Part 5

What is monitoring and control?

The continuous comparison of actual project performance against the approved plan, followed by corrective action when needed.

What is the difference between monitoring and control?

Monitoring collects information; control uses that information to make decisions and take action.

What are the five stages shown in the monitoring cycle?

Plan, execute, monitor, control and report.

What is a baseline?

The approved scope, schedule and cost plan against which actual performance is measured.

What options are available during control?

Correct the problem, escalate it, accept the variance or replan.

Why must performance be reported differently to different stakeholders?

Different stakeholders require different levels of detail, frequency and technical information.

What does EVM stand for?

Earned Value Management.

What two major questions does EVM answer?

Are we on schedule, and are we on budget?

What is Planned Value, or PV?

The budgeted value of the work that should have been completed by now.

What is Earned Value, or EV?

The budgeted value of the work that has actually been completed.

What is Actual Cost, or AC?

The amount actually spent on the completed work.

What is the Cost Variance formula?

CV = EV − AC

What does a negative CV mean?

The project is over budget.

What is the Schedule Variance formula?

SV = EV − PV

What does a negative SV mean?

The project is behind schedule.

What is the Cost Performance Index formula?

CPI = EV ÷ AC

What does a CPI below 1 mean?

The project is costing more than planned for the value of work completed.

What is the Schedule Performance Index formula?

SPI = EV ÷ PV

What does an SPI below 1 mean?

The project is progressing more slowly than planned.

What are the five stages of formal change control?

Identify the change, raise a change request, assess its impact, obtain a CCB decision, and update and communicate.

What happens when a change is identified?

It should be recorded immediately rather than handled informally.

What should a formal change request describe?

What is changing, why it is changing and the effects on scope, schedule, cost, quality and risk.

Why must the change’s impact be assessed across several areas?

A change in one area normally causes second-order effects elsewhere.

What is the CCB?

The Change Control Board, which has authority to approve, reject or defer a change

Can the project manager always approve a change alone?

No. Significant changes must be approved by the people with the appropriate authority.

What happens after a change is approved?

The baseline, project plan and affected documents are updated, and stakeholders are informed.

Why is communication particularly important after an international change?

Distributed stakeholders may be working with different documents, languages, time zones and assumptions.

What is scope creep?

Uncontrolled expansion of project scope without formal approval or corresponding adjustments to time, cost and resources.