Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The project team should determine which of the processes are required for the team's specific project. The key benefit of this Process Group is that project performance is observed and measured regularly ro identify variances from the project management plan. The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group also includes controlling changes and recommending preventive action in anticipation of possible problems. The Monitoring and Controlling Processes Group includes, for example:
• Monitoring the ongoing project activities against the project management plan and the project performance baseline
♦ Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented.



This continuous monitoring provides the project team insight into the health of the project and highlights any areas that require additional attention. The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group not only monitors and controls the work being done within a Process Group, but also monitors and controls the entire project effort. In multi-phase projects, the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan. When variances jeopardize the project objectives, appropriate project management processes within the Planning Process Group are revisited as part of the modified plan-do-check-act cycle. This review can result in recommended updates to the project management plan. For example, a missed activity finish date can require adjustments to the current staffing plan, reliance on overtime, or tradeoffs between budget and schedule objectives. Figure 3-9 indicates some of the process interactions that are essential to this Process Group.

Planning Process Group

Planning Process Group

The project management team uses the Planning Process Group and its constituent processes and interactions to plan and manage a successful project for the organization. The Planning Process Group helps gather information from many sources with each having varymg levels of completeness and confidence. The planning processes develop the project management plan. These processes also identify, define, and mature the project scope, project cost, and schedule the project activities that occur within the project. As new project information is discovered, additional dependencies, requirements, risks, opportunities, assumptions, and constraints will be identified or resolved. The multi-dimensional nature of project management causes repeated feedback loops for additional analysis. As more project information or characteristics are gathered and understood, follow-on actions may be required. Significant changes occurring throughout the project life cycle trigger a need to revisit one or more of the planning processes and, possibly, some of the initiating processes.


The frequency of iterating the planning processes is also affected. For example, the project management plan, developed as an output of the Planning Process Group, will have an emphasis on exploring all aspects of the scope, technology, risks, and costs. Updates arising from approved changes during project execution may significantly impact parts of the project management plan. Project management plan updates provide greater precision with respect to schedule, costs, and resource requirements to meet the defined project scope as a whole. Updates can be limited to the activities and issues associated with the execution of a specific phase. Tins progressive detailing of the project management plan is often called "rolling wave planning," indicating that planning is an iterative and ongoing process.

While planning the project, the project team should involve all appropriate stakeholders, dependmg upon then influence on the project and its outcomes. The project team should use stakeholders in project planning since the stakeholders have skills and knowledge that can be leveraged in developing the project management plan and any subsidiary plans. The project team must create an environment in which stakeholders can contribute appropriately.

Since the feedback and refinement process cannot continue indefinitely, procedures set by the organization identify when the planning effort ends. These procedures will be affected by the nature of the project, the established project boundaries, appropriate monitoring and controlling activities, as well as the environment in which the project will be performed.

Other interactions among the processes within the Planning Process Group are dependent on the nature of the project. For example, on some projects there will be little or no identifiable risk until after most of the planning has been done. At that time, the team might recognize that the cost and schedule targets are overly aggressive, thus involving considerably more risk than previously understood. The results of the iterations are documented as updates to the project management plan.

High Level Summary of Process Groups' Interactions

High Level Summary of Process Groups' Interactions

Project management Process Groups

Project management Process Groups
This section identifies and describes the five Project Management Process Groups required for any project. These five Process Groups have clear dependencies and are performed in the same sequence on each project. They are independent of application areas or industry focus. Individual Process Groups and individual constituent processes are often iterated prior to completing the project. Constituent processes also can have interactions both within a Process Group and among Process Groups.
The symbols for the process flow diagrams are shown in Figure:
• Process Groups
• Processes within the Process Groups
• Organizational Process Assets and Enterprise Environmental Factors, shown as inputs to and outputs from the Process Groups, but external to the processes
• Arrows or line arrows indicate process or data flow among or within the Process Groups.

