Course Transcript

Imagine setting off on a voyage across the ocean in a ship that has no electronic or satellite navigation system on board. None of the crew members seem concerned by this as they go about their duties and the journey proceeds. At first, you enjoy clear skies and are making good headway towards your destination.

However, before long, dark clouds roll in and blot out the sky. Strong winds begin to blow the ship off course. But how far off course?

And how will the captain steer the ship accurately without a way to orient the ship to its destination?

Most projects aren't lucky enough to enjoy smooth sailing from beginning to end. Unforeseen events and difficulties usually crop up somewhere along the line, and these can steer a project off course. Thankfully, there are many proven project management processes designed to direct, monitor, and control project work.

For example, the establishment of project baselines for schedule, cost, and scope give the project manager a clear destination to steer toward.

When problems arise, strategies for managing changes help get the project back in line.

So you've initiated and planned your project. It's now time to direct and manage all aspects of the project's delivery. The project work needs to be carefully monitored and controlled if you're to meet project objectives.

In this course, you'll learn about the activities involved in directing and managing the work of a project. You'll learn about the inputs that help you in this process. You'll also learn about the tools and techniques you can use to direct and manage a project, and the outputs resulting from this process.

In addition, this course will show you how to monitor and control project work to ensure work performance is in line with requirements. You'll also learn about updating project baselines.

As well as helping you understand how to execute and complete projects, this course will show you how to learn from your experiences so that your project management expertise continues to grow.

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1. Direct and manage project execution

Creating a project management plan is one thing. Executing it is another. There are no guarantees that your project will follow the exact course of your plan.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process is what you use to carry out the work identified in the project management plan, so that the objectives of a project are met.

During this process, the project manager oversees the execution of tasks by the project team needed to create the project deliverables.

So as a project manager, you need to be flexible and ready for contingencies.

As Norman Vincent Peale, the motivational speaker, said, "Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan." A project manager must know how to work a plan.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process falls within the Project Integration Management Knowledge Area.

And because Project Integration Management is all about integrating the different aspects of a project, the activities that make up the Direct and Manage Project Work process span across other Knowledge Areas.

Select each Knowledge Area to find out what activities fit into it.

Project Quality Management

Implementing process improvements is an activity of the Direct and Manage Project Work process, which is categorized in the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area.

Project Human Resource Management

Activities in the Project Human Resource Management Knowledge Area that are part of directing and managing project work include assigning, training, and managing the project team members.

Project Communications Management

Establishing and maintaining internal and external communication channels is an activity of the Direct and Manage Project Work process that falls within the Project Communications Management Knowledge Area.

Project Risk Management

Part of directing and managing a project is managing identified risks and executing risk response activities, which are processes that fall in the Project Risk Management Knowledge Area.

Project Procurement Management

Direct and Manage Project Work process activities that relate to the Project Procurement Management Knowledge Area include obtaining and managing the resources that the project team needs.

Project Stakeholder Management

The process of communicating and working with
stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations is also an important part of directing and managing project work.

In addition to fitting into different Knowledge Areas, the activities in the Direct and Manage Project Work process are linked to other processes in the Project Integration Management Knowledge Area. This is because you use the outputs of these activities as inputs for the Monitor and Control Project Work, Perform Integrated Change Control, and Close Project or Phase processes.

Direct and Manage Project Work also involves executing changes made to the project management plan, once these changes have been approved.

For example, where corrective actions must be taken to ensure project performance is in line with targets, the Direct and Manage Project Work process is responsible for updating the scope of the project to include this change, and including the necessary actions into the project management plan – such as hiring further staff to ensure an objective is met on time.

The process can also involve issuing change requests to prevent negative outcomes.

These may be requests to repair product defects reported during the Control Quality process.

So this process ties in with the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process is also responsible for collecting and documenting lessons learned.

For example, a team creating one of the deliverables for a project has consistently been behind schedule. The project manager discovers that no one was tasked with moving the product between two phases of development, which led to delays in forwarding the product.

The project manager now assigns a team member to this task, and the issue is recorded as a lesson learned.

The plan for a project to upgrade a processing plant for a chemicals manufacturer is complete.

So the Direct and Manage Project Work process can now go ahead.

The project manager meets with the construction company that's been selected to do the work.

She then chooses an in-house project team who'll be involved in coordinating the project's progress. She's responsible for the team's training requirements and she'll manage the team throughout the project.

She holds a meeting with the members and briefs them about their duties as part of the project team and about their specific tasks. In this way, she establishes the project's communication channels.

One of the key factors affecting the revamping project is the construction schedule. This is because the chemical plant will still be operational while the project is being carried out.

This means that construction tasks must be completed in very precise time frames so that when production processes are halted, it is not for a prolonged period.

While performing activities to direct and manage the project work, the manager keeps this identified risk – the interruption of operations – in mind, and implements risk response activities. She does so by generating work performance information related to scheduling.

As the project progresses, the project manager notices that production is being stopped for longer times than planned. She realizes she needs to make adjustments to the schedule so that production downtime is in line with targets.

Once these adjustments are planned and approved, the project manager passes the information to the project team so that the construction processes can be improved accordingly.

