poorly
the project is performing.
INDEXES
Schedule performance index (SPI) is a schedule performance measure
expressed as the ratio of earned value (EV) to planned value (PV). In our example, it is
calculated by $200,000 $250,000 80%. We know our project is behind schedule
because we only accomplished 80 percent of what we planned:
SPI
EV PV
With performance indexes, 100 percent means right on plan, less than 100 percent
means less efficient than planned, and over 100 percent means more efficient than
planned.
Cost performance index (CPI) is a cost performance measure expressed as the ratio
of earned value (EV) to actual cost (AC). In our example, it is calculated by
$200,000 $400,000 50%. We know our project is over budget because we have only
received $0.50 worth of results for every dollar we have spent:
CPI
EV AC
Now that we understand how we have performed so far (poorly in our example), it is
time to forecast how we will perform for the remainder of the project. The simplest way
to estimate future performance is to predict that the past performance trend will continue. The following calculations are based upon that assumption. There are projects,
however, that may have unusual circumstances in the early stages that are not likely to
be repeated later. In those instances, the project manager and sponsor need to use judgment to determine if the original estimates for the remaining work or some other
method of estimating it are better predictors. In each case, an estimate is made for
the remaining work and added to the actual cost of work completed to provide the overall estimate. We will use the two most common methods of estimating the remaining
work.
ESTIMATES Estimate to complete (ETC) is the expected budget required to complete
all the remaining project work. In our example, if we predict that our future performance
will have the same efficiency as our past performance, it is calculated by:
BAC EV CPI
$750,000 $200,000 50% $1,100,000 :
First method Work to date is good estimate of future ETC
BAC
EV CPI
Unless we improve upon our efficiency, we can expect to pay more for the remaining
project work than we originally expected to pay for the entire project!
The second method of calculating the ETC is to believe that the original plan is a
better predictor than the work to date (maybe because of unusual circumstances
that are unlikely to continue). This method is calculated by budget at completion
BAC
EV $750,000 200,000 $550,000 :
Second method (original plan is good estimate of future) ETC
BAC
EV
Estimate at completion (EAC) is the total cost of completing all the project work
expressed as the sum of actual cost to date and the estimate to complete. In our example,
if we believe our efficiency to date is a good predictor of the future, it is calculated by
$1,100,000
$1,500,000. On the other hand, if we believe what happened
$400,000
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Part 4 Performing Projects
so far will not be repeated and our original plan is good for the remaining work, it is
calculated by $400,000 $550,000 $950,000 :
EAC
AC
ETC
Because our cost efficiency is only half of our plan (as we learned from our CPI), unless
we become more efficient, we can expect to pay double our original estimate! Even if we
match our original plan for the rest of the project, we will still be over the budget in the
end. Perhaps our sponsor still wants to know what it would take for us to finish on budget.
The to-complete performance index (TCPI) is a measure of the cost performance
required to complete the remaining project work within the remaining budget. This is
the ratio of the remaining work to the remaining budget and on our example is calculated as ($750,000 $200,000)/($750,000 $400,000) = 157%. That means that so far,
our cost efficiency as measured by our CPI is 50% and we need to suddenly raise it to
157% for the remainder of the project to complete on budget!
TCPI
BAC
EV
BAC
AC
Each term in earned value management helps project managers understand a bit
more about their project’s performance. Collectively, the earned value management
terms give project managers insight for monitoring and controlling project cost and
schedule. In addition to and often in conjunction with earned value management, many
project managers use scheduling software to help control their projects.
14-5 Using MS Project to Monitor and
Control Projects
When used to its fullest, MS Project can be a powerful tool for monitoring and controlling the project schedule, cost, and resources. Once a project has entered into the execution phase, the job of the project manager shifts primarily to tracking the project to see if
it is executing according to plan. To understand how MS Project assists in this regard, it
is helpful for the project manager to understand the following:
1. What makes a schedule useful
2. How MS Project recalculates the schedule based upon reported and inputted actuals
3. The current and future impacts of time and cost variances
Once these concepts are understood, the project manager can use MS Project to
update the schedule in a step-by-step fashion.
14-5a What Makes a Schedule Useful?
To properly control a project, the project manager must provide useful status reports,
produce accurate assignment dates, take timely corrective actions, and make other necessary management decisions. This is difficult or impossible to do well without a sufficiently useful schedule. To be useful, three sets of schedule data must exist for
comparison purposes. Each set includes dates, duration, work, and cost (along with any
approved changes). The three sets are as follows:
1. The Baseline Set (sometimes called the planned schedule)
a.
b.