Project Management Processes

Project Management Processes

The project management processes are presented as discrete elements with well-defined interfaces. However, in practice they overlap and interact in ways that are not completely detailed here. Most experienced project management practitioners recognize there is more than one way to manage a project. The specifics for a project are defined as objectives that must be accomplished based on complexity, risk. size, time frame, project team's experience, access to resources, amount of historical information, the organization's project management maturity, and industry and application area. The required Process Groups and their constituent processes are guides to apply appropriate project management knowledge and skills during the project. In addition, the application of the project management processes to a project is iterative and many processes are repeated and revised during the project. The project manager and the project team are responsible for determining what processes from the Process Groups will be employed, by whom, and the degree of rigor that will be applied to the execution of those processes to achieve the desired project objective.
An underlying concept for the interaction among the project management processes is the plan-do-check-act cycle (as defined by Shewhart and modified by Deming. in the ASQ Handbook. American Society for Quality. 1999). This cycle is linked by results - the result from one part of the cycle becomes the input to another.

Project management Organizational Influences

Organizational Influences

Projects are typically pan of an organization that is larger than the project. Examples of organizations include corporations, government agencies, healthcare institutions, international bodies, professional associations, and others. Even when the project is external (joint ventures, partnering), the project will still be influenced by the organization or organizations that initiated it. The maturity of the organization with respect to its project management system, culture, style, organizational structure and project management office can also influence the project. The following sections describe key aspects of these larger organizational structures that are likely to influence the project.

Organizational Systems

Project-based organizations are those whose operations consist primarily of projects. These organizations fall into two categories:
• Organizations that derive their revenue primarily from performing projects for others under contract - architectural firms, engineering firms, consultants. construction contractors, and government contractors.
• Organizations that have adopted management by projects. These organizations tend to have management systems in place to facilitate project management. For example, their financial systems are often specifically designed for accounting, tracking, and reporting on multiple, simultaneous projects.
Non-project-based organizations often may lack management systems designed to support project needs efficiently and effectively. The absence of project-oriented systems usually makes project management more difficult. Li some cases, non-project-based organizations will have departments or other sub-units that operate as project-based organizations with systems to support them. The project management team should be aware of how its organization's structure and systems affect the project.

Components of a Project Management Plan

There arc 14 common components of a typical project management plan.Management plans Through the course of this book, you have had many opportunities to explore management plans — for example, the scope management plan in  and quality management plan in. You need to include portions of your management plans in your project management plan. Remember that this project management plan serves as a guide for the project during the execution and monitoring and controlling processes.

need to determine which sections should be included to guarantee the objectives of the project. These management plans should correspond directly to the processes that you have selected for your project. The project management plan should include some portions of all of these:
Project scope management plan

■ Schedule management plan
■Cost management plan
■ Quality management plan
■ Process improvement plan
■ Staffing management plan Communications management plan Risk management plan
■Procurement management plan

Other components You may wish to also include other pertinent pieces of information in your project management plan. These components again should provide information and guidance as you execute the project. You might consider including the following information:

Milestone list As you worked through the WBS and project schedule, you probably determined what deliverables will be created at what points of time. These deliverables create a milestone list. It would be advantageous to include these in the project schedule as a baseline of what you plan to deliver.
Schedule baseline The project schedule is created during the Schedule Development process of the Planning phase of a project. It is created with tools and techniques like calculating critical path and duration compression. The original schedule is called the schedule baseline. The schedule baseline is documented in the project management plan so the project team understands the sequence of the work that must be done.
Resource calendar Resource calendars need to be included in the project management plan so team members understand exactly what days they arc active and what days they arc idle.
Cost baseline At the end of the Cost Planning process, you created a cost baseline. This baseline conveys what you plan on spending on the project. The cost baseline should be kept in the project management plan as a point of comparison as you execute the project.
Risk register The risk register is created in the Risk Identification process and includes risks, potential responses and other pertinent information. It is kept in the project management plan as ongoing documentation that must be inspected and acted upon through the execution of the project.
Be sure to include in your project management plan any other documentation that will guide the project to successful completion. This document should act as a litmus test for project personnel when they arc in doubt about what to do.

Review Questions Project management

1. As a project manager, you're responsible for maintaining and ensuring integrity for all of the following except which one?
A. Personal integrity of others
B. Project management process
C. Personal integrity

D. Product integrity

2. You are a project manager working on contract. You've performed earned value analysis and discovered that the project will be completed on time and under the original estimated amount. This means the profit to your company will decrease as will your personal bonus. Which of the following should you do?
A. Add activities to the project to increase the cost enough to meet the original estimated amount.
B. Tell the customer you're adding requirements to the project that were originally cut because of cost constraints.
C. Upon completion, inform the customer the project has come in under budget.