This ties in with executing processes to distribute information, which falls within the Project Communications Management Knowledge Area.

There is another identified risk that relates to interrupting the production process while construction takes place.

Certain chemicals form the basis of most other products that the plant manufactures. If the production of these chemicals is interrupted, it will have a ripple effect on overall production.

Because of this, and as a risk response activity, the project manager ensures that any revamping of production units involved in producing these essential chemicals is planned very carefully.

The project manager sets up a schedule of regular meetings with the internal project team and the external contractor, which maintains good communication channels between stakeholders throughout the project.

This activity is associated with the Project Communications Management Knowledge Area, and it helps her keep up to date with progress and any relevant issues.

She also has regular meetings with the plant floor managers to inform them of the construction schedule so they can plan production at their stations accordingly.

The project manager is responsible for procuring resources, such as the specialized equipment, needed for the revamped production units.

This activity relates to obtaining and managing the resources the project team will require – an activity of the Conduct Procurements process.

She's chosen a manufacturing company from several bidders and is in regular contact with the company. She ensures the new equipment is at hand when the construction team is ready to install it.

As the project progresses, the project manager documents lessons learned. One such lesson relates to how, during planning, the team relies on filed documents about the old equipment.

When assessments of the actual equipment are made, the team discovers that the old documentation isn't always accurate.

After this is discovered, the assessment team becomes more vigilant in its inspections, and the project manager ensures that accurate documentation is created for the new manufacturing units. She records this as a lesson learned.

By performing activities that are part of the Direct and Manage Project Work process, the project manager ensures that the revamping project stays on track.

When problems arise, she deals with them, constantly adjusting the project management plan or taking steps to keep processes in line with it.

So she steers the project while work is executed to make sure the objectives of the project are met.

2. The inputs

The Direct and Manage Project Work process uses four inputs. These are the project management plan, approved change requests, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets.

The project management plan sets out how a project will be executed, and defines how it should be monitored, controlled, and closed.

As an input to the Direct and Manage Project Work process, it tells the project team how to execute the work to create the project deliverables.

It also sets out how changes must be monitored and controlled. The project manager will need this information when implementing process improvements and when generating the data that will be used to monitor project activities.

The project management plan also provides information on how to sustain performance measurement baselines.

The project manager uses this information to implement process improvements and collect work performance information.

Techniques for communicating with stakeholders are also part of the project management plan. In the Direct and Manage Project Work process, the project manager uses this information to establish communication channels.

Approved change requests expand or reduce the scope of a project. They are recorded in the project management plan and subsidiary plans. Sometimes approved change requests call for preventive or corrective actions to be taken. Actions like these are performed during the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

Enterprise environmental factors are conditions surrounding a project, like available resources and market conditions that can influence its success.

There are several enterprise environmental factors that may be used as inputs to the Direct and Manage Project Work process. These include company structure and culture, infrastructure, human resource administration, stakeholder risk tolerance, and project management information systems.

Select each enterprise environmental factor to learn more about how it's an input to the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

Company structure and culture

Company structure and culture influences the way a project is executed because the work must be done within these boundaries. For example, if a company has a complex hierarchy, it may take longer for decisions to be made, whereas a more flat structure may speed up approval processes.

Infrastructure

The infrastructure of the organization – such as its facilities and equipment – provides the means by which the project work is executed.

Human resource administration

Human resource administration provides guidelines for hiring and firing procedures, training, and how to conduct performance reviews. The project manager uses these guidelines when choosing, training, and managing the staff that work on a project.

Stakeholder risk tolerance

During the Direct and Manage Project Work process, the project manager is responsible for managing identified risks and executing risk response activities. The project manager has to factor in the tolerance of stakeholders to risk when doing this. For example, an organization may not have the capacity to risk an impact on its cash flow, so the project manager must be aware of this.

Project management information systems

Project management information systems may include software tools that automate tasks, such as scheduling, gathering information, and creating performance reports. These tools help the project manager generate work performance information to forecast when objectives will be met.

Organizational process assets include the plans, guidelines, policies, and procedures that are used to guide the project work while it's executed.

Recorded knowledge, such as lessons learned and files from previous projects, are also organizational process assets the project manager will use.

Subsidiary plans from prior projects relating to costs, scope, and schedule, quality and performance measurement baselines, and risk registers are some of the files the project manager might use.

Other organizational process assets may be inputs for the Direct and Manage Project Work process:

• the process measurement database, which contains measurements data on deliverables and processes
• procedures for defect management and action item tracking
• the issue and defect management database, which contains information about defects, the actions to resolve them, and the results of those actions
• the communication requirements, which determine the approved methods of communication, and
• standardized guidelines and work instructions

The project to upgrade processing plant facilities at a chemicals manufacturer uses several inputs, including the project management plan, enterprise environmental factors, organizational process assets, and approved change requests.

Select each input to learn about how the project manager used it.

Project management plan

The project manager uses the project management plan to determine what must be done and to monitor the project as work progresses.

Enterprise environmental factors

To generate data for monitoring the scheduled project work, the project manager uses a software tool to create a report. This tool is an example of an enterprise environmental factor. It helps him determine that some construction tasks are interrupting production for longer than planned.

