Module 5

Executing Projects
 Project Monitoring and
• Introduction:
Controlling
• Monitoring and controlling are processes
required to track, review and regulate the
progress and performance of the project.
• (to track = to follow ,to review = to go over, to
regulate = to put in order)
• By monitoring and controlling – the project
performance is observed and measured regularly
and consistently to identify variances from the
project management plan.
 Project Monitoring and
• What are to beControlling
monitored & controlled?
• What is monitoring ?
• What is controlling ?
• Who does the monitoring & controlling ?
• What are the project aspects they monitor & control?
• What is document used in Monitoring & Controlling ?
 Project Monitoring and
•
Controlling
Monitoring - collecting & measuring performance
information & assessing the results .
• Controlling - corrective or preventive action to be done .
• The monitoring & controlling – by Project Manager &
Project Management Team.
• They monitor & control – scope, schedule (time) & cost +
Quality.
• Document used in Monitoring & Controlling – Project
Management Plan.
 Project Monitoring and Controlling cycle
• The plan–monitor-control cycle constitutes a “closed
loop” process
• Continues until the project is completed
• With complex projects, there is a temptation to
minimize the planning–monitoring–controlling
effort so that “real work” can be done
 Project Monitoring and Controlling cycle
• The objective of project monitoring and control
process is to:
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date information about the
project status and performance throughout the project
lifecycle.
• Evaluate the actual performance of a project versus the
desire and planned performance.
• Offer project estimations and performance insights that
can be used to update the schedule and budget.
• Determine if corrective or preventive measures are
required.
• Assess the effectiveness of effected changes and provide
information that supports forecasting at different phases.
Project Monitoring and Controlling cycle
• Monitoring and Controlling process includes:
• Monitor and Control Project Work & Perform
Integrated Change Control
• Verify Scope and Control Scope
• Control Schedule and Control Cost- SPI and CPI
• Perform Quality Control
• Managing the Project Team
• Report Performance
• Control Risk
• Managing the Stakeholders
 Information needs and
• reporting
A technique used to identify all the information necessary for achieving
certain goals or objectives, such as performing an activity, satisfying
customer needs, or making strategic decisions.
• An information need is an unstructured statement that describes a
type of information required by an organizational unit to enable it to
meet its objectives and support its functions.
• The result of applying this technique is, typically, a summary that
shows, per business activity, the information needs, by type of usage
and by category.
• Other information typically included, are the business objects
supported, current availability, information medium, current source
system, requirements satisfaction, and the relative importance for the
business activity.
 Information needs and
reporting
Objectives / Benefits
• To identify and set priorities for the information needed to
support business activities and to reach the business goals.
• To gain further insight into the business structure for
subsequent improvement of the information architecture.
• To understand the implications of these priorities for
current and planned systems, technical facilities, etc., as
part of an enterprise engineering project.
• To facilitate commitment to the strategy developed to
meet reengineering or other enterprise goals and
objectives.
 Information needs and
Procedures reporting
• Identify source material and source interviews, focus
groups, or questionnaires.
• Review materials and itemize a list of information needs.
• Consolidate needs and develop an information needs
summary diagram.
• Collect additional data, as required, to complete the
information needs summary diagram.
• Determine the relative importance of each information
need.
• Confirm results.
• Use as input into information architecture development or
impact assessment.
 Reporting of information in
Project Reporting -
PM is the act of producing formal and informal reports
to communicate the status of the project.
• Reporting is usually done at regular intervals throughout the project.
Stakeholders, sponsors and the project team agree on the frequency of
the reporting.
• In general, project reporting helps manage the expectations of
stakeholders. It also provide the status of the scope, time, and budget
of the project.
Benefits of Project Reporting
• project teams and stakeholders are able to track the current progress
of the project and compare it against the original plan.
• They can identify risks early on, and take corrective action.
• Reports make it easy for everybody to see expenses and manage the
budget with more visibility. In fact, reporting increases visibility in all
aspects of the project, including team performance.
• Thus, reporting is a process that requires completeness and accuracy. It
promotes thoroughness, and ensures all aspects of the project are
covered.
 Types of PM Report
1. Project Timeline Report
Timeline is a critical element. Project has a defined timeline.
Timeline should be a visual overview of project from start to end.
2. Project Budget or Financial report
Budget is an important report. Ideally, the report will show
budget verses actual costs.
3. Project Team contact Data
team members are often from various departments,
companies, even spread across the world. Create and distribute a list
of team members, their roles and how to reach them, to ensure clear
channels of communication
4. Project Risk Register
creating an initial risk register is key to risk management. Early
on the project, there will be a lot of these. Review and update the list
often throughout the project.