D. Bill the customer for the full amount of the contract because this was the original agreed-upon price.

3. Integrity in the project management field is accomplished through all of the following except which one?
A. Training to learn how to manage relationships with others from different cultures
B. Adhering to an ethical code
C. Applying established project management processes

D. Following the PMP Code of Professional Conduct

4. You are a project manager for a manufacturing firm that produces Civil War-era replicas and memorabilia. You discover a design error during a test production run on your latest project. Which of the following is the most likely response to this problem?
A. Reduce the technical requirements so that the error is no longer valid.
B. Go forward with production and ignore the error.
C. Go forward with production but inform the customer of the problem.
D. Develop alternative solutions to address the error.

Manage Company Data

While it may seem obvious that you should not use personal information or an organization's trade secrets for personal gain, sometimes the organization lias a legitimate need to share information with vendors, governmental agencies, or others. You need to determine which vendors or organizations arc allowed to sec sensitive company data. In some cases, you may even need to determine which individuals can have access to the data. When in doubt, ask.

Here arc some examples. Maybe the company you're working with has periodic mailings it sends to its customer base. If one of your project activities includes finding a new vendor to print the mailing labels, your organization may require the vendor to sign a nondisclosure agreement to guard the contents of the customer lists. Discovering just who should have access to this information might be tricky.
Another example involves data on citizens that is maintained by the government. You might think that because the data belongs to one agency of the government—say the Internal Revenue Service—any other agency of the government can have access to it. This isn't the case. Some agencies arc refused access to the data even though they may have good reason to use it. Others may have restricted access, depending on the data and the agency policy regarding it. Don't assume that others should have access to data because it seems logical.
Most organizations require vendors or other organizations to sign nondisclosure agreements when the vendors or others will have access to sensitive company data. It's your responsibility to ensure that the proper nondisclosure agreements arc signed prior to releasing the data. This function is often handled by the procurement department.

Intellectual Property

You arc likely to come into contact with intellectual property during the course of your project management career. Intellectual property includes items developed by an organization that have commercial value but arc not tangible and copyrighted material such as books, software, and artistic works. It may also include ideas or processes that arc patented. Or it might involve an industrial process, business process, or manufacturing process that was developed by the organization for a specific purpose.

Intellectual property is owned by the business or person that created it. You may have to pay royalties or ask for written permission to use the property. Intellectual property should be treated just like sensitive or confidential data. It should not be used for personal gain or shared with others who should not have access to it.

Laws and Regulations Compliance for PMP

This may seem obvious, but since it's part of the PMP Code of Professional Conduct, we'll mention it here. As a professional, you're required to follow all applicable laws and rules and regulations that apply to your industry, organization, or project. This includes PM1 organizational rules and policies as well. You should also follow any ethical standards and principles that may govern your industry or the state or country you're working in. Remember that rules or regulations you're used to in the United States may or may not apply to other countries and vice versa.
As a PMP, one of the responsibilities that falls into this category is the responsibility to report violations of the PMP code of conduct. In order to maintain integrity of the profession, PMPs must adhere to the code of conduct that makes all of us accountable to each other.
When you know a violation has occurred and you've verified the facts, notify PMI. Part of this process—and a requirement of the code of conduct—is that you'll comply with ethics violations and will assist PMI in the investigation by supplying information, confirming facts and dates, and so on. Violations include anything listed in the PMP Code of Professional Conduct, such as conflicts of interest, untruthful advertising and reporting of PMP experience and credentials, and so on, as well as appearances of impropriety. This one calls for some judgment on your part, but it's mostly based on common sense. For example, a PMP in most situations should not have a family member working on the project team reporting to them (unless they own and run a family business).

Applying Industry Knowledg

Contributing and applying professional knowledge goes beyond project management experience. You likely have specific industry or technical experience as well. Part of applying your professional knowledge includes gaining knowledge of your particular industry and keeping others informed of advances in these areas.
Information technology lias grown exponentially over the last several years. It used to be that if you specialized in network operations, for example, it was possible to learn and become proficient in all things related to networks. Today that is no longer the case. Each specialized area within information technology lias grown to become a knowledge area in and of itself. Many other fields have cither always had individual specialties or just recently experienced this phenomenon, including the medical field, biocnginccring, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and so on. You need to stay up-to-date regarding your industry so that you can apply that knowledge effectively. Today's fast-paced advances can leave you behind fairly quickly if you don't stay on top of things.
I mentioned in the beginning of the book that as a project manager you arc not required to be a technical expert, and that still holds true. But it doesn't hurt to stay abreast of industry trends and knowledge in your field and have a general understanding of the specifics of your business. Again, you can join industry associations and take educational classes to stay on top of breaking trends and technology in your industry.

