Project Management: Execution and Control

Project Execution, Monitoring, and Control

• Project execution involves performing work according to the plan
• Monitoring and controlling the project entails tracking progress and costs against the schedule and budget
• Earned Value Analysis (EVA) is a technique for monitoring a project holistically

Goals of the Unit

• Plans are practically useless if not implemented and monitored and updated to match the current situation
• The unit covers the activities and techniques for monitoring and controlling projects and their cost and schedule
• Earned Value Analysis allows a project manager to monitor projects in a comprehensive manner

Project Management Phases

• The project cycle has stages, from initiation to closing.
• These stages include initiation, planning, executing, and monitoring, controlling, and closing.
• Other linked processes like change management, quality management, and risk management also contribute supporting roles.

Kicking Activities Off

• Formalizing the commencement of a project's significant activities.
• Ensures team alignment on crucial project goals and procedures.
• A kick-off meeting is the most appropriate method but other communication methods may be used.
• Establishing an appropriate level of detail is vital.

Collecting the Outputs of Activities

• Systematic gathering of project deliverables (outputs)
• Useful for learning lessons and formalizing output collection.
• A repository and version control are vital methods for software projects.

Collecting Information About the Project Status

• Gathering data to assess the project's status.
• This can be done routinely (dependent on project size) or on an as needed basis (especially for critical events).
• Data includes both quantifiable and qualitative information (e.g., team morale, task difficulty).

Introduction to Monitoring and Controlling a Project

• Project monitoring involves assessing project status (scope, time, quality).
• Corrective action is taken when necessary.
• Data collection helps improve project planning for future projects.
• Regular processes include collecting, measuring, comparing data with the baseline plan, projecting future trends, and taking corrective actions.

Monitoring and Controlling Cycle

• The cycle involves comparing planned (baseline) with actual project plans, assessing deviations, and replanning accordingly.
• This cycle repeats continually to ensure ongoing project success.

Approaches to Project Monitoring and Control

• There are integrated and non-integrated methods.
• The non-integrated method monitors schedule and costs separately.
• The integrated method, using Earned Value analysis, combines schedule, costs, and progress metrics.

Basic Concepts in Project Monitoring

• Baseline values: A plan snapshot at a specific moment in time (e.g., baseline at timeframe t1, t2 etc)
• Multiple baselines can be established

Actual Values

• Actual status of a schedule
• Real start and end of tasks, along with real work done (actual effort and actual progress)

Project Monitoring Process

• Establish and follow a plan to carry out the project work
• Track planned and actual effort on each project activity.
• Regularly track the project's technical progress.
• Use estimates to re-plan, update or adjust the project if needed, and communicate these changes.

Agile Techniques in Project Monitoring

• Agile methodologies emphasize simplifying efforts and durations as measures
• This focuses on the remaining work rather than the work scheduled
• Methods like "ideal programming hours" or "points" abstract from traditional effort metrics

Agile Progress Tracking Methods

• Burndown charts are helpful visualization tools for monitoring the progress of a project phase.
• They show the ideal and actual burn down, or progress rate against time
• Measuring this speed over time helps teams make judgements about schedule and efficiency and whether to re-plan.

Agile Earned Value Method

• A mix of Agile and Earned Value Management (EVM) practices
• EVM can prove useful in complex projects to adjust budget and schedule for time related issues.
• Examples are given of projects requiring formal adjustments.

Agile Earned Value Approach

• A method of tracking progress that uses percentages or colors instead of money values
• The method involves three lines to show planned value, completed work, and costs.
• This provides a visual tool to track progress, efficiency, or speed over time

Understanding Agile Progress Plots

• In a perfect world, all three lines (planned value, earned value, actual cost) are in sync.
• Differences between these lines are significant indicators of project issues

Computing Project Metrics

• Planned value (PV): calculated from the backlog of storypoints.
• Assumes that work velocity (story points per time period) is constant
• Actual costs (AC): based on time-tracking information
• Earned Value (EV): Total points for completed story points

Closing Remarks on Project Monitoring

• Charts work best when spanning sufficient periods like 3 to 6 months to provide the “big picture”
• Different levels of detail are permissible (e.g., daily progress tracking)
• The project backlog needs to be complete to apply the method
• Value delivery needs to be consistent to apply calculation

Managing Changes in Scope

• Two main classes of scope changes include gradual refinements in requirements or large scale changes such as incorporating new ideas
• The first class can be absorbed by the existing planning while the second class needs to be reflected in the plans

Project Closing

• Projects come to an end
• Many projects linger in a "limbo" state awaiting closure
• Project managers should ensure that projects are properly closed
• Closing involves various tasks such as client acceptance, archiving deliverables, documentation, financial closure, post-implementation audits, and staff release.

Project Closing Process

• Project outputs are handed over to stakeholders, agreements are closed to finalise project tasks
• Ensures no pending deliverables or obligations remain after closure
• Valuable project lessons emerge

Post-implementation Audit

• The post mortem audit is designed to avoid repeating the same mistakes
• Projects of different levels of failure offer valuable learning opportunities and lessons learned
• Useful post mortem reports should include descriptions of project specifics, aspects that worked successfully, the key reasons for difficulties, and lessons to be taken to avoid similar pitfalls.