Locked lesson.
About this lesson
The monitoring and controlling processes track the project progress and implement changes and corrective actions when needed. There are twelve monitoring and controlling processes. Part 1.
Exercise files
Download this lesson’s related exercise files.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Part 1.docx62.4 KB Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Part 1 - Solution.docx
62.2 KB
Quick reference
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Part 1
The monitoring and controlling processes track the project progress and implement changes and corrective actions when needed. There are twelve monitoring and controlling processes.
When to use
Once a project has been initiated and approved, these processes are used throughout the remaining lifecycle of the project in order to ensure the project goals and objectives are achieved. They can be applied in a continuous manner or in an episodic manner. If done in an episodic manner, the episodes frequency should be rapid.
Instructions
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
“Those processes required to track, review and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.” PMBOK® Guide
Due to the unique nature of every project, the project activities must be monitored. The project cannot be put on “autopilot” by publishing the project plan and trusting that everything will go smoothly. The uncertainty and uniqueness of a project means that there will be aspects of the plan that are not accurate. Many of these can be addressed through the minor corrective actions of these processes. Sometime, there will need to be a larger change and new baselines created.
There are twelve processes in the Monitoring and Controlling process group. Three of those processes are addressed in this lesson and the other nine are addressed in other lessons. The three in this module are: Monitor and Control Project Work, Perform Integrated Change Control, and Control Schedule.
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017 Part 2, Figure 1-2, Page 562 and Glossary definition, Page 711. |
Monitor and Control Project Work (4.5)
“The process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.” PMBOK® Guide
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Integration Mgmt Knowledge Area
This process is a combination process. It includes monitoring what is happening in the project and comparing the project performance against the plan. Based upon the variances and insights from this monitoring, this process also determines what corrective or preventive action is required to stay on plan or return to plan. If the plan must change, a different process will manage the change. Also, it converts the work performance information gathered by the monitoring and controlling processes in the other knowledge areas and converts those into work performance reports.
Inputs:
- Project Management Plan
- Work Performance Information
- Agreements
- Project Documents
- Enterprise Environmental Factors
- Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques:
- Expert Judgement
- Data Analysis
- Decision Making
- Meetings
Outputs:
- Change Requests
- Work Performance Reports
- Project Management Plan Updates
- Project Document Updates
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Figure 4-11, Page 106 and Glossary definition, Page 711. |
Perform Integrated Change Control (4.6)
“The process of reviewing all change requests; approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, organizational process assets, project documents and the project management plan; and communicating the decisions.” PMBOK® Guide
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Integration Mgmt Knowledge Area
The purpose of this process is to ensure that the inevitable changes which occur to the project plan are coordinated and integrated across the project team and the project management knowledge areas. Uncoordinated changes will quickly derail a project and the project team will have errors, omissions, and undo-redo actions due to these changes. A well-coordinated and integrated change process will also ensure the stakeholders understand the impact both to the project and to the business benefit of implementing the change, or not implementing the change. On large multi-functional projects, this activity must be tightly managed.
There is one inconsistency in the PMBOK® Guide associated with this process. One of the process outputs from Direct and Manage Project Work is Deliverables and they are shown in that process as though they are an input to this process. However, Deliverables are not listed as an input in Perform Integrated Change Control Process.
Inputs:
- Project Management Plan
- Work Performance Reports
- Change Requests
- Project Documents
- Enterprise Environmental Factors
- Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques:
- Expert Judgment
- Meetings
- Change Control Tools
- Data Analysis
- Decision Making
Outputs:
- Approved Change Requests
- Project Management Plan Updates
- Project Documents Updates
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Figure 4-13, Page 114 and Glossary definition, Page 712. |
Control Schedule (6.6)
“The process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project schedule and manage changes to the schedule baseline.” PMBOK® Guide
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Time Mgmt Knowledge Area
The focus of this process is to recognize deviations to the project schedule baseline as soon as practicable so as to take appropriate preventive and corrective actions, thereby lowering project risk. This process both manages the project schedule and attempts to control factors that will influence the project schedule. This process works closely with the Perform Integrated Change Control process to ensure the schedule changes are documented in the schedule baseline and the impact of those changes on the other baselines has been coordinated.
Inputs:
- Project Management Plan
- Work Performance Data
- Project Documents
- Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques:
- Data Analysis
- Project Management Information System
- Resource Optimization
- Critical Path Method
- Leads and Lags
- Schedule Compression
Outputs:
- Work Performance Information
- Schedule Forecasts
- Change Requests
- Project Management Plan Updates
- Project Documents Updates
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Figure 6-23, Page 223 and Glossary definition, Page 702. PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. |
Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.
PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.