Approved change request

The project manager submits a change request to adjust the construction schedule. Once this is approved, the change is made to the project management plan. The approved change request then becomes an input for directing and managing project work, and construction work procedures are changed.

Organizational process assets

The project manager makes use of historical data, such as the filed documentation for the old equipment. This data is an organizational process asset. When it's discovered that the data isn't always accurate, the project manager records this as a lesson learned. The record he makes then becomes an organizational process asset.

3. Summary

The Direct and Manage Project Work process involves carrying out the work that's specified in the project management plan so that a project's requirements are met. Some of the activities the project manager performs during this process include managing a project team, establishing and maintaining communication channels, managing risks and implementing risk responses, generating performance data, implementing process improvements, and managing resources.

Inputs to the Direct and Manage Project Work process are the project management plan, approved change requests, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets.

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1. Exercising expert judgment

Expert judgment and meetings are two of the tools and techniques that a project manager uses to direct and manage the work of a project. Managers might use their own judgment or meet with an expert to consult about the project.

During this process, meetings would be used to discuss and agree on major aspects of directing and managing project work. For example, meeting participants may discuss relevant risks, possible scope changes, cost overruns, or changes to the schedule.

A project manager is overseeing process changes affecting the way the network in a new office was set up. While reviewing work performance information, she notices that the work hasn't been done correctly. A change request is issued and approved.

Select each method to find out how the manager uses it in this situation.

Use own judgment

The project manager uses her own judgment when she arranges a meeting with the IT company that is contracted to do the work to discuss the problems and instruct it how to fix them. She also adjusts the schedule of work to accommodate this.

The project manager knows what to do because she's been the project manager on a previous project that set up the network for the company's office extension.

Meet with an expert

When the project manager doesn't have the knowledge necessary to implement a change request, she consults an expert.

For example, once the approved changes to the network are implemented, the project manager talks to a senior IT technician to find out which elements require testing to ensure the changes are successful.

If the project manager had consulted a colleague who's never tested a network, then she wouldn't have received the expert judgment she needs.

When the project manager has the necessary knowledge and experience, she uses her expert judgment – such as when she draws on her previous experience to implement the approved change request. But in situations where she doesn't have the required knowledge, she consults other people who have expertise in that area and are thus able to exercise their expert judgment.

Possible sources of expert judgment for a project include the project manager, people on the project team, consultants, and members of professional and technical associations. They also include people in other branches of the organization, and stakeholders such as sponsors and customers.

As a project manager, you use expert judgment to assess the inputs of the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

This is what ensures that you interpret and respond to the inputs in a way that aligns to the project management plan, while project work is carried out.

As you will recall, inputs for directing and managing project work are the project management plan, approved change requests, organizational process assets, and enterprise environmental factors.

Select each project manager for an example of how they used expert judgment to assess one of these inputs.

Todd

"On my project, I asked for the advice of a colleague who'd worked on a similar project to mine to get guidance on the technical performance measurements specified in the project management plan."

Michelle

"An organizational restructure at my company affected the composition of the project team I'm managing. I had to consult with our HR Department to assess how to redistribute staff for the project."

Lili

"The project team I'm managing ran into a technical difficulty. When we solved the problem, we recorded the event as a lesson learned. But then the problem happened again! This time, I've consulted technical experts in our organization and we'll use their advice to resolve this issue once and for all."

Todd used the expert judgment of a colleague to get advice on how to execute work specified in the project management plan.

Michelle used the expert judgment of her company's HR Department to assess an enterprise environmental factor – a change in her organization's structure that affected the project she was managing.

Lili used the judgment of her company's technical experts to assess a lesson learned – an organizational process asset – when technical difficulties occurred.

2. Project management information systems

In addition to expert judgment and meetings, an important tool for directing and managing project work is a project management information system. This is a system that gathers, records, filters, and disseminates information.

Project managers use various project management information systems to manage project work. These can include a project management program and collaboration software for communicating with the project team and stakeholders, knowledge management software for managing information, an accounting program for retrieving important cost information, and a configuration management system for managing product versions.

Select each type of project management information system to find out how it was used in a project to develop and implement tracking software to manage a company's operations.

Project management program

The project manager uses a project management program to collect data relating to the software's ability to track product demand accurately.

Project management software tools like this help to facilitate the smooth running of a project by providing an organized, searchable repository for all information relating to the project.

Collaboration software

The project manager alerts the Quality Assurance team when she discovers a problem with the software – it overcalculates product demand, which will lead to a surplus of goods stored at the warehouse. She communicates this discovery via collaboration software with e-mail notifications.

Knowledge management software

The project manager uses knowledge management software to post detailed documentation about the findings related to the overcalculation problem. The quality assurance team can then access the information and use it to address the issue.

Accounting program

The project manager uses an accounting program to retrieve cost information to compare the current costs of the project with the budget in the project management plan. There is an inaccuracy relating to the labor cost calculation so the project manager makes adjustments to the budget accordingly.

Configuration management system

As the software is developed and improved, different versions are created. So the project manager uses a configuration management system to track the software as it's developed, and details about its version number, design, functionality, and requirements are documented and up to date.