 Types of PM Report
5. Project status report
• The project status report is a critical report that shows stakeholders a
general snapshot of how well the project is advancing toward its
targets. The project status report can be thought of as a general update
that’s designed to keep stakeholders or progress, emerging issues, and
key points to note, all at a glance.
6. Project health report
• Project health reports are designed to update stakeholders on the
overall health of the project, derived from whether the project is either
advancing as projected, in danger of stagnating, or completely
stagnated.
• Why you need project health reports:
• The project health report answers the following questions:
• Are we on track to deliver this project on target? Have we stagnated?
• How far off are we from the target? What needs the most attention to
get us back on track?
• Project health reports make it easy to identify when something’s
wrong so the team can identify what and get it out of the way.
 Types of PM Report
7. Team availability reports
• The team availability report functions like a team calendar that shows
every team member’s schedule so it’s easy to see who’s occupied and
when they are busy. This way, stakeholders planning for a project or
requiring input anywhere can see which team members can be
assigned, those who can safely take on more work, as well as those
who are at full capacity and might need assistance.
• An availability report plots staff names against calendar days, with
either a color tone or a written designation showing their workload for
each calendar day.
 Types of PM Report
8. Risk reports
• A risk report identifies the blockers hindering a project’s successful
completion and presents it for the stakeholders’ analysis. The risk
report is designed to not only display existing or potential obstacles but
to offer a sense of the danger they pose to the project so the project’s
stakeholders can take adequate steps to eliminate or adapt the project.
9. Time tracking report
• Time tracking helps the project management team & stakeholders see
how much time is getting spent by team members at every stage of the
project management process. A time tracking report helps the team to
see how much time overall is spent on specific tasks and how much
individual team members spend on tasks.
10. Baseline report
• A baseline report compares your original timeline with your actual
project timeline so you can learn from the past as you scope out future
projects. It’s also handy for showing how changes or delays affect the
overall project timeline.
 Engaging with all stakeholders of the
Projects
• The stakeholder engagement plan is "a component of the
project management plan that identifies the strategies and
actions required to promote productive involvement of
stakeholders in project or program decision making and
execution.
• 10 Ways to Engage Project Stakeholders
• 1. Identify stakeholders early . You can’t engage
stakeholders until you know who they are. As you are
initiating your projects, start identifying your stakeholders.
Additionally, create a project stakeholder register.
• 2. Get stakeholders talking to one another - invite key
stakeholders to your initial project meetings as you are
developing the project charter. Resolve conflicts as soon as
possible.
 Engaging with all stakeholders of the
Projects
• 3. Seek to understand before being understood - Steven
Covey shared this principle years ago. It still holds true.
Furthermore, people want to know that you really want to
hear their perspective first.
• 4. Listen, really listen- Part of understanding is making
time to sit face-to-face, when possible, and truly listen. Ask
probing questions.
• 5. Lead with integrity- Meaningful engagement requires
trust. Say what you mean; mean what you say. And then do
what you said you would do.
• 6. Engage your stakeholders in the estimates- Ask the people that will
do the work for estimates. And help stakeholders to understand that
there is greater uncertainty in the early estimates. Commit to providing
refined estimates as your projects progress.
 Engaging with all stakeholders of the
Projects
• 7. Work WITH your team- The best project managers work with their
stakeholders to break down their projects into deliverables and tasks.
This helps everyone to have a better understanding of the project.
Furthermore, stakeholders will more likely support a plan that they
helped create.
• 8. Manage expectations - Each of your stakeholders has expectations,
sometimes false expectations. Working with your team will clarify
many of these aspects of the project.
• 9. Say thank you - When team members and other stakeholders
complete activities, respond to emails and voicemails, make you aware
of things you didn’t know, respond with thanks.
• 10. Communicate - Ninety percent of a project manager’s job is
communication. Develop and maintain a communications plan.
Creative project managers minimize a potential communications
breakdown by communicating through a variety of channels, not one
or two.
 Team management
• Team - A team is a number of persons associated together
in work or activity.
• Team management refers to techniques, processes and
tools for organizing and coordinating a group of individuals
working towards a common goal—i.e. a team.
• Team management is the responsibility of Project manager.
• Moreover, team management is the capability to identify
problems and resolve conflicts within a team. There are
various methods and leadership styles a team manager can
take to increase personnel productivity and build an
effective team.
 Team management
• Following are the methods that can be used by the PM to
manage the team effectively:
• 1. Be transparent
• Transparent working environments have been found to make teams
more accountable, happy and creative.
• Transparent environments help to develop a feeling of mutual respect
between team members and team leaders. Via open and consistent
communication, transparent and authentic workplaces help employees
to feel secure in their positions. In turn, team members feel freer to
contribute ideas and suggestions, enhancing creativity.
• 2. Keep communicating
• The aim is to create an environment in which team leaders feel able to
provide honest and constructive feedback, and team members feel
confident to voice concerns and communicate with one another.
