You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure !!!

Measuring Project Performance

Teresa M. Ramírez, PMP

October 18, 2002
 Agenda
• What is a Project, Project Management and a Project
Manager?
• Why Measure?
• What to Measure?
• Control is a Good Thing !!!
• Tools & Techniques for Project Monitoring and
Control
• Roadmap for Project Monitoring and Control
• Questions
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Consistently successful projects don’t just
happen;
they are made to happen.
Neal Whitten, PMP
“Inspect What You Expect”
PM Network, Aug 2002

3
 What is a Project ?

• A Project is a temporary endeavor

undertaken to create a unique
product or service.

4
 What is Project Management ?

• The application of knowledge,

knowledge skills,
skills tools,
tools and
techniques to project activities,
• In order to meet project requirements,
• And meet or exceed stakeholder needs and
expectations from a project
– Involves balancing scope, time, cost and quality.

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 How do we measure project success?
• Project success is measured as the ability to complete
the project;
– According to desired specifications
– Within the specified budget
– Within the promised time schedule
– While keeping the customer and stakeholders happy.

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 What is a Project Manager ?

• The person who takes overall responsibility for

coordinating a project to make sure the desired end
result;
– comes in on time
– within budget
– and meeting or exceeding the stakeholders needs.
needs

Project Managers fall into three categories: those who

watch what happens, those who make things happen,
and those who wonder what happened.
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• Project Manager is concerned with:

– 5 major process groups

– 9 project management
knowledge areas
– 39 project management
processes

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Project Management Process Groups
Initiating Planning
Processes Processes

Controlling Executing
Processes Processes

Closing
Processes

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Process Group Initiating Planning Executing Controlling Closing
---------------
Knowledge
Area
Project (1) (1)
Integrated
Integration Mgt Change
Control
Scope Mgt (1) (2)
Scope
Verification

Scope
Change
Control
Time Mgt (4)
Schedule
Control
Cost Mgt (3)
Cost Control
Quality Mgt (1) (1)
Quality
Control
Human Res. (2) (1)
Mgt
Communications (1) (1)
Performance (1)
Mgt Reporting
Risk Proj Mgt (5)
Risk
Monitoring &
Control
Procurement (2) (3) (1)
Mgt
Total 39 1 process 21 processes 7 processes 8 processes 2 processes
processes
 Why measure ?

• If you cannot measure it, you cannot control it.

• If you cannot control it, you cannot manage it.

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 Why measure?

• Assess current performance

• Set goals for improvement

• Anticipate any potential deviation

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 Why Measure?

• Measurement is not an end in itself

– The goal is to achieve an objective
• Measurement is an essential
component of project management

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 What to measure within a project

• Quality
– Of the product--is the deliverable meeting
specifications or requirements?

– Of the process—project reviews to ensure that

plans conforms to guidelines, plans are being
completed as anticipated, and that the
business need the project serves is still
justifiable.

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 What to measure within a project

• Progress of the project

– Monitor and control the project to ensure
objective is met on time, within budget and to
satisfaction of stakeholders.

• Measure elements regarded as critical for project

success (critical success factors)

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• “Control” may have a pejorative connotation to
some people.
– “Domination”
– “Headstrong authority”

• People may be reluctant to implement project

control.

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Project Control
– It is about gathering information to be able to
measure, monitor and adjust progress toward the
project goals.
– It is about being able to take action sooner so the
project will still come in on time and within budget.

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Project Control
– Proactive project control
“Control activities provide an opportunity for people to take
the initiative in planning against deviations, to head off
forces that might cause a deviation, to make corrections
very quickly when a deviation occur….. ”

(Henri Fayol, general and industrial management)

gement

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Success elements for project monitoring & control

Use the project plan as the primary guide for coordinating
and controlling the project
• Project plan is the baseline against which progress will
be measured
• The tasks, milestones and budget are the starting point
for project coordination and control

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Success elements for project monitoring & control (cont.)

• Workplan and schedule need to incorporate all stakeholders

requirements and deliverables of the project and critical points

Consistently monitor and update the plan

• It must reflect the current status of the project

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Success elements for project monitoring & control (cont.)

Quality communication is a key to project control
• Objective is to keep people informed, on track and involved in
the project
• Higher level management requires summary reports on
progress of the project
• Members of the team require detailed information
• Some communication will be formal; other informal

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Success elements for project monitoring & control (cont.)