The project manager can then compile reports using the data she collects from the various information systems she uses while the project is executed. She then keeps stakeholders up to date by using collaboration software to notify them of reports about the project status.

Project management information systems usually have one or more capabilities in common:

• they enable the project manager to update the project management plan and publish team task assignments
• they allow team members to receive and view tasks assigned to them by the project manager via collaboration software, including e-mail or a browser-based tool, and
• they inform team members about tasks being assigned or changed

3. Summary

During the Direct and Manage Project Work process, project managers use expert judgment to assess inputs and manage project work appropriately. They may use their own expert judgment where they have the necessary knowledge, and the expert judgment of others – such as consultants or technical experts.

Project managers also use project management information systems to gather, record, filter, and disseminate information. Examples of these systems include project management programs, collaborative software, knowledge management software, accounting programs, and configuration management systems.

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1. The outputs

What you get out is what you put in. The quality of the outputs that are created through the Direct and Manage Project Work process depends on the quality of the work carried out.

These are the outputs that you generate during the Direct and Manage Project Work process:

• the project deliverables
• work performance data
• change requests
• project management plan updates, and
• project documents updates

Deliverables are the outcomes specified in the project management plan that are achieved through the carrying out the work of the project.

They include products, results, or services – or a combination of these.

For example, a project aims to develop a version control software tool for managing blueprint versions and sensitive design documentation at an engineering company.

A deliverable of this project is the alpha version of the software, which is tested by an independent test team.

As the project progresses, beta versions are developed. These are tested by a group of users at the client's engineering firm. Eventually, the project will produce the deliverable of the final version of the software. And the software documentation is another deliverable.

Work performance data is an output of the activities the project manager performs to keep track of how the project is progressing.

This information is collected to determine project performance in terms of factors like costs, the status of project deliverables, and scheduling.

For example, a project manager collects information on the status of each version of the software as it's developed so he knows the attributes and can gauge when the final version will be released. He also collects information on how the project is meeting the planned schedule, and determines the running costs for the project.

Change requests are issued during the execution of a project to ensure that project goals are met. These changes may expand or reduce the project's scope. They may also modify policies or procedures, modify the budget, or adjust the schedule. Change requests are created by members of the project team who notice issues while performing the work. The requests are then reviewed by the project manager and dealt with during the Perform Integrated Change Control process.

For example, in the case of the project developing version control software, all issues discovered during testing are recorded.

These form the basis of change requests that are executed when the next version of the software is developed. Change requests expand the scope of the project as the need for further versions of the software is identified.

The project manager adjusts the project budget and schedule to include the increased research and development time and resources needed to produce further versions.

Some change requests involve corrective actions, while others involve preventive actions. Others are generated to update project documentation.

Select each type of change request for further information.

Corrective

Corrective change requests aim to bring project performance in line with the project management plan. They may also address defects, discovered during quality inspections, that need to be repaired.

Preventive

Preventive change requests reduce the occurrence of negative outcomes that may result because of identified risks.

Update

Change requests may involve updating formal project documentation, such as project plans and standards, so they are kept current and reflect any changes or modifications made.

For example, when the alpha and beta testers come across new bugs in the case of the version software, they inform the project manager, who then issues a change request to correct the issue.

During development, one bug keeps recurring, or is fixed in one version of the software but then reappears in the next version. The manager issues a change request to assign two team members to work exclusively on this issue to prevent it from occurring again and causing setbacks.

The project manager then updates formal project documentation, like the quality management plan, to formally record the additional work that must be carried out to correct the quality issues that have been identified.

Updates are added to the project management plan throughout the life of a project.

So project management plan updates are an output of many of the project management processes, including the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

For example, the project manager's decision to assign two team members to work on the recurring bug issue resulted in the need for a project management plan update relating to human resources for the project.

Project documents updates result from approved change requests. As changes are approved, documents must be updated to reflect these.

These documents may include requirements documentation, project logs – such as logs recording issues and lessons learned - and the stakeholder register.

2. Summary

As a project is executed, it creates outputs, which in turn are used in other project management processes. The outputs generated during the Direct and Manage Project Work process are deliverables, work performance data, change requests, project management plan updates, and project documents updates.

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1. Monitoring and controlling activities

A project can be overwhelming, no matter what size. Now imagine you let that project carry on its own course without any supervision. The result would be chaos, and a project that ends up achieving very little or something other than what it set out to do. To avoid this, you need to ensure there are adequate supervisory measures in place.

Within the ten Knowledge Areas, Project Integration Management is concerned with identifying and defining various activities and processes within a project, and then bringing them together and coordinating them.

In the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group, it's the Monitor and Control Project Work process that interacts with this Knowledge Area.

The Monitor and Control Project Work process is not made up of a single type of action. Monitoring and controlling are two distinct activities.

Monitoring involves gathering information about the project's performance. This helps you detect trends by identifying any deviations from, or risks to, the project plan. Then you can take preventive or corrective action if needed.

