Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Part 3

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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 3.

Quick reference

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Part 3

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.  Five of those processes are addressed in this lesson and the other seven are addressed in other lessons.  The five in this lesson are: Control Costs, Control Resources, Control Procurements Monitor Communications and Monitor Stakeholder Engagement.

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017 Part 2, Figure 2-1, Page 562 and Glossary definition, Page 711.        

Control Costs (7.4)

“The process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline.” PMBOK® Guide

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group                  Cost Mgmt Knowledge Area

The focus of this process is to recognize deviations to the project planned expenditures or budget baseline as soon as practicable so as to take appropriate preventive and corrective actions, thereby lowering project risk.  To do this accurately, the project team must have a good understanding of what progress has been made in addition to how much money has been spent.  Otherwise the project could be meeting its monthly spending goals, but falling behind in the work.  At some time, the project work that is late must be done and this will turn into an overrun. This process works closely with the Perform Integrated Change Control process to ensure the budget changes are documented in the budget baseline and the impact of those changes on the other baselines has been coordinated.   

Inputs:

  • Project Management Plan
  • Project Funding Requirements
  • Work Performance Data
  • Project Documents
  • Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques:

  • Expert Judgement
  • To Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
  • Data Analysis
  • Project Management Information System

Outputs: 

  • Work Performance Information
  • Cost 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 7-11, Page 258 and Glossary definition, Page 702.

Control Resources (9.6)

“The process of ensuring that the physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned, as well as monitoring the planned versus actual utilization of resources and performing corrective action as necessary.” PMBOK® Guide

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group                   Resource Mgmt Knowledge Area

In the course of a project lifecycle, resource changes are likely.  There may be changes to team members as people leave or join the organization and project team.  There may also be changes in physical resources as equipment is upgraded, facilities are modified, or material usage changes from the original plan.  This process tracks the application of the resources to determine their availability and effectiveness.

Inputs:

  • Project Management Plan
  • Agreements
  • Work Performance Data
  • Project Documents
  • Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques:

  • Data Analysis
  • Problem Solving
  • Project Management Information System
  • Interpersonal and Team Skills

Outputs: 

  • Work Performance Information
  • 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 9-15, Page 353 and Glossary definition, Page 702.

Control Procurements (12.3)

"The process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, making changes and corrections as appropriate, and closing project contracts.” PMBOK® Guide

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group                  Procurement Mgmt Knowledge Area

The focus of this process is to ensure both buyer and seller abide by the terms of the contract.  Each party wants to ensure that the legal obligations have been met.  Due to the legal overtones of this process, many organizations have a separate contracts or procurement department that does this work.  These individuals are trained in contract law and are able to administer the contract in accordance with the law.  Project management teams may not be aware of legal provisions with which they must comply.  However, contracts and procurement individuals may not be aware of the unique requirements of the project, so project managers cannot ignore this activity.   The control in this process extends through to the closeout of the procurement to ensure the supplier complied with all requirements of their contract and that the appropriate payments have been made. Some projects will not be using any contracts and in that case this process is irrelevant for that project.     

Inputs:

  • Project Management Plan
  • Procurement Documents
  • Agreements
  • Approved Change Requests
  • Work Performance Data
  • Organizational Process Assets
  • Enterprise Environmental Factors

Tools and Techniques:

  • Expert Judgement
  • Data Analysis
  • Claims Administration
  • Inspections
  • Audits

Outputs: 

  • Work Performance Information
  • Change Requests
  • Close Procurements
  • Project Management Plan Updates
  • Project Documents Updates
  • Procurement Documentation Updates
  • Organizational Process Assets Updates

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Figure 12-7, Page 493 and Glossary definition, Page 702.

Monitor Communications (10.3)

“The process ensuring the information needs of the project and its stakeholders are met.” PMBOK® Guide

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group                       Communications Mgmt Knowledge Area

This process is focused on creating an optimal flow of communication within the project.  It is different from the process Manage Communication which is focused on getting the right content to the right individual.  This process focuses on the process of communication and ensures it is timely and efficient.  The process looks for ways to improve communication and understanding between stakeholders and team members.

Inputs:

  • Project Management Plan
  • Work Performance Data
  • Project Documents
  • Organizational Process Assets
  • Enterprise Environmental Factors

Tools and Techniques:

  • Project Management Information Systems
  • Expert Judgment
  • Meetings
  • Data Analysis
  • Interpersonal and Team Skills

Outputs:

  • Work Performance Information
  • 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 10-8, Page 389 and Glossary definition, Page 711.

Monitor Stakeholder Engagement (13.4)

“The process of monitoring project stakeholder relationships, and tailoring strategies for engaging stakeholders through the modification of engagement strategies and plans.” PMBOK® Guide

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group      Stakeholder Mgmt Knowledge Area

Many project management methodologies call for regular interaction between the project team and the many different stakeholders.  This process ensures that the interactions happen and that they achieve their purpose.  The process ensures the stakeholder management plan is implemented and updated as required throughout the life of the project.  This process is less deterministic than some because the stakeholders and their needs can be very different from project to project.