• For teams with members working remotely, Google Hangouts can
provide an ideal way to ensure some face-to-face time is achieved.
 Team management
• 3. Provide valuable feedback
• Providing feedback to team members is one of the best ways PM can
support them to develop professionally and personally.
• Even if PM have no negative feedback to give, he should make sure to
hold regular opportunities to check-in. This way, he can provide advice
on how he feel about his team members are progressing and could
grow further. If there are any areas of work that he feel could be
improved, these discussions also provide a good opportunity to share
his constructive feedback.
• 4. Encourage collaboration
• Inevitably, team members will be happier if they can get along well
with one another.
• To achieve this, PM have to encourage his team members to
collaborate. In team, there will likely be a whole bunch of diverse
skills. PM have to recognize these different skillsets and must be
utilized by ensuring tha everyone is aware of ongoing [Link]
way, team members can jump in to collaborate wherever they feel they
can bring value.
 Team management
• 5. Engage and Create:
• In this method team members are encouraged to
participate in discussions and contribute. Furthermore,
they are advised to engage with other team members to
build a stronger sense of teamwork and unity. This will lead
to increased productivity and accountability of each team
member, driving the team towards success.
 Project Communication
• Completing a complex project successfully requires good communication
among team members. If those team members work in the same building,
they can arrange regular meetings, simply stop by each other’s office
space to get a quick answer, or even discuss a project informally at other
office functions. Many projects are performed by teams that interact
primarily through electronic communication and are, therefore, called
called virtual teams.
• To avoid miscommunication that can harm trust and to include team
members in a project culture, the project team needs a plan for
communicating reliably and in a timely manner. This planning begins with
understanding two major categories of communication.
• [Link] Communications
• [Link] Communications
 Project Communication
• [Link] Communications- If all the parties to the
communication are taking part in the exchange at the same time, the
communication is synchronous. A telephone conference call is an example
of synchronous communication.
• The following are examples of synchronous communications:
• Live meeting. Gathering of team members at the same location.
• Audio conference. A telephone call between two individuals or a
conference call where several people participate.
• Computer-assisted conference. Audio conference with a connection
between computers that can display a document or spreadsheet that can
be edited by both parties.
• Video conference. Similar to an audio conference but with live images of
the participants. Some laptop computers have built-in cameras to facilitate
video conferencing
 Project Communication
• 2. Asynchronous Communications- When the participants are not
interacting at the same time, the communication is not synchronous, or
asynchronous.
• Getting a team together at the same time can be a challenge—especially if
they are spread out across time zones. Many types of communication do
not require that the parties are present at the same time. This type of
communication is not synchronous; it is asynchronous.
• The following are examples of asynchronous communications:
• Mail and package delivery. Transfer of objects and contracts that need
signatures.
• Fax. Document transmittal over telephone. Facsimiles are accepted for
some documents.
• Electronic mail (e-mail). Text messages with attachments can be
distributed and managed by computer programs.
 Project Communication
• Web log (blog). An online journal may be used to record events, thoughts,
and lessons learned.
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS). News feeds that push relevant content to
a reader to keep the manager informed of new events that could affect
the project.
• Following are some guidelines that can be used for effective
communication across the team:
• A well-defined Communication plan.
• Communication strategies must include details about frequency of
communication, the authorities to be communicated, and the ways to
deal with escalations.
• An open Forum should be developed to encourage team members to
give their opinion and share their ideas, to resolve project-related issues.
• Criticisim should be avoided during the project team meetings so that
participate can share their views without hesitations.
 Project Meeting
• A project meeting is an effective way to disseminate information
and communicate with the project team and stakeholders.
• It is held at regular intervals during the project lifecycle to ensure
that everyone with an interest in the project is appropriately
involved in addressing issues, proposing ideas, and solving
problems.
• The purpose of the project meeting is to arrive at decisions that
result in completed projects that meet their requirements and
goals, on time and on budget.
• A project meeting facilitates collaboration, leadership, and top-
quality decision-making. A well-organized meeting at each critical
stage of the project is the best way to keep projects on track.
Successful project meetings are a hallmark of excellent project
managers.
 Project Meeting
• Types of Project Meeting :
• 1. Regular team meetings: This project meeting is the most
common and frequent meeting type over the project lifecycle.
Whether they are daily, weekly, or monthly, they are
scheduled in the communication management plan.
• 2. Stakeholder meetings: This is an important type of project
meeting, as stakeholder support is significant to project
success. Stakeholder meetings help maintain interest in and
commitment to the project. These meetings are a good
opportunity for the project manager to provide a project
update and hear feedback from stakeholders.
• 3. Change control meetings: Organized by a change control
board, the purpose of this meeting type is to review change
requests.
