Project Management Control Systems

Project management control systems are the modern tools for managing project scope, cost and schedule. They are based on carefully defined process and document controls, metrics, performance indicators and forecasting with capability to reveal trends toward cost overrun and/or schedule slippage. Identifying those trends early makes them more amenable to successful management.

Traditionally, management systems have utilized data about planned and actual costs. Modern systems further incorporate, in their analysis of projects and tasks, the monetary value earned for actual work accomplished.

1. They analyze the Planned Value of work scheduled (PV),
2. Actual Cost of work performed (AC),
3. and Earned Value of work performed (EV).

Forecasting includes cumulative and incremental trends in key indicators such as the

• Estimate at Completion (AC + Estimate to Complete),
• Cost Variance (EV – AC),
• Schedule Variance (EV – PV),
• Cost Performance Index (EV/AC),
• and Schedule Performance Index (EV/PV).

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a systematic approach to the integration and measurement of cost, schedule and scope accomplishments on a project or task, providing managers the ability to examine cost data in the context of detailed schedule information and critical program and technical milestones.

EVM systems are in use by IT service providers, leading project delivery contractors in commercial industry and government service. ( works in any sphere )

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Nothing is perfect in this world of chaos.

So to bring orderliness, something has to be scratched from bottom up.

Every step of the way in any development or project completion gets monitored and reported.

It gives a sense of feeling while work gets done.

The guy who monitors - Program Manager ( multiple projects ) or Project Manager ( single project ) with tons of resources should be using various learned tools, gained experience, of the scope of the project.