Monitoring and controlling

Remember I said project management is messy and there is a lot going on all at once? That is why monitoring and controlling is an important aspect of project management. It's important to keep an eye on project execution and determine whether the following are true:

• A visit to the CCB is needed
• Requirements have changed
• Risk responses are working
• The product is of a high quality
• The customer is validating the scope of work with signatures

All performance measurements and reporting occur here. Even though we spent a ton of time putting together our how-to guides and baselines, we also know that the best-laid plans don't always turn out the way we want. This is where corrective and preventative actions take place. Remember this is a cycle, so if you are executing work, and monitoring and controlling the execution of work, you may discover that something needs to change. How you manage that change has several steps:

1. Assess the impact on potentially affected knowledge areas with your team.
2. Re-plan and come up with a solution for implementation.
3. Visit the CCB and hope for approval. (I usually have two choices, one I want and one I can live with.)
4. You may also have to get approval from the customer, even if they are the ones who requested the change.
5. Once you have approval, you will need to update your plans and communicate the changes.

6. If you don't get approval, you still communicate the result of the decision.

There are many ways to keep an eye on the project, and it's important to be vigilant with documentation updates, tracking risks and issues, and making sure you are producing the right result based on requirements.