There are several key monitoring activities you perform in a project:

• comparing actual results with planned results
• adding up product defects found during product checks
• reviewing team members' progress reports
• calculating end-of-project costs, completion dates, and other estimates
• assessing if implemented changes have been effective, and
• reporting project performance to stakeholders

A project phase to build a prototype of a new gaming device has started. The previous version of this device was a huge success, and a lot of media hype surrounds the new version and its proposed release date. The project manager has the difficult task of making sure that this phase of the project is carried out according to schedule, so fans won't be disappointed.

An important monitoring activity for this project is reviewing progress reports from the gaming technicians.

Adding up product defects is another important activity. The project manager analyzes the reports, and notices some technicians are experiencing problems with the new touch-screen technology that the device uses. The manager makes a note of these product defects for urgent attention.

Some changes are implemented to address the problems with the touch-screen technology. The project manager is assessing the success of the implemented changes by checking progress reports and keeping track of developments.

Select two other examples of monitoring activities that will occur during the project.

Comparing actual with planned results

The project manager checks the progress reports from the technicians against the project schedule. So he compares the technicians' actual progress against the planned progress.

Calculating costs, dates, and other estimates

The project manager regularly calculates and recalculates project costs and completion dates for each phase of work. Because the device must be released on time, he knows it's vital to stick to the planned schedule. So he may factor in higher costs if it means the work will be done on time.

Controlling activities in the Monitor and Control Project Work process involve taking action to correct problems or deviations you discover through monitoring activities.

The following are key controlling activities:

• preparing change requests
• taking corrective action
• adjusting project baselines to account for approved changes, and
• executing risk response plans

In the gaming device project, the project manager might prepare change requests after processing requests from technicians for new or better software.

He could take corrective action to address the issue with the device's touch screen by arranging for specialists to work on the problem, so it will be resolved as soon as possible.

The schedule may be affected by the delay caused by specialists examining the touch-screen problem. So the project manager will have to re-examine and possibly adjust the schedule baseline for this phase of the project.

Together, the monitoring and controlling activities ensure you keep adequate control over a project, and that it stays headed in the right direction.

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2. Project monitoring and control cycle

Given the importance of monitoring and controlling throughout the life of a project, it makes sense to break down the Monitoring and Controlling Project Work process into a manageable cycle.

The monitoring and controlling activities for a project occur as four stages in the monitoring and control cycle. The cycle begins with setting performance standards, which become part of the plan. Once standards have been established, performance can be observed, and compared to those standards. After the actual performance is compared to the planned performance, deviations are easily spotted and can be corrected to bring the actual performance back in line with expectations.

The first stage in the cycle is setting performance standards.

These standards identify the minimum set of expectations for a project.

A typical project involves many types of performance standards, including the following:

• a project scope statement, which describes what the project must achieve and the required characteristics of deliverables
• a work breakdown structure, or WBS, to divide the project work into smaller, manageable components
• work packages, which are groups of activities defined by the WBS
• cost estimates and budgets to ensure that spending is kept under control
• the project schedule, for documenting the sequence of required activities according to time, resource, and other constraints
• quality standards for all work, deliverables, and products, and
• project requirements, which are the requirements that the finished product or products must meet

Performance standards aren't something you develop through monitoring activities. They are derived from project planning.

And the better the planning for a project, the easier it is to monitor and control it once work starts.

The observing performance stage is the one that really kicks off the monitoring activities of the cycle. This is where you gather information, be it formal or informal, about a project's progress. There are many sources for this information, like review meetings, memoranda, reports, letters, and conversations with team members. All of these can provide valuable insight and data.

Regular meetings and reports are examples of sources that provide formal information.

For less formal information, a project manager would have to make a little more effort to pay attention to project goings-on. Chats with team members or casual observation of their work habits should not be disregarded. These can bring new information about a project's progress to your attention.

Once you've gathered information about how a project is progressing, the next steps are to compare actual and planned performance and to take action to correct deviations.

Select the final two stages in the cycle to learn more about them.

Comparing actual and planned performance

After gathering information, you use it to compare the actual performance of the project to the planned performance mapped out in the project plan. Doing this will tell you about the progress of the project. You'll be able to spot deviations and identify their cause. At this stage, you may also be able to identify what corrective action is needed.

Taking action to correct deviations

Finally, you take action to correct deviations, which constitutes the controlling activities of the cycle. The type of corrective action taken can be as small as making adjustments to the project plan, or it can be reprogramming, reassigning resources, or even changing your project management style. And any action depends on budget and schedule considerations. For example, you may not want to correct a very minor deviation if the change is going to have a major impact on the budget and schedule.

The stages of the cycle make it a lot easier to separate the monitoring and controlling activities that make up the Monitor and Control Project Work process. They also make it clear how these activities work together.

Throughout a project, monitoring activities are necessary to ensure that the project is on track. If corrective action is required, this may involve adjusting project baselines. Adjusting these baselines will create new performance standards – and it's the job of the monitoring activities to ensure these are met. So the cycle continues throughout a project.

3. Summary

You use the Monitor and Control Project Work process to keep track of a project's progress and take corrective measures when necessary. Monitoring means you compare actual and planned results, add up product defects, review progress reports, calculate performance forecasts, and assess whether implemented changes have been effective. You control activities by preparing change requests and adjusting baselines as necessary.

