Monitoring/Controlling Process - Power is nothing without control By Ernest Shaw A few years ago, there was a tire commercial in the US that stated that power was nothing without control. In project management this statement also stands. Controlling a project is easily one of the most difficult aspects of project management as it literally draws upon all of ones senses, experiences, and capabilities as a leader. The monitoring process is where the execution of the project is checked and as necessary, balanced. The project is checked for accuracy, budget, progress, and expanding scope and then if necessary balanced for the same. While all of this "checking" sounds pretty benign, it can become a serious problem and if performed inadequately, or not at all. To prevent this undesirable occurrence we initiate the following sub-processes: Change Control, Scope Verification, Schedule Control, Cost Control, Quality Control, Performance Reporting, Risk Management, Control of Contracts, and Stakeholder Management. Change Control Change Control is the process of initiating, evaluating, and selection of changes for integration into a given project. Change Control is needed to provide a reasonable barrier against rampant changes and redirection of project resources (capital, personnel, time, ect.) To adequately affect Change Control all “changes” should be submitted through a formal or semi-formal process to the project manager who will in turn submit them to a Change Control Board or CCB. The CCB may be composed of key Stakeholders, Project Sponsor(s), or varying degrees of Management or Council Members depending upon the specifics of the project. No matter the composition, the CCB is charged with reviewing the proposed changes and making the determination based upon available information if the change is worth pursuing, has resources, and will add value to the project as a whole. Scope Verification/Control Scope Verification or Control is an easy concept to grasp but as with most things can be difficult to execute well. Verifying or controlling project scope is essential and leads directly to Schedule and Cost Control, which are next. Project scope defined by Project Management Institute is, “ The sum of the products, services, and results to be provided as a project.” The relevance of verifying such products and/or services essentially verifying that you accomplished what you had intended to. If the goal was to make Lemonade and you end up with Orange Sun Splash you kind of missed the mark. As such every project’s scope is to be protected and verified to ensure that progress is being made in the correct directions. Similarly, to ensure that only changes authorized by the Change Control Board, CCB, are being incorporated – No exceptions! Schedule Control Schedule Control ties the project to a timeline. Having all the time in the world would be a wonderful thing however, that is not even close to reality as there are timelines and limits for everything. Depending upon the project controlling the schedule can have both direct and indirect financial impacts to the overall project. The old adage that time is money is always true, however, how that is brought to reality is can be quite interesting. If the project were based in construction the schedule will tie directly to interest payments on capital borrowed for the project to take place. In the case of an industrial installation schedule will die directly to manpower and the wages that are required to support the workforce. In either case the thought of time equals money becomes a reality. Other cases, the tie may not be as obvious however, they are there on some plane and in some regard. Thus controlling the schedule through effective resource management, the use of a CCB, and communications both up and down is absolutely critical to ensure the flow of the project Cost Control Cost Control seems immediately obvious, as we are all familiar with controlling costs in our own personal lives. As a project manager, however, controlling project costs takes on a life and character of its own. Just as with our personal lives, controlling the costs on a project can be as much common sense as procedure. The procedure comes in the form of change and schedule control – both of which attempt to limit external influences. Common sense comes in the form of opening your eyes and looking at the project as simply as possible. Many times through the series I have used the example of a Lemonade stand because of its inherent simplicity and relevance to all projects. The Lemonade stand example utilizes lemons, water, and sugar as the raw materials, has capital purchases of a pitcher or mixing bowl, spoon, and a stand location, finally, has an Operations and Maintenance aspect relating the functional operation of the stand itself. Without a great amount of thought, all project have these aspects right? Well, looking simply, where can you move to control costs? In the lemonade stand, perhaps, having a tried and true recipe, which optimizes the flavor while minimizing material consumption. Perhaps the controlling measure could involve buying the serving cups in bulk on an extended contract to reduce O&M costs. One may also be able to make a deal with the broker of the lemons, sugar, and or water in the form of promotion opportunities for their product (*hint-hint*). All said the creativity of the Project Manager should be utilized to explore means to reduce costs. Looking more practically and with greater complexity, costs can be controlled through accurate scheduling and schedule execution. This can tie to both manpower and interest payments, as mentioned earlier, and can also move into procurement of materials, warehousing of goods, waste materials, and waste processing. All are physical aspects of every project weather a tangible asset or an intellectual masterpiece. Each will have inefficiencies and areas for improvement. I encourage you to take a close and honest look at your current projects and see if there are any simple means of controlling costs that have been over looked. Something so simple as a leaking flapper, or flush, valve in a commode can cost hundreds if not thousands in unnecessary expense. One is not that bad