 Project Meeting
• The board approves or denies changes and communicates with
stakeholders to exchange information and ensure follow-up. In this
project meeting, the project manager should be prepared to
present their professional opinion on the impact of the proposed
change, make a recommendation, and discuss steps for
communicating and implementing the change.
• 4. Status review meetings: Typically, this project meeting follows a
consistent agenda and frequency. It is held to discuss and analyze
information on current project progress. The project manager
provides performance reports to give the team and stakeholders an
understanding of performance levels and task progress.
• The agenda for this project meeting might include:
• Schedule status: Reviewing the project schedule helps attendees
understand the effects of delays, as well as any opportunities that
might be obtained by finishing tasks early.
 Project Meeting
• Scope status: Show how much work has been done, emphasizing
important project milestones.
• Budget status: Compare planned vs actual expenses for the team and
stakeholders.
• Issues / risks: This part of the project meeting is devoted to hearing
questions and concerns so they can be addressed as the project continues.
• 5. Project review meetings: This project meeting is held at the end
of the project or project phase to discuss lessons learned, both in terms of
what to continue and what to improve. Be sure to hold the meeting soon
after completion, before team members have moved on to other work
and put the project behind them. This project meeting is also a great
opportunity to recognize and congratulate the team on their great work.
• 6. Project Kickoff Meeting
• If you begin a project on the right foot, all the subsequent steps will be
easier to manage. Use the following tips to organize an effective project
kickoff meeting.
 Project Meeting
• Be timely. Aim to hold the project meeting as soon as possible within 48
hours of being assigned to the project, if possible.
• Make time for team introductions. Take the time to go around
“the table” for introductions. This step is important even if most people
know each other. Sharing your name, title, and experience with the
organization is all you need.
• Share key project details. Share the key facts that you know about
the project, such as due date, budget (if appropriate), estimated team
size, and some of the challenges you anticipate facing. By raising problems
early, your project team will have the opportunity to start thinking about
them. This is also your opportunity to inspire the team with your vision
and understanding of the project’s value.
• Emphasize the project’s purpose. Explain the big picture reason for
the project that connects to the organization’s goals. For example, this
technology upgrade project will prevent system crashes in the customer
service project. Therefore, this project will make a key contribution to the
company’s goal of offering the best customer service in the industry.
 Earned Value Method
• Earned Value Method also known as Earned Value Analysis
(EVA) is a method that allows the project manager to measure the
amount of work actually performed on a project beyond the basic review
of cost and schedule reports.
• EVA provides a method that permits the project to be measured by
progress achieved. The project manager is then able, using the progress
measured, to forecast a project’s total cost and date of completion, based
on trend analysis or application of the project’s “burn rate”. This method
relies on a key measure known as the project’s earned value.
• Oftentimes the term “earned value” is defined as the “budgeted cost of
worked performed” or BCWP. This budgeted cost of work performed
measure enables the project manager to compute performance indices or
burn rates for cost and schedule performance, which provides information
on how well the project is doing or performing relative to its original plans.
These indices, when applied to future work, allow for to project manager
to forecast how the project will do in the future, assuming the burn rates
will not fluctuate, which oftentimes is a large assumption.
 Earned Value Method
3 inputs to EV method
1) Planned Value:
• Planned Value is the planned expenditure of funds to the date of
analysis, taken from the project schedule. Planned Value (PV). PV can be
looked at in two ways: cumulative and current.
• Cumulative PV is the sum of the approved budget for activities scheduled
to be performed to date.
• Current PV is the approved budget for activities scheduled to be
performed during a given period. This period could represent days, weeks,
months, etc.
2) Actual Costs:
• Actual Cost (AC), also called actual expenditures, is the cost incurred for
executing work on a project. This figure tells you what you have spent and,
as with Planned Value, can be looked at in terms of cumulative and
current.
 Earned Value Method
• Cumulative AC is the sum of the actual cost for activities performed to
date.
• Current AC is the actual costs of activities performed during a given
period. This period could represent days, weeks, months, etc. AC is also
called Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP).
3) Earned Value: is the actual progress of the task to the date
of analysis. This is expressed as the percentage of the total effort
and / or resources expended, and could be measured in units
completed or hours of labor expended. Eg. If 40% task is
completed, then EV = 40% of task budget.
 Earned Value Method
• Planned Value (PV) is determined by the cost and schedule baseline.
Actual Cost (AC) is determined by the actual cost incurred on the project.
Earned Value (EV) tells you, in physical terms, what the project
accomplished.
• Variance Analysis:
There are two basic expressions of variance, schedule variance and cost
variance.
 Earned Value Method
• Schedule variance:
• Schedule Variance status does indicate the dollar value difference
between work that is ahead or behind the plan and reflects a given
measurement method.
