Project Monitoring and Control
A Project Management Process Area at Maturity Level 2
Purpose
The purpose of Project Monitoring and Control (PMC) is to provide an understanding of the project’s progress so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when the project’s performance deviates significantly from the plan.
Introductory Notes
A project’s documented plan is the basis for monitoring activities, communicating status, and taking corrective action. Progress is primarily determined by comparing actual work product and task attributes, effort, cost, and schedule to the plan at prescribed milestones or control levels in the project schedule or WBS. Appropriate visibility of progress enables timely corrective action to be taken when performance deviates significantly from the plan. A deviation is significant if, when left unresolved, it precludes the project from meeting its objectives.
The term “project plan” is used throughout these practices to refer to the overall plan for controlling the project.
When actual status deviates significantly from expected values, corrective actions are taken as appropriate. These actions may require replanning, which may include revising the original plan, establishing new agreements, or including additional mitigation activities in the current plan.
Related Process Areas
Refer to the Capacity and Availability Management process area for more information about monitoring and analyzing capacity and availability.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about providing measurement results.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about developing a project plan.
Specific Practices by Goal
SG 1 Monitor the Project Against the Plan
Actual performance and progress of the project are monitored against the project plan.
SP 1.1 Monitor Project Planning Parameters
Monitor actual values of project planning parameters against the project plan.
Project planning parameters constitute typical indicators of project progress and performance and include attributes of work products and tasks, costs, effort, and schedule. Attributes of the work products and tasks include size, complexity, service level, availability, weight, form, fit, and function.
Parameters to be considered should include the frequency of monitoring. Frequency considerations may include the possible need for monitoring each service request or incident, and possibly even continuous monitoring for continuously delivered services.
Monitoring typically involves measuring actual values of project planning parameters, comparing actual values to estimates in the plan, and identifying significant deviations. Recording actual values of project planning parameters includes recording associated contextual information to help understand measures. An analysis of the impact that significant deviations have on determining the corrective actions to take is handled in specific goal 2 and its specific practices in this process area.
Typical Work Products
1. Records of project performance
2. Records of significant deviations
Subpractices
1. Monitor progress against the schedule.
Progress monitoring typically includes the following:
• Periodically measuring the actual completion of activities and milestones
• Comparing actual completion of activities and milestones against the project plan schedule
• Identifying significant deviations from the project plan budget and schedule estimates
2. Monitor the project’s cost and expended effort.
Effort and cost monitoring typically includes the following:
• Periodically measuring the actual effort and costs expended and staff assigned
• Comparing actual effort, costs, staffing, and training to the project plan budget and estimates
• Identifying significant deviations from the project plan budget and schedule
3. Monitor the attributes of work products and tasks.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about developing and sustaining a measurement capability used to support management information needs.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about establishing estimates of work product and task attributes.
Monitoring the attributes of work products and tasks typically includes the following:
• Periodically measuring the actual attributes of work products and tasks, such as size, complexity, or service levels (and changes to these attributes)
• Comparing the actual attributes of work products and tasks (and changes to these attributes) to project plan estimates
• Identifying significant deviations from project plan estimates
4. Monitor resources provided and used.
Refer to the Capacity and Availability Management process area for more information about monitoring and analyzing capacity.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about planning the project’s resources.
Examples of resources include the following:
• Physical facilities
• Computers, peripherals, and software used in design, manufacturing, testing, and operation
• Networks
• Security environment
• Project staff
• Processes
5. Monitor the knowledge and skills of project personnel.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about planning needed knowledge and skills.
Monitoring the knowledge and skills of project personnel typically includes the following:
• Periodically measuring the acquisition of knowledge and skills by project personnel
• Comparing actual training obtained to that documented in the project plan
• Identifying significant deviations from estimates in the project plan
6. Document significant deviations in project planning parameters.
SP 1.2 Monitor Commitments
Monitor commitments against those identified in the project plan.
Typical Work Products
1. Records of commitment reviews
Subpractices
1. Regularly review commitments (both external and internal).
2. Identify commitments that have not been satisfied or are at significant risk of not being satisfied.
3. Document the results of commitment reviews.
SP 1.3 Monitor Project Risks
Monitor risks against those identified in the project plan.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about identifying project risks.
Refer to the Risk Management process area for more information about identifying potential problems before they occur so that risk-handling activities can be planned and invoked as needed across the life of the product or project to mitigate adverse impacts on achieving objectives.
Typical Work Products
1. Records of project risk monitoring
Subpractices
1. Periodically review the documentation of risks in the context of the project’s current status and circumstances.
An example risk whose status might change is a threat to the continuity of operations or a change to the average mix of service request types coming from end users. If the risk has become more likely or the possible impact more severe, then corrective action may be necessary.
2. Revise the documentation of risks as additional information becomes available.
As projects progress (especially those of long duration or continuous operation), new risks arise, and it is important to identify, analyze, and plan the appropriate response (or mitigation) for these new risks. For example, software, equipment, and tools in use may become obsolete; or key personnel may gradually lose skills in areas of particular long-term importance to the project and organization. It is important to identify, analyze, and address these new risks.
3. Communicate the risk status to relevant stakeholders.
Examples of risk status include the following:
• A change in the probability that the risk occurs
• A change in risk priority
SP 1.4 Monitor Data Management
Monitor the management of project data against the project plan.
Refer to the Plan Data Management specific practice in the Project Planning process area for more information about identifying types of data to be managed and how to plan for their management.
Data management activities should be monitored to ensure that data management requirements are being satisfied. Depending on the results of monitoring and changes in project requirements, situation, or status, it may be necessary to re-plan the project’s data management activities.
