Project controlling is part of project management. The aim of the project controlling is to measure the progress of the project against the plan, to identify variances, to evaluate their impact on the project, to propose corrective actions and participate in the planning and execution of these actions in order to ensure that the project is within scope, on time and on budget. Controlling is an essential step within the project management process and builds upon and runs parallel to the other process steps comprising project planning and project execution.
As can be seen in figure underneath, project controlling is not a discrete, one-time event, but an iterative and repetitive process that occurs throughout the project lifetime and at various levels. This means project controlling starts from the beginning until the end of the Project.
Project controlling involves comparing actual performance with planned performance to identify variances from the plan as well as to determine when the project is finished. Variances are fed into the control processes in the various knowledge areas. To the extent that significant variances are observed (e.g. those that jeopardize the project objectives), adjustments to the plan are made by repeating the appropriate project planning processes. For example, a missed task finish date may require adjustments to the current staffing plan, reliance on overtime, or trade-offs between budget and schedule objectives.
For an effective project controlling the monitoring of following three performance indicators is key. With this regards it is important to mention that the indicators have to be defined in detail including description of baseline, target etc.
Time until project closing
Used resources (e.g. labor hours, occurred costs) until project closing
Degree of completion
In addition to that, following tasks can fall into the responsibility of project controlling:
Progress measurement and reporting—collecting and disseminating progress information
Scope change management—documenting and controlling changes to project scope
Quality control—measuring project deliverables and activities to assess whether quality objectives are being met
Quality improvement—evaluating project performance on a regular basis to determine how to improve project quality
Time/schedule control—controlling and responding to schedule changes
Cost control—controlling and responding to cost changes
Risk control—responding to changes in risk over the course of the project
The methods of project controlling may include following:
Project plan (e.g. in form of a Gantt chart) which graphically outlines the project steps
Actual / target comparison to compared planned and actual values (e.g. occurred labor hours, costs)
Milestone trend analysis to control several project steps and derive trends for the further project planning
Earned value management to evaluate the project performance and progress considering scope, time and costs of the project
Sources: (accessed on April 24th, 2018)
https://www.apm.org.uk/body-of-knowledge/delivery/integrative-management/control/
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