• ScheduleVariance status does not address impact of work sequence,
address importance of work, reflect critical path assessment, indicate
amount of time it will slip,identify source(labor&material)of
difference,indicate the time ahead/behind (or regain) schedule, nor
indicate the cost needed to regain schedule.
• The formula utilized to express schedule variance is project earned value
minus the project planned value (SV = EV – PV)
• If the variance is equal to 0, the project is on schedule. If a
negative variance is determined, the project is behind
schedule and if the variance is positive the project is ahead
of schedule.
 Earned Value Method
• Cost Variance: the amount that the project is above or
below budget at the point of analysis
• The cost variance is defined as the “difference between
earned value and actual costs. (CV = EV – AC)”
• Sometimes this formula is expressed as the difference
between budgeted cost of work performed and actual cost
work performed.
• If the variance is equal to 0, the project is on budget. If a
negative variance is determined, the project is over budget
and if the variance is positive the project is under budget.
• Performance Indexes:
• Another analysis that can be done by using EVMS is that of
Performance or establishing the project’s burn rate.
 Earned Value Method
• Two examination of performance are available to the project
manager, Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost
Performance Index (CPI).
• Schedule Performance Index:
• The SPI is defined by PMI’s PMBOK® Guide as “a measure of
schedule efficiency on a project. It is the ratio of earned value
(EV) to planned value (PV). The SPI is equal to earned value
divided by planned value, SPI = EV/PV. An SPI equal to or
greater than one indicates a favorable condition and a value
of less than one indicates an unfavorable condition.”
• Cost Performance Index:
• The CPI is defined by PMI’s PMBOK® Guide as a “measure of
cost efficiency on a project. It is the ratio of earned value (EV)
to actual costs (AC).
 Earned Value Method
• The CPI is equal to the earned value divided by the actual
costs, CPI = EV/AC.”
• Estimates to Complete
• To complete our analysis, we will look at the Estimate at
Completion (EAC) and the Budget at Completion (BAC).
• The Estimate at Completion (EAC) is the actual cost to date
plus an objective estimate of costs for remaining authorized
work. The objective in preparing an EAC is to provide an
accurate projection of cost at the completion of the project.
• The Budget at Completion (BAC) is the sum of all budgets
allocated to a project scope. The Project BAC must always
equal the Project Total PV. If they are not equal, your earned
value calculations and analysis will be inaccurate.
 Earned Value Method
• One common formula for determining the EAC is expressed as
budget at completion divided by the current CPI of the
project. (EAC = BAC/CPI)
 Using milestones for measurement
• A milestone is a marker in a project that signifies a change or
stage in development. Milestones are powerful components in project
management because they show key events and map forward
movement in your project plan.
• Without project milestone tracking, you’re just monitoring
tasks and not necessarily following the right path in your project.
• Milestones are usually set in the planning phase of a project
and get updated as the project progresses. They are visual reference
points that break a project down into manageable chunks, create order
and help to anchor the project and make it less overwhelming.
• Some examples of typical milestones include:
• Start and end dates
• Budget checks
• External or internal reviews
• Tests or inspections
 Using milestones for measurement
• Benefits of using Milestones:
• They help to monitor deadlines - Setting core
milestones in the planning phase of a project will help project
managers to stay on top of all associated headlines.
• Identify potential bottlenecks - Many projects rely on work
produced by external teams or partners. If these external factors
aren't being tracked delays and compression are likely.
• Easily spot critical dates - Using milestones makes it easier
to see the bigger picture and readily spot important dates and
events. Perhaps you or your entire team will need to be out of the
office for a mandatory training session related to the project.
 Using milestones for measurement
• Raises the visibility of the project - Visibility can
make things easier when it comes to project handling. Everyone
can see where a project is and what remains to be done.
• Time and resource allocation - Time and resource
is critical to the completion of all successful projects. Using
milestones helps managers to distribute resources effectively so
that projects are delivered on time and on budget.
• Payments to vendors are often based on milestone
completion - Keep track and time payments to key suppliers
with the completion of milestones.
• Stakeholder involvement varies between milestones -
Stakeholders typically become more involved as a milestone is
approached. Use milestones to plan for when stakeholders
should step closer to the project.
 Using milestones for measurement

• Accountability - Project teams need to see what

they are responsible for. Milestones help everyone to be
accountable for the part they play.
• Demonstrates ‘measures of success’ - It's great to
be able to measure your success! Completing and
passing through all your major milestones is a
satisfying, visible way to demonstrate the overall
success of a project.
 Scope Creep
• PMBOK defines scope creep as the phenomenon of
“adding features and functionality to the project scope
without taking into account the effects it can have on time,
costs, and resources.”
• In other words, scope creep is extra work that you did
not initially plan to do, and work that is not reflected or
included in the agreed scope of the project.
• Scope creep is typically caused by key project
stakeholders changing requirements, or sometimes from
internal miscommunication and disagreements.