Project Management Knowledge

Project Management Knowledge
Project management is a growing field. Part of your responsibility as a PMP is to stay abreast of project management practices, theories, and techniques. There arc many ways to do this, one of which includes joining a local PMI chapter. There arc hundreds of local chapters in every state and in other countries as well. You can check the PMI website (HVAV.prai .org) to find a chapter near you.
Chapter meetings give you the opportunity to meet other project managers, find out what techniques they're using, and seek advice regarding your project. Usually guest speakers appear at each chapter meeting and share their experiences and tips. Their stories arc always interesting, and they give you the opportunity to learn from someone else's experiences and avoid making wrong turns on your next project. You may have a few stories of your own worth sharing with your local chapter. Volunteer to be a speaker at an upcoming meeting and let others learn from your experiences.

Professional Demeanor

Professional Demeanor
Acting in a professional manner is required of most everyone who works in the business world. Vhilc you arc not responsible for the actions of others, you arc responsible for your own actions and reactions. Part of acting professionally involves controlling yourself and your reactions in questionable situations. For example, a stakeholder or customer may lash out at you but have no basis for their outburst. You can't control what they said or did, but you can control how|
•ou respond. As a professional, your concern tor the project and the organization should take >rcccdcncc over your concern for your own feelings. Therefore, lashing out in return would be unprofessional. Maintain your professional demeanor and don't succumb to shouting matches
or ego competitions with others
jAs project manager, you have a good deal of influence over your project team members. One of the items on the agenda at the project team kickoff meeting should be a discussion of where
the team members can find a copy of organizational policies regarding conflict of interest, cultural diversity, standards and regulations, and customer service and standards of performance.| Better yet, have copies with you that you can hand out at the meeting or have available the!
addresses of website where they can find these documents. |\Vhcn you sec project team members acting out of turn or with lcss-than-dcsirablc customer! service attitudes, coach and influence those team members to conform to the standards of conduct expected by you and your organization. Your team members represent you and the project.] As such, they should act professionally. It's your job as the project leader to ensure that they do.

Associations and Affiliations of Project

Associations and Affiliations
Conflicts of interest may include your associations or affiliations. For example, perhaps your brother-in-law owns his own construction company and you arc the project manager for a construction project that's just published an RFP. Your brother-in-law bids on the project and ends up winning the bid.
If you sat on the decision committee and didn't tell anyone about your association with the winning bidder, that is clearly a conflict of interest. If you influenced the bid decision so that it went to your brother-in-law, he benefited from your position. Therefore, you put your personal interests, or in this case the interests of your associations, above the project outcome. Even if you did not influence the decision in any way, when others on the project discover the winning bidder is your brother-in-law, they will assume a conflict of interest occurred. This could jeopardize the awarding of the bid and your own position as well.
The correct thing to do in this case would be to, first, inform the project sponsor and the decision committee that your brother-in-law intends to bid on the project. Second, refrain from participating on the award decision committee so as not to unduly influence others in favor of your brother-in-law. And last, if you've done all these things and your brother-in-law still wins the bid, appoint someone else in your organization to administer the contract and make the payments for the work performed by him. Also, make certain you document the decisions you make regarding the activities performed by him and keep them with the project files. The more documentation you have, the less likely someone can make a conflict of interest accusation stick.

Vendor Gifts
Many professionals work in situations in which they arc not allowed to accept gifts in excess of certain dollar amounts. This might be driven by company policy, the department manager's policy, and so on. In my organization, it's considered a conflict of interest to accept anything from a vendor, including gifts (no matter how small), meals, even a cup of coffee. Vendors and suppliers often provide their customers and potential customers with lunches, gifts, ballgamc tickets, and the like. It's your responsibility to know if a policy exists that forbids you from accepting these gifts. It's also your responsibility to inform the vendor if they've gone over the limit and you arc unable to accept the gift.
The same situation can occur here as with the brother-in-law example earlier. If you accept an expensive gift from a vendor and later award that vendor a contract or a piece of the project work, it looks like and probably is a conflict of interest. This violates PMI guidelines and doesn't look good for you personally cither.