This set is the original stakeholder-approved scheduled values (as discussed in
Chapter 12).
Data includes the Baseline Start, Baseline Finish, Baseline Duration, Baseline
Work, and Baseline Cost.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
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2. The Actual Set (sometimes called the performance data)
a.
This set is what actually happens during project execution as reported by the
resources assigned to project tasks.
b. Data includes the Actual Start, Actual Finish, Actual Duration, Actual Work, and
Actual Cost.
3. The Scheduled Set
a. This set is the future estimated time and costs and is calculated by MS Project.
b. Data includes the Start, Finish, Duration, Work, and Cost.
c. Values are continuously recalculated during project execution as tasks and estimates are entered, as the project network is defined, as resources are assigned
and balanced, and as actual execution data is entered.
14-5b How MS Project Recalculates the Schedule Based
on Reported Actuals
As actual data is entered into a task’s Actual field, MS Project copies that data into the
task’s Scheduled field, replacing the estimated values. MS Project then recalculates the
schedule for future tasks based on a combination of what actually happened and the estimates of the remaining tasks.
14-5c Current and Future Impacts of Time and Cost Variance
With the three sets of data, comparisons can be made between any two of the sets. This
is useful in understanding future impacts of various issues, such as:
Time and cost performance variances from baseline
Critical path changes
Resource allocation issues
Emerging risks
Remaining contingency and management reserves
The impacts of proposed changes
14-5d Define the Performance Update Process
The performance update process is simply the project manager updating actual project
data as the project is executed. The update process is defined by the project manager
informing the project team on who needs to report, what information is needed in each
report, and when each report needs to be submitted. The following guidelines will help
the project manager keep the schedule updated and accurate.
WHO REPORTS? All team members and suppliers assigned to tasks that were scheduled during the past reporting period need to report. Also, any resource wanting to
change the estimate of a soon-to-be-starting task needs to report the new estimate.
WHAT IS REPORTED? Actual Start, Actual Finish, Actual Duration Complete, and
Estimated Remaining Duration are reported. The sooner the project manager learns of
variances from estimates, the sooner he or she can take corrective action, making Estimated Remaining Duration and Actual Finish among the most important values to
update accurately.
WHEN TO REPORT? The project manager determines what day of the week resources
will report performance (“Status Date” or “As of Date”), as well as the frequency. The
Status Date is usually driven by the date of stakeholder review meetings and the time
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Part 4 Performing Projects
needed to make adjustments before that meeting. The project manager wants to walk
into that meeting with the most accurate and up-to-date status information as possible.
14-5e Steps to Update the Project Schedule
The process of updating the project schedule in MS Project includes six steps as described
below. Please note: for the purposes of this chapter’s tutorial, a simplified version of the
running Suburban Park Homes example has been used.
STEP 1: ACQUIRE THE PERFORMANCE DATA Performance data is duration-based
data. From each resource assignment, collect the date when the task started, how much
duration has been completed, how much duration remains, and the actual finish date
(if the task has been finished).
STEP 2: SET THE STATUS DATE (AS OF) The Status Date, or “as of” date, is the
date the project manager sets for the team to report on the progress of the project. To
be useful, the Status Date must be updated every time the project manager requires performance data reported.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click the Project Tab>>Properties Group>>Project Information
Click the “Status date” drop-down
Set status date to 12/7/17 (as shown in Exhibit 14.19)
Click OK
STEP 3: DISPLAY THE STATUS DATE LINE ON THE GANTT CHART
Displaying a
Status Date line on the Gantt chart provides a visual cue as to how much of the work has
been completed for each task (once the update data is entered).
1. Click the Task Tab>>View Group>>Gantt Chart
2. Right-click on the right pane>>select Gridlines
EXHIBIT 14.19
DISPLAY STATUS DATE LINE
Source: Microsoft product screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
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EXHIBIT 14.20
SET THE STATUS DATE (AS OF)
Source: Microsoft product screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
3. In the “Line to change list”, select Status Date (as shown in Exhibit 14.20)
4. In the “Normal” box, choose dashed dotted line; choose Green for the color
5. Click OK
STEP 4: ENTER THE DURATION-BASED PERFORMANCE DATA Exhibit 14.21
shows a simplified Suburban Park Homes project schedule in the Gantt Chart View
with resource assigned tasks A–F (Task IDs two through seven) and beginning and end
milestones (Task IDs one and eight). To the right of the Task Name column, a userdefined text column has been inserted (Right click>>Insert Column>>type a heading
name) to record the performance report from the assigned resource(s). The Status Date
is end of day on Thursday December 7, 2017 (denoted by the vertical dashed line in the
right side pane of the Gantt view). Resources have been assigned to each task and are
denoted by the resource name in the right-side pane. Updating reported performance
data for each task is demonstrated in the next steps.