The four stages of the Monitor and Control Project Work process are setting performance standards, observing performance, comparing actual and planned performance, and taking action to correct deviations from the plan.

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1. Monitoring and controlling inputs

If you don't know where you are, you can't tell if you're headed in the right direction. This saying holds true for projects too. It's important to know where your project is at all times, so that if it goes off course you can get it back on track before it goes too far astray in the wrong direction. This is what monitoring and controlling project work is all about.

To monitor and control a project, you need to be able to answer three questions:

• What do I need to determine how my project is performing?
• How do I measure performance?
• How do I address the issues that arise?

There are seven inputs you need for the Monitor and Control Project Work process. These include the project management plan, schedule forecasts, cost forecasts, validated changes, work performance information, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets. Together, the inputs tell you how a project is performing.

The project management plan is a blueprint for how the project will be carried out, monitored and controlled, and finally closed.

Two of the other monitoring and controlling processes provide forecasts that are used as inputs to monitor and control project work: Control Schedule and Control Costs. The cost and schedule forecasts allow you to determine if current project performance is acceptable, or if you need to issue change requests.

During the execution of the change control process, change requests are gathered, reviewed, and may be approved. Any that are approved are validated during the Control Quality process. Validated changes come to the Monitor and Control Project Work process as inputs.

Work performance information is another input to the Monitor and Control Project Work process. This information comes from members of your project team and others within the organization who prepare and submit performance reports, forecasts, and status updates.

In particular, work performance information includes information about several aspects:

• the current status of the project
• accomplishments for a set period
• what activities are scheduled, and
• any problems or issues

Enterprise environmental factors are external or internal factors that can impact a project. Some key factors are government and industry standards and stakeholder risk tolerances.

Project management information systems are another key factor. They are better described as automated tool suites. In other words, systems or tools that perform functions or calculations automatically.

Enterprise environmental factors often place constraints on project work, so they influence the criteria against which the project is monitored and controlled.

Finally, organizational process assets include processes used by the organization itself that can have an impact on the project, as well as historical information and lessons learned from other projects.

You use organizational process assets to define the way that change requests are submitted, approved, and applied. The information from completed projects can also be used to develop estimations and define procedures on current projects.

Key organizational process assets to keep in mind are financial control procedures, such as time reporting, accounting codes, and expenditure reviews. Standard contract provisions are also key assets.

The Foreign Exchange Department of a bank is being upgraded to make it more efficient and pleasant for customers to use.

To determine how the project is progressing in terms of costs, the project manager uses several inputs.

Select each input for an example of how it's used.

Project management plan

The project manager consults the project management plan and uses information from the project's budget to assess where the project should be heading in terms of costs.

Work performance information

She examines a work performance report that details current status and upcoming activities. These will give her an idea of what costs to expect in the coming weeks.

Organizational process assets

The bank has a cost reporting procedure, an organizational process asset that provides the project manager with staff costing reports. She can use these to examine how staff are billing the various project expenses.

Enterprise environmental factors

The forecasting program that the project manager uses is an example of an enterprise environmental factor.

Cost forecasts

She looks at the current estimates to complete projections. If she compares those forecasts to the baselined budget and what it should be at completion, she can tell if the costs will be within the tolerable range.

Validated changes

The project manager consults her list of validated changes and sees that a request to amend the budget was validated two weeks ago. She monitors the change to ensure that it has been properly implemented.

2. Types of performance

Once you've gathered the inputs that go into the Monitor and Control Project Work process, the next step is to analyze project performance.

The way you measure performance is through a simple subtraction of planned performance minus actual performance. You can use many formulas and applications to calculate the deviations.

First, however, you have to know what types of performance you want to measure. These could relate to a project's scope, time, cost, or quality.

Select each type of performance to find out what it is you would measure.

Scope

When measuring scope performance, you inspect deliverables or their components to assess whether they meet the scope baseline. The process that governs this is the Control Scope process, which is part of Project Scope Management.

Time

You measure time performance by examining the actual schedule to determine if the work is being carried out and completed as planned. You do this as part of the Control Schedule process in the Project Time Management Knowledge Area.

Cost

You measure cost performance by comparing actual costs to those in the cost baseline. This is part of the Control Costs process in the Project Cost Management Knowledge Area.

Quality

You measure quality performance by totaling any defects in the product or service you're creating and by comparing actual quality to the requirements documentation and acceptance criteria. This is part of the Control Quality process in the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area.

Once you've used expert judgment to measure performance in all the key areas, you'll be able to identify where corrective action is needed.

3. Using expert judgment

Once you've measured a project's performance, what do you do if actual performance isn't on track?

As with measuring performance, this takes expert judgment, one of the tools and techniques of the Monitor and Control Project Work process.

You and your project team need to assess if a deviation from plan is significant.

If a deviation is a threat to the success of a project, the next step is to determine what action is required to correct it. However, remember that a project can handle a certain amount of variance. You should decide on that threshold early on.

If a deviation is significant, you use one of three types of action to bring performance back in line. These are corrective action, preventive action, or defect repair.

Select each type of project control activity to find out more.