Typical Work Products
1. Records of data management
Subpractices
1. Periodically review data management activities against their description in the project plan.
2. Identify and document significant issues and their impacts.
An example of a significant issue is when stakeholders do not have the access to project data they need to fulfill their roles as relevant stakeholders.
3. Document results of data management activity reviews.
SP 1.5 Monitor Stakeholder Involvement
Monitor stakeholder involvement against the project plan.
Refer to the Plan Stakeholder Involvement specific practice in the Project Planning process area for more information about identifying relevant stakeholders and planning appropriate involvement with them.
Stakeholder involvement should be monitored to ensure that appropriate interactions occur. Depending on the results of monitoring and changes in project requirements, situation, or status, it may be necessary to re-plan stakeholder involvement.
Typical Work Products
1. Records of stakeholder involvement
Subpractices
1. Periodically review the status of stakeholder involvement.
2. Identify and document significant issues and their impacts.
3. Document the results of stakeholder involvement status reviews.
SP 1.6 Conduct Progress Reviews
Periodically review the project’s progress, performance, and issues.
A “project’s progress” is the project’s status as viewed at a particular time when the project activities performed so far and their results and impacts are reviewed with relevant stakeholders (especially project representatives and project management) to determine whether there are significant issues or performance shortfalls that must be addressed.
Progress reviews are project reviews to keep stakeholders informed. These project reviews can be informal and may not be specified explicitly in project plans.
Typical Work Products
1. Documented project review results
Subpractices
1. Regularly communicate status on assigned activities and work products to relevant stakeholders.
Managers, staff members, customers, end users, suppliers, and other relevant stakeholders are included in reviews as appropriate.
2. Review the results of collecting and analyzing measures for controlling the project.
The measurements reviewed include those collected for service parameter measures identified in project planning (e.g., availability, number of users) and may include those collected for measures of customer satisfaction.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about aligning measurement and analysis activities and providing measurement results.
3. Identify and document significant issues and deviations from the plan.
4. Document change requests and problems identified in work products and processes.
Refer to the Configuration Management process area for more information about tracking and controlling changes.
5. Document the results of reviews.
6. Track change requests and problem reports to closure.
SP 1.7 Conduct Milestone Reviews
Review the project’s accomplishments and results at selected project milestones.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about providing measurement results.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about identifying major milestones.
Milestones are preplanned events or times at which a thorough review of status is conducted to understand how well stakeholder requirements are being met. (If the project includes a developmental milestone, then the review is conducted to ensure that the assumptions and requirements associated with that milestone are being met.) Milestones may be associated with the overall project or a particular service type or instance. Milestones can thus be event based or calendar based.
Milestone reviews are planned during project planning and are typically formal reviews.
Progress reviews and milestone reviews need not be held separately. A single review can address the intent of both. For example, a single preplanned review can evaluate progress, issues, and performance up through a planned time period (or milestone) against the plan’s expectations.
Typical Work Products
1. Documented milestone review results
Subpractices
1. Conduct milestone reviews with relevant stakeholders at meaningful points in the project’s schedule, such as the completion of selected stages.
Managers, staff members, customers, end users, suppliers, and other relevant stakeholders are included in milestone reviews as appropriate.
2. Review commitments, the plan, status, and risks of the project.
The reviews may include an analysis of measurements collected for customer satisfaction.
3. Identify and document significant issues and their impacts.
4. Document results of the review, action items, and decisions.
5. Track action items to closure.
SG 2 Manage Corrective Action to Closure
Corrective actions are managed to closure when the project’s performance or results deviate significantly from the plan.
SP 2.1 Analyze Issues
Collect and analyze issues and determine corrective actions necessary to address them.
This analysis is performed for a different purpose and generally on different issues than the analysis performed as part of incident analysis, problem analysis, or change request analysis. However, the same or a similar mechanism may be used to analyze each of these types of issues and to manage them to closure. How best to implement a common solution for their analysis and management to closure depends on the risk of failing to handle each appropriately and the costs incurred by alternative solutions.
Typical Work Products
1. List of issues requiring corrective actions
Subpractices
1. Gather issues for analysis.
Issues are collected from reviews and the execution of other processes.
Examples of issues to be gathered include the following:
• Issues discovered when performing verification and validation activities
• Significant deviations in project planning parameters from estimates in the project plan
• Commitments (either internal or external) that have not been satisfied
• Significant changes in risk status
• Data access, collection, privacy, or security issues
• Stakeholder representation or involvement issues
• Repetitive deviations that accumulate before becoming significant, but whose resolution should be addressed
• Product, tool, or environment transition assumptions (or other customer or supplier commitments) that have not been achieved
2. Analyze issues to determine the need for corrective action.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about corrective action criteria.
Corrective action is required when the issue, if left unresolved, may prevent the project from meeting its objectives.
SP 2.2 Take Corrective Action
Take corrective action on identified issues.
Typical Work Products
1. Corrective action plans
Subpractices
1. Determine and document the appropriate actions needed to address identified issues.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about developing a project plan.
Examples of potential actions include the following:
• Modifying the statement of work
• Modifying requirements
• Revising estimates and plans
• Renegotiating commitments
• Adding resources
• Changing processes
• Revising project risks
2. Review and get agreement with relevant stakeholders on the actions to be taken.
3. Negotiate changes to internal and external commitments.
SP 2.3 Manage Corrective Actions
Manage corrective actions to closure.
Typical Work Products
1. Corrective action results
Subpractices
1. Monitor corrective actions for their completion.
Refer to the Incident Resolution and Prevention process area for more information about monitoring the status of incidents to closure.
2. Analyze results of corrective actions to determine the effectiveness of the corrective actions.
3. Determine and document appropriate actions to correct deviations from planned results from performing corrective actions.
Lessons learned as a result of taking corrective action can be inputs to planning and risk management processes.