Project Execution

Project Execution Project Execution

Project ExecutionProject Execution• Introduction

– monitoring and control will help to ensure projects stay on target

– it can also help to get projects back on target that has gone off target

Management frameworkManagement framework

• Reporting structure– responsibility– authority

• Assessing progress– formal– informal

• Communication

Control Control • Monitoring and Evaluation to compare

Progress with the Plan, Schedule, and budgets

• Decisions taken to mitigate Mis-alignments or to revise plans

• Communication and Control especially critical in ensuring the project stays within budget, within schedule, and within quality standards

CommunicationCommunication

• Phone, Email, Text, Internet, Chat, Social Networks, Share, Document Sharing (e.g. Google), Collaborative Virtual Environments, Reports, Meetings

• Ensuring all team members have the information they require.

Data controlData control• Reporting on aspects of the project

– project• progress• delays

– staff activity• time sheets

– hours worked

• overtime required• attendance

– risk reporting

Financial controlFinancial control• Cost monitoring

– staffing cost• recruitment• training• wages

– material costs• purchase• wastage

– delay costs

Financial controlFinancial control• Budget

– cost variance

• Cash flow– Income– Expenditure

• Profit and loss

Financial controlFinancial control• Earned value analysis

– Used to capture process performance and cost at a certain date measured against budget and/or schedule

– You need three figures for each activity• BCWS – the budget cost of work scheduled• ACWP – the actual cost of work performed• BCWP – budget cost of work performed

Financial controlFinancial control• Earned value analysis cont.

– Using BCWS, ACWP and BCWP useful calculation can be done

– cost variance (cv) = BCWP – ACWP– schedule variance (sv) = BCWP – BCWS– cost performance index (cpi) = BCWP/ACWP– cumulative cpi = ∑BCWP so far/ ∑ACWP so far

Financial controlFinancial control• Variance

– Any change from a specific plan in the planning network, technical performance and costs

• The budget and network must be compared together– The cost variance compares deviations only from the

budget.• It does not provide a measure of comparison between work

planned and work accomplished – The network variance provides a comparison between

planned and actual performance.• It does not include costs.

Financial controlFinancial control• Profit and loss statement

– This show the various sources of income– This show the various sources of expenditure– Cash in hand– Give and overall view of if the project is making a

profit or a lost

Financial controlFinancial control• Balance sheet

– This is a snapshot of the financial situation of the company a point in time

– All company physical assets and their value will be given

– All monetary assets will be shown– All owing and owed will be shown– An overall monetary worth of the company will be

given

Change control typical Change control typical elementselements

• Everyone involved in the project should be aware of the change control system.

• Anyone should be allowed to request a change.

• Change procedure should be clear an unambiguous.

• Request for change should be checked by a suitably qualified person or persons.


• Change options should be explored.• Preferred change option should be decided.• Change option should be approved.• Change should take place.


• Results of change should be monitored to check that it worked as expected. If this is not the case then review if change control procedure must be restarted.

• All things to do with the change control procedure must be documented.

Change control systemChange control system

• The change control system should be designed so that it is relatively easy for to request a change.

• Such a system will not put people off making change.

• Changes that will benefit the project have a greater chance of taking place if system is easy to use.

Change control systemChange control system

• People are less likely to try and short-circuit the change control system if it is easy to use.

• A friendly system will have no more bureaucracy than absolutely necessary.

The poor change The poor change control systemcontrol system

• Changes are often not requested.• The consequence of not requesting a change

could be that: sub-standard product is delivered to the customer, design anomalies are not corrected.

• Changes can get lost in bureaucratic systems, with adverse affects on the project

Monitoring progressMonitoring progress• Utilising planning tools

– Gantt charts– PERT and CPA– project planning software

• showing early completion• showing slippage• critical path progress

Prioritizing monitoringPrioritizing monitoring

• Critical path activities• Activities with no free float remaining• Activities with less than a specified float• High risk activities• Activities using critical resources


• Critical path activities– Any delay in an activity on the critical path will

cause a delay in the completion date for the project. Critical path activities are therefore likely to have a very high priority for close monitoring


• Activities with no free float remaining– A delay in any activity with no free float will delay

at least some subsequent activity even though, if the delay is less than the total float, it might not delay the project completion date. These subsequent delays can have serious effects on the resource schedule as a delay in a subsequent activity could mean that the resource for the activity might become unavailable before that activity is completed because they are committed elsewhere


• Activities with less than a specified float– If any activity has very little float it might use up

this float before the regular activity monitoring brings the problem to the project manager’s attention. It is common practice to monitor closely those activities with less than, say, one week’s free float.


• High risk activities– A set of high risk activities should have been

identified as part of the initial risk profiling exercise. These activities will be given close attention because they are most likely to overrun or overspend.


• Activities using critical resources– Activities can be critical because they are very

expensive (as in the case of specialised contract programmers). Staff or other resources might be available only for a limited period, especially if they are controlled outside the project team. In any event, an activity that demands a critical resource requires a high level of monitoring.

Getting back on targetGetting back on target

• There are two principle options– Shorten the critical path– Reconsider precedence requirements


• Shorten critical path– The overall duration of a project is determined by

the critical path.– Things that can be done to shorten critical path

• increasing resource levels,• improving resource efficiency,• and how such means can shorten critical path

timescales to bring a project back on target.


• Reconsider the precedence requirements– The original project network will probably have

been produced for an ideal situation. Therefore, there is often scope to revisit activity constraints and precedences.


• Reconsider the precedence requirements– Things that can be considered (cont.)

• Altering them to help bring the project back on target.• Do unstarted activities really have to await the

completion of other activities before they can start?• If an activity has to wait for the completion of other

activities, can that activity be broken down into sub-activities and some of the sub activities completed at an earlier date.

Project CloseoutProject Closeout• Ensuring a smooth handover

• Tying up loose ends and paper work

• Learning from the project

The Brilliant Project The Brilliant Project ManagerManager

• Skilled in core project management skills and disciplines

• Talented at dealing with people

• Always keen to learn

– Taken from Barker and Cole

ConclusionConclusion• Monitoring and Control

– management framework• communication• utilising planning tools• data control• costs

– prioritising monitoring– getting back on target– Project Close out– You!

Project Execution

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