but if you have a large site, project or organization, multiply that “little” leak times 100 and the numbers begin to speak for themselves. Quality Control Quality Control is the second half of the Quality Control equation, the first half being Quality Assurance. What’s the difference? Good question! Quality Assurance relates to providing confidence in a specific process or project. An example of such would be actually checking the crate shipping documents to ensure that we did indeed receive lemons for our lemonade and not oranges. This paper trail could go back as far as one would like depending upon the criticality of the specific item being verified. In several commercial and military applications, one can literally be assured of a components origin traced back to the mine from which the ore was sourced! Sounds silly but when lives and several billion dollars are on the line what’s a few thousand to ensure that you are getting what you had expected? Quality Control, on the other hand, is the active process of checking against an established specification. For our lemonade we may check for temperature, acidity (pH), or good old-fashioned taste as a “Go/No-Go” just to name a few. Larger or more technical projects may employ more sophisticated means of Quality Control, or QC. This QC may hold the for of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) or Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) seeking to evaluate or examine the physical properties, process, or other such tangible property of the in-process product to verify that the specifications are indeed being met. Performance Reporting and Stakeholder Management Performance Reporting and Stakeholder Management while not exactly the same, hold similar characteristics in that the both relate communications. Performance Reporting is the process of periodic reporting project progress to the sponsor, stakeholders, or all other interested parties. The report could consist of raw production data number of widgets produces per allotted time period. Similarly, the report could be something less empirical such as the amount of public resistance to construction of a given project. In either case, the main purpose of performance reporting is to communicate the relative success or failure of a given project. Stakeholder Management is similar in that the Stakeholders are often times the most interested in project performance. Thus, the reporting will need to be packaged is such a way that is meaningful for the stakeholders. In today’s world of business and merger-mash-ups, a stakeholder may be a cash heavy investor seeking a great return on investment. As such, the technobabble may not hold a lot of value. Here, the presenter of the performance report will have to understand the perspective audience and resent materials that will convey the state of the project without alienating or losing anyone in the process. Risk Management/Mitigation Risk Management is one of those seemingly ever-present sets of buzzwords normally tied to financial markets. In project management they are similarly linked with financial growth or decline. As defined by Project Management Institute, Risk Mitigation is, “a technique used to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk to below an acceptable threshold.” The threshold will generally be set by the stakeholders, sponsors, or in some cases by local, state, or federal law. The risks may be involve financial assets, intellectual or real property, or the most valued asset life. Each will have need for evaluation for associated risk and mitigation tactics involved. In the United States loss of life items are generally governed by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), which established federally mandated laws and requirements for minimum protective actions. This is not to say that this is a catch all or that industrial safety is no longer an issue of concern, rather that there are common practices employed as a matter of federal policy. Similar risk mitigation may involve intellectual property protection by the use of security systems, codes, or other such security enabling devices in addition to legal protection. Intellectual property protection is of great concern on several projects, especially so as the world flattens data sharing increases. Last on risk management, but certainly not the full scope, is physical property protection. If the project involves the physical construction or assembly of a given item a different set of mitigating tactics may be employed. The processed utilized may be administrative in nature establishing safe zones for work to occur. Or, the processes may specify a certain margin of safety for a load-bearing item in the case of a heavy load being hoisted or transferred. All of the previously mentioned and this example are just a few of the means of risk management and mitigation. In closing this topic I will reflect back to the Project Management Institute definition of Risk Mitigation, “a technique used to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk to below an acceptable threshold.” Control of Contracts Controlling contracts can be a joy or a pain depending upon just how good of a job the contract originator performed. If the contracts are well written to protect the interests of the project and stakeholders, administering and controlling them will be easy. If the contracts are poorly written with generous leeway for interpretation, enforcement will be a difficult task at best. As such, if at all possible, verify contract integrity prior to executing any work. What do you do if you are beyond that point? Yet another good question! If you are beyond that point you are essentially stuck with exactly what you have on the printed document as it is legally binding. Typically the only improvement that can be made is a “personal” appeal to the holder of the contract for leniency or a renegotiation of terms to afford both parties greater comfort. Sometimes it works and other times, well, let’s just that I know of a little business where you can make a fantastic beverage out of just a few lemons!

[ Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:29:33 GMT ]

Listen

Download

Listen on your iPhone