 Scope Creep
• Causes of scope creep in project management
1. Poor communications - When the original time and budget estimates
are not met, in most cases, something must have gone wrong on your
communication fronts. There are two common scenarios:
1. Your team has been approached by the client and asked to make a ‘few’
changes to the scope without you knowing it.
2. You’ve failed to communicate project requirements to the team and thus
let the project slide in the unknown direction.
2. Sparsely defined requirements- In addition to inconsistent
communications, scope creep is generally a direct result of poorly defined
requirements. The unclear scope from the beginning can’t lead to a
meaningful result. Often this happens when the team is denied to take the
time needed to collect and define detailed requirements. Everyone ends up
with a fuzzy understanding of the project and their own hidden agenda of
what needs to be done.
 Scope Creep
3. Missing documentation
One of the reasons you may be experiencing project scope creep is the lack of a
single source of truth for the teams, clients, you, and all stakeholders in general, to
rely on. Lacking the statement of work and depth in the specification document,
your project will turn into a center of ideas rather than clearly defined objectives.
4. Lack of control over changes
It often begins with minor changes or feedback from your client, and then
suddenly it turns into several days or weeks of extra work. The original scope of
the project did not include that additional work. Especially if you work with fixed
price projects, and you did not agree to bill your client for those extra hours, it's
quite frankly going to affect the profitability of the project.
5. Long projects
Longer projects are associated with scope creep not only because accurate
predictions are out of reach, but also because stakeholders have more time to
refine their ideas. Couple it with constant comparisons with the competition or
business changes, happening alongside the project. So the longer the project runs,
the higher the chances of scope creep are.
 Scope Creep
• How to avoid scope creep
• 1. Make a clearly defined statement of work-To avoid
those long drawn out projects, you need an adequately defined
Statement of Work (SOW).
• The SOW should function as a detailed building plan
and roadmap of what has to be done on a project. It should be as
specific as possible. A SOW should include the preparations
necessary for every role working on each task within the project. This
way you avoid the potential risk of the client wanting one thing, you
understanding a second, and the assigned person building something
else.
• 2. Assume there will be change - Whenever there’s the case for
change, your job is to control requests for change, manage the
process, and ensure there's good governance. Every change should
be supported by the evidence of need, so make sure it is of value to
the project.
 Scope Creep
• Change management processes have to be set up upfront and you
probably already have these in place. But if you don’t, think and
develop possible scenarios on how you’ll respond to change.
• Here are a few critical steps not to miss:
• Log changes. Changes should not go unnoticed. Make sure you keep a
record of every additional requirement to the scope, so it’s easier to
report to the client and ask for additional resources when necessary.
• Re-plan. Keeping your baseline up-to-date can help you communicate
project progress and lack of resources, among other things.
• Request additional funding. If you follow the two above steps, you
have solid proof for requesting additional funding or resources from
your client.
• 3. Educate your clients
• To prevent scope creep, set up discovery sessions with your clients in
the early stages even before the project begins and develop processes
and strategies around change requests.
• Letting the clients in on your processes and agreeing what’s best for
both sides is essential to your success and future collaboration. Make
sure everybody isgift on the same page when it comes to change
management.
 Scope Creep
• When you move further into the execution phase of the project, set up
weekly status meetings to keep everyone in the loop about what’s
happening. Also, confirm that everyone’s definition of change is the same
across all touchpoints.
• 4. Filter simple adjustments from new tasks
• This one is very specific and critical for both avoiding scope creep and
not becoming a control freak. Whenever you receive feedback on your
project deliverables, make sure to distinguish the input from what is a
simple adjustment to your work from an entirely new task. Adjustments
can be alright, of course, but new tasks are most often out of the initially
defined scope.
• The difference is in what the client is asking to have changed. An
adjustment is a simple change to adapt the experience slightly, i.e.,
creating an entirely new flow or building a new feature around it.
 Project Audit
• The projectaudit is a thorough examination of the
management of a project, its methodology and procedures,
its records, its properties, its budgets and expenditures, and
its degree of completion.
• It may deal with the project as a whole, or only with a part of
the project. The formal report may be presented in various
formats, but should, at a minimum, contain comments on the
following points:
• [Link] status of the [Link] the work actually completed
match the planned level of completion?
• [Link] status. Are significant schedule changes likely? If so, indicate
the nature of the changes.
• [Link] of crucial tasks. What progress has been made on tasks that
could decide the success or failure of the project?
 Project Audit
• [Link] assessment. What is the potential for project failure or
monetary loss?
• [Link] pertinent to other projects. What lessons
learned from the project being audited can be applied to
other projects being undertaken by the organization?
• [Link] of the audit. What assumptions or limitations
affect the data in the audit?
