145- Control Scope, Schedule Cost

Keeping Projects on Track: Scope, Schedule, and Budget

Three Essential Processes

  • Three key processes for daily project execution:
    • Staying on Scope
    • Staying on Schedule
    • Staying on Budget
  • Each day, compare team's work against the project plan to assess:
    • Scope: Are they doing the correct work?
    • Schedule: Are they spending the appropriate time (not too long or too short)?
    • Cost: Are they spending the correct amount of money (not too much or too little)?

Core Processes: Controlled Scope, Schedule, and Cost

  • These processes share similar inputs, tools, and outputs.
  • Understanding their specific functions is crucial.
1. Controlled Scope
  • Ensuring the work remains within the defined scope.
  • Comparing planned work against actual work completed.
    • Planned Work: Sourced from the Project Management Plan.
    • Actual Work: Derived from Work Performance Data.
  • Process:
    • Observe the work being done (Work Performance Data).
    • Review the plan to see what should be done.
    • Identify any discrepancies between planned and actual work.
2. Controlled Schedule
  • Mirrors the controlled scope process but focuses on time.
  • Comparing planned work duration against actual work duration.
    • Planned Work: Comes from the schedule baseline in the Project Management Plan.
    • Actual Work: Captured in the Work Performance Data (how long tasks took).
  • Example:
    • Plan: Painting a room should take two days.
    • Reality: It took 1.5 days or 3 days.
3. Controlled Cost
  • Similar concept, focused on budget.
  • Comparing planned costs against actual expenditures.
    • Planned Cost: Derived from the cost baseline in the Project Management Plan.
    • Actual Work: Reflected in Work Performance Data (actual money spent).
  • Example:
    • Plan: Spending should be 200200.
    • Reality: 250250 was spent, indicating over budget.
  • Objective: Maintain work within the three baselines by identifying variances between planned and actual results.

Controlled Scope: In Detail

  • Monitoring project and product scope status.
  • Managing scope changes.
  • Scope Creep: Uncontrolled expansion of scope without adjusting time or cost; to avoid scope creep, submit a change request to assess and approve scope additions, then update the plan with appropriate cost and time changes.
  • Objective: Identify differences between planned and actual work.
  • Updating the project baseline (especially the scope baseline) when changes are approved.
Inputs, Tools, and Outputs
  • Inputs
    • Project Management Plan (Planned Work)
    • Work Performance Data (Actual Work)
  • Tools
    • Variance Analysis: Analyzing the variance between planned and actual work.
      • Determining the degree of variance in performed work related to scope.
      • Example: Planned to paint the wall white, but it was painted off-white or glossy instead of flat.
      • Identifying the cause of the variance.
      • Determining corrective or preventive actions.
      • Analyzing trends over time.
  • Outputs
    • Work Performance Information: Reports whether the project is on or off scope.
    • Change Requests: Used to bring the work back on plan.
    • Plan Updates: Update scope to incorporate changes, which usually leads to time and cost increases.

Controlled Schedule: In Detail

  • Monitoring project status to update the project schedule and manage changes to the schedule baseline.
  • Maintaining the schedule baseline.
  • Comparing work results against the plan to determine if the project is on schedule.
  • Assessing the project's current status and how it was reached.
Inputs, Tools, and Outputs
  • Inputs
    • Project Management Plan
    • Work Performance Data (actual time spent on work)
  • Tools and Techniques
    • Critical Path Method
    • Applying leads and lags
    • Crashing and fast-tracking
    • Performance Reviews: Measuring variance from the actual end date to the planned end date.
    • What-if Scenario Analysis
    • Project Management Information System (PMIS)
    • Resource optimization (resource leveling, leads and lags, fast tracking, and crashing)
  • Outputs
    • Work Performance Information: Reports how far ahead or behind schedule the project is.
    • Schedule Forecasts: Predicting future schedule performance.
    • Change Requests: Needed if the project is significantly off schedule.

Controlled Costs: In Detail

  • Monitoring project status to update project costs and manage changes to the cost baseline (keeping the project on budget).
  • Identifying cost variances.
  • Any budget increases must be approved through the Perform Integrated Change Control (PIC) process via a change request.
Earned Value Management (EVM)
  • A series of formulas used to monitor budget status; critical for the Project Management Institute (PMI).
  • EVM Includes:
    • Memorizing and Understanding Formulas.
    • Interpreting the results of formulas (e.g., CPI of 0.6 and SPI of 1.2).
Inputs, Tools, and Outputs
  • Inputs
    • Project Management Plan (planned spending)
    • Work Performance Data (actual spending)
    • Funding Requirements (total funds needed)
  • Tools
    • Earned Value Management (EVM) Techniques
    • Variance Analysis: How far on or off budget are you
    • Trend Analysis: How far is the project going
    • Reserve Analysis: Are reserves being utilized
    • To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI): EVM Formula
  • Outputs
    • Work Performance Information: Reports difference between planned and actual spending.
    • Cost Forecasts: Predicts total project cost at completion (EVM Formula).
    • Change Requests: Needed if more funds are required.

Daily Vigilance

  • These three processes must be performed daily.
  • Continuously monitor budget, schedule, and scope.
  • Investigate any deviations to determine their root cause.