Monitor progress on the project against the plan on a regular
basis
• Project Managers must compare time, cost and performance
of the project to the budget, schedule, and tasks defined in the
approved project plan
• It must be done at regular intervals, not arbitrary
• Consistency is very important; project must be monitored from
start to finish

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Success elements for project monitoring & control (cont.)

Get involved
• Roll up your sleeves and get involved

Adapt the project schedule,

schedule budget and work plan and take
necessary steps to keep the project on track
• Project manager is responsible for ensuring that changes are
appropriate, valid and approved

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Success elements for project monitoring & control (cont.)

Document project progress and changes and communicate them
to team members
• Quality and level of detail in reports and communication need
to be consistent, reliable and appropriate for each level of the
project team

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Meetings
– Ensure meeting productivity if meeting will be conducted to
communicate
• Distribute an agenda
• Invite only those required
• State the purpose of the meeting and stick to it
– Exchange information
– Determine status
– Solve a problem
– Make a decision

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!
• Meetings (cont.)
• Start on time—don’t wait for late people
• Keep the meeting on track and control the progress
• Summarize the results and assign action items
• Follow-up on action items
• Ensure that other meetings are summarized

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Compare, compare, compare

– Compare current schedule and expenditures with original
project plan (baseline).
– Make clear to the team that monitoring is used to
establish the project’s current position compared to the
planned position. (It is business, It is not personal)

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Status Reports
– Must keep stakeholders informed of progress,
problems and changes.

Graham’s Law: If they know nothing of

what you are doing, they suspect you
are doing nothing.
-Robert J. Graham, Understanding
Project Management

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Status Reports
– Fundamental tool to identify progress and
problems

– Progress should be defined and measured in

quantifiable non-subjective terms.

Never make the mistake of

confusing activity with progress.
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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Status Reports
– 90 Percent-Down Syndrome
• Many people are optimistic about their ability to make
up for lost time
• Others attempt to look good on paper

Whenever we see the phrase “90 percent done”

on a project status report, we know there is a big
problem.

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 Control Is A Good Thing !!!

• Status Reports
– Status reports don’t tell the whole story
• Do not rely on written reports alone to assess
progress of the project
• Need to informally review progress on the project
on your own by observing, communicating with the
team on an ongoing basis, and listening

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 Tools & Techniques for
Project Monitoring and Control

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 Tools & Techniques
• Critical to the process: a complete work plan and
schedule
– Baseline for measurement

When you don’t know where you want to go,

any road will get you there.
-Source unknown, but obviously
an experienced project planner

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 Tools & Techniques
• Guidelines for progress measures and workproducts to be produced
– 50-50% progress measure
– 2 wk period task duration (manageable periods)
– Identify and define task work products
– Task completion requires certification of work product adherence to
guidelines

Task Workproduct Progress Measure

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 Tools & Techniques

• Regular update of workplan (e.g weekly)

• Performance Reporting
– Should provide information on scope, schedule, cost and
quality
– Includes:
• Status Reporting
• Progress Measurement
• Forecasting

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 Tools & Techniques

• Status Reports
– Completed tasks & work product
– Actual Start/Finish dates
– Tasks in progress
– Tasks planned with expected completion dates
– Overdue tasks, justification and recommended new
estimates
– Problems/Issues
– Budget expenditures

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 Tools & Techniques

• Progress Reporting
– Quantifiable
• % of progress (% complete to schedule)
• Earned Value

– Earned Value Analysis

• Integrates scope, cost (resource) and schedule measures
• Involves calculating 3 key values for each activity:
– Planned Value (cost estimate planned to be spent)
– Actual Cost (total of costs incurred in accomplishing work)
– Earned Value (value of the work completed)

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 Tools & Techniques

• Progress Reporting
– Variance Analysis (e.g., cost and schedule)
– Trend Analysis to examine project results over time to
determine if performance is improving or deteriorating

• Project Review Meetings to assess status and/or

progress toward meeting objectives

• Project Audits (the most formal)

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 Roadmap to Project Monitoring & Control
Define Clear Project Objectives, Deliverables & Identify CSFs

Define Scope (WBS)

Develop Schedule & Budget

Identify & Define Project Metrics

Develop Procedure to Gather Measurement Data

Monitor & Proactively Control Progress

Report Progress 39
Roadmap to Project Monitoring & Control

Celebrate !!!

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“Project members must know what they are being
held accountable for; that is, what you expect
from them. Furthermore, these expectations must
be measurable. Project members then routinely
must report progress against these measures . . .
Requiring a trackable plan and routine progress
reports demonstrates good leadership.”

Neal Whitten, PMP

“Inspect What You Expect”’
PM Network, Aug 2002

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Questions

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