Corrective action

Corrective action is used when you need to repair a deviation that has already occurred or to stop it from recurring in the future. For example, deviations found during a quality review, or change requests from customers, require corrective action.

Preventive action

Preventive action is used to stop a potential deviation from occurring. For example, if you know that some team members are resigning, there is a risk that the project will fall behind schedule. This requires preventive action.

Defect repair

Defect repair is the action of correcting product defects found during the Perform Quality Assurance and Perform Quality Control processes. The objective is to bring the product or service back in line with specifications and requirements. Examples of defects that require repair are a machine that is not working properly due to incorrect calibration, bugs in software, or spelling mistakes in a document.

Once you've identified the type of project control activity needed, you need to determine how to apply it to correct the deviation.

For example, a corrective action to address cost overruns might be to add more money to the budget. Or in the case of a schedule deviation, it could mean adjusting remaining activities to make up for time lost earlier on.

You may have spotted something that requires preventive action. For example, if you know that a major supplier for the project is about to be liquidated, you can prevent delays by identifying an alternate supplier in good time.

Other examples of preventive actions include the following:

• preventive maintenance and calibration controls
• management review of quality management system
• employee training programs, and
• regular reviews of contracts, processes, designs, and other project components

An example of a defect repair could involve recalibrating a machine, or replacing parts that are too big or small for it. Bugs in software could be fixed by adjusting the code. And text containing mistakes in a document could be deleted, rewritten, or edited.

Recall the project to renovate the foreign exchange department of a bank. The project manager found that the costs of the project were running over by 15% and that this trend would continue unless something was done about it.

The project manager discovers that the key cause of the deviation is that team members were charging some of the expenses to the project, rather than to the bank's general operating account.

The problem lies in the accounting program that's used to monitor expenses. So the most appropriate immediate action for the project manager to take is corrective action to fix the problem with the program.

She adjusts the program so the codes that team members enter are billed to the correct account.

In this case, the project manager can also take preventive action to stop further deviations of this kind from occurring. She adjusts the document that sets out the billing procedure to ensure it's clear and that the accounting codes are up to date. She also briefs team members about the changes.

4. Other tools and techniques

Expert judgment is one tool and technique of the Monitor and Control Project Work process. The others are analytical techniques, project management information system, and meetings.

Select each tool and technique to find out more.

Analytical techniques

Analytical techniques are used to determine the health of a project, factors that explain current performance, and determine where its performance is headed. Examples of techniques include root cause analysis and trend analysis.

Project management information system

If you use project management software to automate data gathering and analysis, you will use the application during the Monitor and Control Project Work process. This type of tool gives you immediate access to resource information, databases, project records, and financials.

Meetings

In conjunction with expert judgment, meetings are used to discuss project performance with team members and other stakeholders. Meetings may be in-person or virtual, formal or informal.

5. Summary

The Monitor and Control Project Work process uses seven inputs – the project management plan, schedule forecasts, cost forecasts, validated changes, work performance information, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets.

Once you've gathered the inputs, you use expert judgment to measure project performance. This involves comparing actual to planned performance, and identifying significant deviations. You also use analytical techniques, a project management information system, and meetings to monitor and control project work.

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1. Monitoring and controlling outputs

The results, or outputs, of the Monitor and Control Project Work process helps ensure that your project stays on track and meets objectives throughout its life cycle. This process also affects other areas of the project.

While you monitor and control project work, you often have to suggest changes to get things back on track or prevent future problems. If these changes are approved, they can impact a project's baselines. So updates to the project management plan, including the scope, schedule and cost baselines, are one output of the process.

Besides updates to the overall project management plan and subsidiary project baselines, there are three other outputs of the Monitor and Control Project Work process:

• change requests
• work performance reports, and
• project documents updates

Although these three outputs won't be covered in detail in this topic, you should still be aware of what they are and the impact they have on a project.

Select each output for more information about it.

Change requests

You issue change requests to recommend corrective or preventive action, or to repair defects. For instance, you might issue a change request to incorporate a feature a client requests in a software program. If the request is approved, work to add the feature can go ahead.

Work performance reports

Work performance reports are the result of processing the raw work performance data and placing the resulting information in a format that stakeholders can easily understand. Reports are used to raise awareness, generate discussions, and make decisions.

Project documents updates

Examples of project documents are work instructions, the project risk register, and the issue log. As changes are made to the project, all documents containing information impacted by the changes must be updated.

2. Controlling project work

Margaret is managing a project that's part of a larger program to develop and market a new type of ammonia-free fertilizer. This new fertilizer will increase corn and wheat crop yields, while minimizing health risks to humans and animals. During the course of the project, Margaret has to make several updates to baselines.

The scope of the project includes developing two separate designs and prototype samples – one tailored for corn and the other for wheat.

The project's highest constraint is quality. If government-regulated quality standards aren't adhered to, the products won't be approved.

Based on what she finds through the Monitor and Control Project Work process, Margaret needs to correct mistakes, prevent negative outcomes, or repair defects to the products throughout the project.

3. Corrective and preventive action

As the project to develop the ammonia-free fertilizer begins, one of the machines in the lab breaks down. Tom, one of the technicians, has brought this to Margaret's attention.

