4/13/2017 DefinitionandImportanceofProjectControls

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ProjectControls:Whatisitandwhyisitimportant?

DefinitionofProjectControls:
TherearemanydefinitionsofProjectControlsusedacrossindustriesandindeedacrosscompanieswithinindustries.Forthepurposesofthis
portal,thefieldofprojectcontrolsisdefinedasfollows:

Projectcontrolsarethedatagathering,managementandanalyticalprocessesusedtopredict,understandandconstructivelyinfluencethe
timeandcostoutcomesofaprojectorprogramthroughthecommunicationofinformationinformatsthatassisteffectivemanagementand
decisionmaking.Thisdefinitionencompassesallstagesofaprojectorprogramslifecyclefromtheinitialestimatingneededtosizea
proposedproject,throughtoreflectivelearning(lessonslearned)andtheforensicanalysisneededtounderstandthecausesoffailure(and
developclaims).

Consequently,theprojectcontrolsdisciplinecanbeseenasencompassing:

Projectstrategy,undertakingplanningandmethodsstudiestohelpthePMoptimisefutureoutcomes
Schedulingincludingdevelopment,updatingandmaintenance
Costestimation,costengineering/controlandvalueengineering
Riskmanagement,includingmaintainingtheriskregisterandriskanalysis/assessment
EarnedValueManagementandEarnedSchedule,includingWBS,OBSandotherbreakdownstructures,
Documentcontrol
ForensicAssessmentforrequireddiagnosisofscheduleandcost
Supplierperformancemeasurement/oversight(butexcludingcontractadministration)
Theelementsofaprojectmanagementmethodologythatintegratethesedisciplinesbothwithinthecontrolsdomainandwithother
projectmanagementfunctions

Putsimply,ProjectControlsencompassthepeople,processesandtoolsusedtoplan,manageandmitigatecostandscheduleissuesandany
riskeventsthatmayimpactaproject.Inotherwords,Projectcontrolisessentiallyequivalenttotheprojectmanagementprocessstripped
ofitsfacilitatingsubprocessesforsafety,quality,organizational,behavioral,andcommunicationsmanagement.

ImportanceofProjectControls:

Thesuccessfulperformanceofaprojectdependsonappropriateplanning.ThePMBOKGuidedefinestheuseof21processesthatrelateto
planningoutofthe39processesforprojectmanagement,(Globerson&Zwikeal2002).Theexecutionofaprojectisbasedonarobust
projectplanandcanonlybeachievedthroughaneffectiveschedulecontrolmethodology.ThedevelopmentofasuitableProjectControl
systemisanimportantpartoftheprojectmanagementeffort(Shtub,Bard&Globerson2005).Furthermore,itiswidelyrecognisedthat
planningandmonitoringplaysamajorroleasthecauseofprojectfailures.Despitethecontinuousevolutionintheprojectmanagement
field,itappearsevidentthatthetraditionalapproachstillshowsalackofutilisationofProjectControlsandtherehavebeenanumberof
articlespublishedtosupporttheimportanceofcontrolintheachievementofprojectobjectives.Ithasbeenprovedtimeandagainthat
ProjectperformancecanbeimprovedifdedicatedProjectControlssystemsareinplace.AnIBC2000ProjectControlBestPracticeStudy
carriedoutbyIPAidentifiedthatgoodProjectControlpracticesreduceexecutionscheduleslipby15%.ProjectControlscostrangefrom
0.5%to3%oftotalproject,(includingcostaccounting),therefore,tobreakeven,ProjectControlneedstoimprovecosteffectivenessby
around2%.AsamplestudycarriedoutbytheIBCCostEngineeringCommittee(CEC)in1999,showedcostimprovementsfortheprojects
inthestudy,wasmorethan10%.ItisnotedalsothatNPV(NetProjectValue)alsobenefitsfromscheduleimprovements.Successfactors
arebasedongoodProjectControlpractices,whichresultingoodcostandscheduleoutcomes.

"ThefactthatonefailedprojectcanpotentiallywipeoutanentireyearsprofithelpsputthevalueofProjectControlsintoperspective."

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