 Phases of Project Audit
• There are six phases of Project Audit:
• 1. Project Audit Initiation
• 2. Project Baseline Definition
• 3. Establishing an Audit Database
• 4. Preliminary Analysis of the Project
• 5. Audit Report Preparation
• 6. Project Audit Termination
 Phases of Project Audit
[Link] Audit Initiation: This step involves starting the audit
process, defining the purpose and scope of the audit, and
gathering sufficient information to determine the proper audit
methodology.
[Link] Baseline Definition: This phase of the cycle normally
consists of identifying the performance areas to be evaluated,
determining standards for each area through benchmarking or
some other process, ascertaining management performance
expectations for each area, and developing a program to
measure and assemble the requisite information. Occasionally,
no convenient standards exist or can be determined through
benchmarking.
 Phases of Project Audit
[Link] an Audit Database: Once the baseline standards are
established, execution of the audit begins. The next step is to create a
database for use by the audit team. Depending on the purpose and scope of
the audit, the database might include information needed for assessment of
project organization, management and control, past and current project
status, schedule performance, cost performance, and output quality, as well
as plans for the future of the project.
The information may vary from a highly technical description of performance
to a behaviourally based description of the interaction of project team
members. Because the purpose and scope of audits vary widely from one
project to another and for different times on any given project, the audit
database is frequently quite extensive. The required database for project
audits should be specified in the project master plan. If this is done, the
necessary information will be available when needed. Nonetheless, it is
important to avoid collecting “anything that might be useful,” since this can
place extraordinary information collection and storage requirements
on the project.
 Phases of Project Audit
[Link] Analysis of the Project: After standards are set and
data collected, judgments are made. Some auditors deliberately
avoid using judgment on the grounds that such a delicate but
weighty responsibility must be reserved to senior management. But
judgment often requires a fairly sophisticated understanding of the
technical aspects of the project, and/or of statistics and probability,
subjects that may avoid some managers.
In such an event, the auditor must analyze the data and then
present the analysis to managers in ways that communicate the
real meaning of the audit’s findings. It is the auditor’s duty to brief
the PM on all findings and judgments before releasing the audit
report. The purpose of the audit is to improve the project being
audited as well as to improve the entire process of managing
projects. It is not intended as a device to embarrass the PM.
 Phases of Project Audit
[Link] Report Preparation: This part of the audit life cycle includes
the preparation of the audit report, organized by whatever format has
been selected for use. A set of recommendations, together with a plan
for implementing them, is also a part of the audit report. If the
recommendations go beyond normal practices of the organization,
they will need support from the policy-making level of management.
This support should be sought and verified before the
recommendations are published. If support is not forthcoming, the
recommendations should be modified until satisfactory.
[Link] Audit Termination: As with the project itself, after the audit
has accomplished its designated task, the audit process should be
terminated. When the final report and recommendations are released,
there will be a review of the audit process. This is done in order to
improve the methods for conducting the audit. When the review is
finished, the audit is truly complete, and the audit team should be
formally disbanded (dissolved).
 Project Procurement Management
• Project Procurement Management includes the processes
necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results
needed from outside the project team. The organization can be
either the buyer or seller of the products, services, or results of
a project.
• Project Procurement Management includes the contract
management and change control processes required to develop
and administer contracts or purchase orders issued by
authorized project team members.
• Project Procurement Management also includes controlling any
contract issued by an outside organization (the buyer) that is
acquiring deliverables from the project from the performing
organization (the seller), and administering contractual
obligations placed on the project team by the contract.
 Project Procurement Management
• Project Procurement Management processes which include the
following:
• 1. Plan Procurement Management - The process of
documenting project Procurement decision, specifying the
approach and identifying the potential sellers.
• [Link] Procurements: The process of obtaining seller
responses, selecting a seller, and awarding a contract.
• [Link] Procurements: The process of managing procurement
relationships, monitoring contract performance, and making
changes and corrections as appropriate.
• [Link] Procurements: The process of completing each project
procurement.
Project Procurement Management

Overview of Project Procurement Management

 Project Procurement Management
• Objectives of Procurement Management
• [Link] of need: When the company needs goods/services,
the company’s needs must be identified in order to choose which
type of service or product will fit best. Then the buyer needs to find
them at the best quality for the best price while also making sure
the supplier is able to deliver.
• [Link] and qualifying the suppliers: Using the Internet or your
supplier databases, you assemble a list of all potential product
and/or service providers. Sometimes it’s useful to run RFIs or gather
additional information, like years on the market and turnover rates,
to pre-qualify suppliers.
• [Link] proposals: To make sure you buy the products or
services under the best conditions – price, quality, etc. – you
request proposals. Based on the results, you know with whom to
start negotiations. The RFP results can be considered an overview
of current market capability.