EXHIBIT 14.21
SCHEDULE BEFORE ANY ACTUALS ARE APPLIED
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Part 4 Performing Projects
Anniston reports Task A’s performance was as scheduled through the end of day on
Thursday (remember that Thursday, December 7 is the Status Date).
1. Click Task A in the Gantt chart
2. Click the Task Tab>>Schedule Group>>click Mark on Track
3. Notice a dark progress bar line appears in the Gantt bar through the end of day on
Thursday (the Status Date)
Bruce reports Task B’s performance as scheduled, but the estimated remaining duration is two days instead of one.
1. Click Task B
2. Click the Task Tab>>Schedule Group>>click the Mark on Track drop-down>>click
Update Tasks
3. In the Update Tasks dialog:
a. Actual dur: enter 4d
b. Remaining dur: enter 2d as shown in Exhibit 14.22.
4. Click OK
5. Notice Task B’s duration has updated to six days and extends through the end of day
Monday, as shown in Exhibit 14.23
Jack reports that Task C finished two days early.
1. Click Task C
2. Click the Task Tab>>Schedule Group>>click the Mark on Track drop-down>>click
Update Tasks
3. In the Update Tasks dialog:
a. Actual dur: enter 3d
b. Remaining dur: enter 0d
4. Click OK
5. Notice in Exhibit 14.24 that Task C’s duration is now three days and the activity is
marked complete (as denoted by a checkmark in the Indicators column)
EXHIBIT 14.22
UPDATE TASKS DIALOG BOX
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
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EXHIBIT 14.23
GANTT CHART VIEW WITH ACTIVITIES A AND B UPDATED
Source: Microsoft product screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
Judah reports that no work was done for two of the five days on Task D.
1. Click Task D
2. Click the Task Tab>>Schedule Group>>click the Mark on Track drop-down>>click
Update Tasks
3. In the Update Tasks dialog:
a. Actual dur: enter 2d
b. Remaining dur: enter 3d
4. Click OK
5. Notice Task D’s dark progress bar indicates there is still work scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday
Brady reports that Task E started one day late.
1. Click Task E
2. Click the Task Tab>>Schedule Group>>click the Mark on Track drop-down>>click
Update Tasks
EXHIBIT 14.24
GANTT CHART VIEW WITH ACTUALS APPLIED TO ACTIVITIES A THROUGH E
Source: Microsoft product screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
3. In the Update Tasks dialog:
a. Actual Start: enter 12/5/17
b. Actual dur: enter 3d
c. Remaining dur: enter 0d
4. Click OK
5. Notice that Task E is marked complete
Oliver and Liam report that no work was done on Task F. This update will be
addressed in the next step.
STEP 5: RESCHEDULE REMAINING WORK Both tasks D and F still have work
scheduled for dates prior to the Status date. This work must be moved to start no earlier
than the day following the Status Date.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Click Task D
Click the Project Tab>>Status Group>>click Update Project
In the Update Project dialog, click “Reschedule uncompleted work to start after:
Enter the Status Date if not already entered as shown in Exhibit 14.25
Click on Selected tasks
Click OK
Repeat these steps for Task F
As seen in Exhibit 14.26, Task D is now split with the completed work showing on Monday and Tuesday, and the remaining work rescheduled to resume on Friday. If a more likely
date to resume work is not Friday, the Gantt bar can be dragged to the likely date.
Task F is also scheduled to resume on Friday. When all of a task is rescheduled, a
“start-no-earlier” constraint is automatically applied. That constraint can be modified to
select a more likely resume date. Ignoring unfinished work that is scheduled earlier than
the Status Date is a risky practice.
STEP 6: REVISE FUTURE ESTIMATES The most accurate estimates are made just
before a task gets started. Therefore, at any status meeting, it’s a good practice to ask
project team members if they believe the estimates for any of their upcoming tasks need
updating.
