Project Control Defined

Controlling processes are found in all the project management areas to some varying degree. Project control is concerned with preventative measures, such as identifying and understanding variance, plus responding to trends, patterns, and changes in order to minimize the impact on the project.

PMI divides controlling processes into two categories core and facilitating as it does with all the other process areas. The Controlling processes are listed here:

• Core Controlling processes These include performance reporting and integrated change control.

• Facilitating Controlling processes These include scope verification, scope change control, schedule control, quality control, and risk monitoring and control.

Core Controlling Processes

The core Controlling processes include reporting the project work results and performance to the appropriate stakeholders and decision makers. This is a vital communicative act so that all involved can keep abreast of where the project stands and are able to make decisions on future needs and tasks the project will require.

Also, the core processes include integrated change controls. These controls are concerned with influencing the factors that cause change, determining that a change has occurred, and managing the change across the different areas, such as scope, time, and quality according to their respective change management plans.

The quantitative analysis of the control systems within each knowledge area is concerned with measuring and accessing the magnitude of variation to determine whether corrective action needs to take place.

Project changes should be expected, planned, and well managed.

Facilitating Processes

Facilitating processes are the activities within project control that monitor and measure the progress of project tasks. The purpose for this measurement is to detect variances, determine whether corrective action needs to take place, and act accordingly.

Variance is something that is contrary to the usual guidelines or rules. It's the irregularity sometimes associated with project duration. For example, let's say the amount of time it usually takes to build a new house is 8 days, but a recent home took 10 days to build. In this case, the variance would be 2 days. Variance is a comparison of the estimated (or scheduled) amount of time it normally takes to complete a certain activity and the actual amount of time it took to complete the activity.

Controlling activities help to ensure a project is on-time, on budget, of the appropriate quality, and meets the project objectives.

Therefore, project control consists of monitoring, measuring work results, and detecting change in a variety of project areas, including cost, schedule, quality, and risk.

All change-control systems within the PMBOK (integrated change control, scope change control, cost control and schedule control) require the following:

• Influencing the factors that cause change

• Detecting that a change has occurred

• Obtaining agreement on a change activity

• Managing the change