 Project Procurement Management
• [Link] with suppliers: To achieve the best conditions
regarding prices, terms and delivery, you negotiate with
suppliers. It’s especially essential if it’s the first time you are
working with them. This process can help you evaluate their
trustworthiness as well.
• [Link]: If both parties, the buyer and the supplier, agree
on all terms (pricing, delivery, quality, etc.) you can make it
official by signing a contract.
• [Link]: Throughout the delivery process, you need to
evaluate the products and services delivered to ensure they are
what you had planned to buy, they meet your quality standards,
they arrive on schedule and you are charged the prices outlined
in the contract.
 Project Procurement Management
• [Link] results: Once the project is complete, it is essential
to analyse the process and evaluate its success as well as record
observations for future projects. You may need to present the
outcomes to company management or relevant stakeholders.
The results can be used the next time you need to make a
similar purchase.
 Outsourcing and Contracting
• Outsourcing: It can be defined as the procurements of products or
services from external vendors, suppliers, or manufacturers.
Outsourcing is a strategic approach that makes project procurement
management a more tactical approach. Outsourcing can offer
greater budget flexibility and control.
• Outsourcing let's organizations pay for only the services they need,
when they need them. It also reduces the need to hire and train
specialized staff, brings in fresh engineering expertise, and reduces
capital and operating expenses.
• Example, an individual homeowner, for instance, who needs his house
painted. He could go out and buy paint brushes, rollers, scaffolding,
ladders and insurance and then, take the risk that he can do a good
enough job and not fall off the scaffolding! He'll also be stuck with the
expense of purchasing all that equipment for a task that he only needs to
do once every few years. Or, he could just hire a painting contractor. The
decision to outsource works in the same way.
 Outsourcing and Contracting
• Contracting is a special type of outsourcing where the buying
party owns the complete infrastructure. This means that the
company has a stake in the outsourcing company but decides to
purchase services or products by giving out contracts.
• On the other hand, if the outsourcing company is independent of
the buyer, it is traditional outsourcing. These days, outsourcing has
become such a lucrative business that many companies take orders
from foreign companies and pass it on to other smaller companies
that actually provide their services or products.
• This is subcontracting and has become very popular as the foreign
company is ultimately interested in the quality of work and low
price, and the mediating company gets the work done overseeing
the quality of work and the price.
 Difference between Outsourcing and Contracting
• Outsourcing, or rather offshoring, is a process where a company
gives the contract of some of its noncore business processes to
companies in foreign countries to save on money and time.
• Outsourcing has become controversial in recent times with people
in western countries feeling their jobs are being given to people in
third world countries.
• Contracting is a process where companies have a control of the
outsourcing company but decide to purchase goods or services as
per a contract that is made in writing.
• When the supplier of the service or product owns the business,
then the process is termed as outsourcing, but when the company
receiving products or services owns the service providing company,
it is termed as contracting.
• In contracting, ownership of the supplier remains with the ordering
company, but it instructs the supplier on how to go about providing
services
 Advantages of Outsourcing
1. Swiftness and Expertise: Most of the time tasks are
outsourced to vendors who specialize in their field. The
outsourced vendors also have specific equipment and
technical expertise, most of the times better than the
ones at the outsourcing organization. Effectively the
tasks can be completed faster and with better quality
output. It allows the client to focus on its core business.
2. Concentrating on core processes rather than the
supporting ones: Outsourcing the supporting processes
gives the organization more time to strengthen their
core business process.
 Advantages of Outsourcing
• [Link]-sharing: One of the most crucial factors determining
the outcome of a campaign is risk-analysis. Outsourcing
certain components of your business process helps the
organization to shift certain responsibilities to the outsourced
vendor. Since the outsourced vendor is a specialist, they plan
your risk-mitigating factors better.
• [Link] Operational and Recruitment costs:
Outsourcing eludes the need to hire individuals in-house;
hence recruitment and operational costs can be minimized to
a great extent. This is one of the prime advantages of offshore
outsourcing.
 Disadvantages of Outsourcing
1. Risk of exposing confidential data: When an
organization outsources HR, Payroll and Recruitment
services, it involves a risk if exposing confidential
company information to a third-party.
2. Synchronizing the deliverables: In case you do
not choose a right partner for outsourcing, some of
the common problem areas include stretched delivery
time frames, sub-standard quality output and
inappropriate categorization of responsibilities. At
times it is easier to regulate these factors inside an
organization rather than with an outsourced partner.
 Disadvantages of Outsourcing
[Link] costs: Although outsourcing most of the
times is cost- effective at times the hidden costs
involved in signing a contract while signing a
contract across international boundaries may pose a
serious threat.
[Link] of customer focus: An outsourced vendor
may be catering to the expertise needs of multiple
organizations at a time. In such situations vendors
may lack complete focus on your organization’s
tasks.