EXHIBIT 14.25
RESCHEDULING WORK ON A GANTT CHART
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
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EXHIBIT 14.26
GANTT CHART WITH COMPLETED WORK RESCHEDULED
14-6 Replanning If Necessary
Sometimes it becomes necessary to replan a project. The project manager can use the
integrated change control system to understand the impact the proposed changes may
have and to secure approval to make the change. The changes are then reflected in a
revised plan. The schedule, cost, and resource changes can be shown on an updated MS
Project schedule. Other changes can be reflected in risk register updates or issues log
updates. Two questions still exist regarding replanning: “What kinds of changes might
be made in response to the problems?” and “Does the approval for a change need to be
escalated to higher management?”
Changes a project manager may need to recommend include reassigning activities to
different workers, splitting activities so at least some work can get started, reordering
activities so they may be accomplished sooner, borrowing or acquiring additional
resources, reducing scope, and so on. Many of these types of change can help a project
get back on track; however, make sure the appropriate stakeholders agree with the
changes because many times, a change that improves one aspect of a project degrades
another.
Consider that people at each level in an organization have the ability to make specific
decisions and are generally allowed a certain amount of time to deal with a problem
before notifying a superior. Whoever makes the decision is still expected to document it
appropriately. If a very minor problem occurs on a project, perhaps a team member can
make the decision regarding how to handle it. A bit larger problem may fall in the
domain of the project manager. Large decisions may go to the sponsor, and really critical
decisions may be sent to the leadership of the parent organization. Escalation answers
the question of what kinds of decisions are submitted to a higher level and how much
time the lower-level person gets before raising the problem. A person who escalates
minor decisions, or even major decisions very quickly, gives the impression of being
weak and indecisive. However, a person who does not escalate important decisions or
who takes so long to escalate them that the problem has worsened, exhibits poor
judgment.
AGILE
Replanning is conducted for each release and each iteration in agile. Within an iteration,
once the replanning is complete, very little additional change is allowed.
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Part 4 Performing Projects
PMP/CAPM Study Ideas
You can expect to see several questions using Earned Value Management (EVM) on
either the CAPM or PMP, and you will not be provided with the formulas. We recommend that you memorize all of the following formulas and write them down on the
blank paper you are provided as soon as you enter the testing room so you can refer
to them throughout the test:
EV AC
CV cost variance
SV schedule variance
EV PV
EV AC
CPI cost performance index
EV PV
SPI schedule performance index
ETC estimate to complete
BAC EV CPI BAC EV
AC ETC
EAC estimate at completion
BAC EV BAC AC
TCPI To complete performance index
You will need to apply these formulas for the test, so refer back to section 14-4c of
this book to review abbreviations, when to use each formula, and how to interpret the
results. In addition to EVM, you can expect at least a few questions pertaining to the
Integrated Change Control process. Remember that once the project management plan
is approved and you have a baseline, any proposed change to schedule, budget, or
scope needs to go through the change control process.
Summary
For a project manager to effectively determine that
the desired project progress is being made and results
are being delivered, a multitude of things need to
be monitored and controlled. Many of these are interdependent, so a project manager needs to understand how changes in one area might impact another
area.
Project managers need to monitor and control the
actual work of the project or the activities. This entails
observing the work as it is executed and making adjustments as needed. Any adjustments that may have a
sizable impact must be processed through the project’s
integrated change control process. Each potential
change is proposed, approved or disapproved, and
documented, and the approved changes are implemented. A risk register is maintained to keep track of active
risks, whether the risk events transpire, and how they
are handled. New risks are added as they are discovered, and no-longer-relevant risks are retired.
Project managers also need to control the various
aspects of the project that are subject to potential
trade-offs—namely, scope, quality, cost, and schedule.
When controlling these, the project manager looks for
variances—that is, any difference between what was
planned and what has actually happened. The project
manager also seeks to understand how a change in any
one area will impact the others. Several tools exist for
helping project managers with this control. Many quality
tools are widely used when seeking to understand what
the quality level is, where problems may exist, what the
root causes are for problems, and how to improve the
project processes so the problems do not reoccur. Sponsors and other stakeholders want to understand progress
made on the project, current plans, and what might derail
the project. Regular progress meetings and reports serve
this purpose. Earned value management and MS Project
are both quite helpful in understanding, documenting,
and improving upon cost and schedule progress.
Key Terms Consistent with PMI Standards and Guides
direct and manage project work, 459
monitor and control project work, 460
monitor, 460
control, 460
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Chapter 14 Determining Project Progress and Results
variance, 460
perform integrated change control, 463
change control, 46...
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