Inputs:

  • Project Management Plan
  • Work Performance Data
  • Project Documents
  • Organizational Process Assets
  • Enterprise Environmental Factors

Tools and Techniques:

  • Data Analysis
  • Data Representation
  • Decision Making
  • Meetings
  • Communication Skills
  • Interpersonal and Team Skills

Outputs: 

  • Work Performance Information
  • 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 13-10, Page 531 and Glossary definition, Page 711. PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
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  • 00:04 Hello, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 And I've been discussing the project management processes
  • 00:09 that are in the project monitoring and controlling process group.
  • 00:12 This lesson is part three of three.
  • 00:16 The first process in this lesson is Control Costs.
  • 00:20 The project management body of knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
  • 00:22 defines this as the process of monitoring the status of the project
  • 00:27 to update the project costs and manage changes to the costs baseline.
  • 00:32 The inputs are, again, the project management plan and
  • 00:34 work performance data, project documents, and the organizational process assets.
  • 00:39 In addition, since this is the control cost process, the project funding
  • 00:44 requirements from determined budget process are also an input.
  • 00:48 The outputs are similar to control schedule, only with the cost focus.
  • 00:53 There is the work performance information used by manage and control project work,
  • 00:57 change request use by performing a great change control, and in this case,
  • 01:01 cost forecasts.
  • 01:02 And so, the schedule forecasts are the new project document that is created.
  • 01:06 Of course, there's still the updates to the project manager plan and
  • 01:09 other project documents.
  • 01:11 Three of the tools of techniques are familiar, one is new.
  • 01:14 We have Expert Judgment, Data Analysis, and
  • 01:17 the Project Management Information System as familiar ones.
  • 01:20 The new one is the To-Complete Performance Index or TCPI.
  • 01:25 I'll explain this technique in one of the lessons on Earned Value Analysis.
  • 01:30 Next is the new process control resources.
  • 01:32 The project management body of knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
  • 01:35 defines this as the process of ensuring that the physical resource is assigned and
  • 01:39 allocated to the project are available as planned,
  • 01:43 as well as monitoring the plan versus actual utilization of resources, and
  • 01:48 performing corrective actions as necessary.
  • 01:51 The inputs are, again, the project management plan and
  • 01:54 work performance data, project documents and organizational process assets.
  • 01:59 In addition, this time we've been included agreements from the conduct procurement
  • 02:03 process since some of these resources may be procured on contract.
  • 02:08 The outputs are the standard ones for controlling processes.
  • 02:12 There is the Work Performance Information that's used by manage and control project
  • 02:15 work, and Change Requests used by the Perform integrated Change Control process.
  • 02:20 Added to these are updates to the Project Management Plan and
  • 02:23 other project documents.
  • 02:25 Tools and techniques are, again, familiar ones.
  • 02:27 We have data analysis, problem solving, interpersonal and
  • 02:30 team skills, and the project management information system.
  • 02:34 Continuing with our theme of spending money and controlling resources,
  • 02:37 let's go on to the next process.
  • 02:39 The project manager body of knowledge, the PMBOK Guide, has defined the control
  • 02:43 procurement process as the process of managing procurement relationships,
  • 02:47 monitoring contract performance, making changes and
  • 02:50 corrections as appropriate, and closing project contracts.
  • 02:55 The inputs are the Project Management Plan, Work Performance Data, and
  • 02:59 Approved Change Requests, all from the integrating processes.
  • 03:02 In addition,
  • 03:03 the inputs includes procurement documents from the Plan Procurement Process, and
  • 03:08 agreements from the Conduct Procurement Process.
  • 03:11 The final items are the Organizational Process Assets and
  • 03:14 Enterprise Environmental Factors.
  • 03:16 Most of the outputs are standard ones that we have seen on other monitoring and
  • 03:19 controlling processes such as work performance information used by manage and
  • 03:23 control project work and change request used by perform integrated change control.
  • 03:28 Along with updates to the project management plan, project documents and
  • 03:32 organizational process assets.
  • 03:34 Well, here we have two more that are unique to this process.
  • 03:37 These will go with procurement documents which we've been tracking separately.
  • 03:40 The first one is an updates to those documents.
  • 03:43 And the second one is closed procurements.
  • 03:47 Most of the tools and techniques are ones that are already commonly in use.
  • 03:50 This is expert judgment and data analysis, and we've also seen inspection and
  • 03:54 audits before.
  • 03:55 But I think this is the first time that we have seen claims administration on
  • 03:59 this list.
  • 04:01 Next, I would like to discuss monitor communications.
  • 04:04 The project management body of knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
  • 04:07 defines this as the process ensuring the information needs of the project and
  • 04:11 its stakeholders are met.
  • 04:13 The inputs are the standard ones.
  • 04:14 Project management plan, work performance data, project documents, and
  • 04:18 organizational process assets, and enterprise environmental factors.
  • 04:22 The outputs are also standard ones that we've come to expect from controlling
  • 04:25 processes.
  • 04:26 Work performance information that is used by monitor and controlling project work,
  • 04:30 updates to the project management plan, change requests that will be processed by
  • 04:34 perform integrated change control, and project management updates.
  • 04:39 The tools and techniques are expert judgment, meetings, data analysis,
  • 04:43 interpersonal and team skills, and the project information management system.
  • 04:48 The final process in this process group, is monitor stakeholder engagements.
  • 04:52 The project manager body of knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
  • 04:55 defines this as the process of monitoring project stakeholders relationship,
  • 05:00 and tailoring strategies for engaging stakeholders
  • 05:03 through the modification of engagement strategies and plans.
  • 05:07 The inputs in this process are the project management plan,
  • 05:09 work performance data, along with project documents, organizational process assets,
  • 05:14 and enterprise environmental factors.
  • 05:16 The outputs are our old standbys.
  • 05:18 Work performance information, change requests, project management plan updates,
  • 05:22 and project document updates.
  • 05:25 Tools and techniques are meetings, data analysis, data representation,
  • 05:29 decision making, communication skills, and interpersonal and team skills.
  • 05:34 25% of the PMP exam will come from these 12 monitoring and controlling processes.
  • 05:42 So that means an average of about four questions per process.

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