There aren't any other labs in the area that use the same equipment, so Tom calls the manufacturer, who informs him that they'll need to fly in a repair technician from another city.

He finds out the technician is available only the following week and that the repairs could take up to two days to complete.

When Tom tells Margaret about the situation, she says she'll make some changes to the schedule baseline to account for the delay. Although the equipment is under warranty, Margaret has to charge the project for the technician's transport and accommodation. So she adds $1,000 to the budget.

While reviewing a performance report, Margaret notices that one of the chemist's titration test results shows that the chemical composition of the test sample is all wrong. If this is not rectified, the product won't meet quality standards.

Margaret discusses the problem with the chemist, Andrew. He wasn't aware of the inaccuracy until she brought it up. Now he'll have to redo the work before they can send the samples off for final testing. It will take three days to fix.

Redoing the work causes a delay. But it will save the project a lot of trouble that could result from allowing the defective sample to be used.

So Margaret adjusts the schedule baseline to account for a delay of three days. Then she uses the company's forecasting tool to establish revised end dates and total costs for the project.

4. Defect repair and scope reduction

Because the project team is developing a fertilizer, a product that will affect food quality, there are strict guidelines on how to use clinical research studies for the project.

For example, the studies can't be older than five years and they must list all adverse reactions for each ingredient.

Jennifer, the quality reviewer, has checked the project design and found that some of the quality criteria haven't been met. At least three of the clinical studies that were referenced weren't conducted recently enough to be valid. She brings this to Margaret's attention.

After Jennifer speaks to the development team, she calculates how long the rework would take, and Margaret adjusts the schedule accordingly. Margaret suspects that the problem could have occurred because the requirements weren't explained clearly enough. So she looks at the quality management plan and makes some adjustments there too. She also asks the team leader to revise the work instructions on how to locate appropriate clinical studies and to e-mail those to the team.

Margaret makes sure her next report to Alex, the program manager, includes all the schedule changes that have been made.

So when he reviews it, he is able to monitor how this project's development fits in with the overall program schedule.

Follow along as Alex and Margaret discuss how the project schedule impacts the program as a whole.

Alex: Margaret, I'm concerned that unless we do something, your project won't be completed in time for the pilot program to test the fertilizers.

Margaret: I agree that there have been a lot of additions to the schedule. What do you suggest we do?

Alex: From my calculations, it looks like we need to pull the completion date in by three weeks. I think the best way to get that done is to reduce the project scope so we focus only on fertilizers for corn.

Margaret: That's a good suggestion. I'll remove all the activities related to producing the wheat fertilizer, and then I'll e-mail you the revised schedule.

Alex: I look forward to the new dates. We'll take it from there if this doesn't resolve the issue.

Alex sends Margaret some market research information showing that there is greater demand for corn than for wheat, given the drive for biofuels.

So Margaret presents this information at a meeting with the project team and she explains that they will narrow the scope of the project to eliminate all activities related to producing the wheat fertilizer.

She forecasts that the scope reduction actually saves 20 days, so she revises the schedule baseline to reflect this, hoping that there won't be too many more unforeseen changes.

5. Key principles

Think about the examples presented so far. Each of them contains principles that apply to updating project baselines.

There are four principles for updating baselines:

• change requests often lead to project baseline adjustments
• changes to one baseline typically affect other baselines as well
• if baselines aren't adjusted, future monitoring and controlling will be skewed, and
• project baselines may be increased or decreased

Select each principle for more information about how it was represented in the examples from the fertilizer project.

Change requests cause baselines to be adjusted

Each time Margaret had to take corrective or preventive action, or ask for a defect repair, she made a change to one or more of the baselines. For example, when the lab equipment broke down, Margaret had to adjust the schedule to reflect the delay caused by the repairs. She also adjusted the budget to include the cost of transport and accommodation for the technician.

Changes to one baseline affect other baselines

The principle that changes to one baseline affect other baselines was demonstrated when the guidelines for using clinical studies weren't followed. Repairing this defect required updates to the schedule, the quality management plan, and the work instructions for the project.

If baselines aren't adjusted, future monitoring and controlling will be skewed

If baselines are not adjusted to reflect changes, they won't be an accurate means of monitoring and controlling project work. Because Margaret always updated all the relevant project baselines to include changes, the program manager was able to effectively monitor and control the program as a whole.

Project baselines may be increased or decreased

This principle was demonstrated by the way that Margaret and Alex, the program manager, monitored and controlled project and program work. Margaret increased the schedule baseline to account for the delays on the project. Then Alex's change request caused a reduction in project scope and schedule. The decision to increase or decrease the baselines depended on the constraints and needs of the project.

6. Summary

When you monitor and control project work, your aim is to ensure that the project meets its objectives despite unexpected deviations from the plan.

The outputs of this process are change requests, project management plan updates, project documents updates, and work performance reports.

Change requests often cause project baselines to be adjusted. They can result in project baselines being increased or decreased, depending on the constraints and needs of a project. Typically, a change to one baseline affects other baselines as well. When a change is made, you have to adjust the baselines to reflect those changes, or future efforts to monitor and control project work will be skewed.

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