Topics
Monitoring, Reporting & Control
Monitoring is about assessing what work has been completed for a Programme or Project including costs, risks and issues. In addition the SRO and Board will routinely monitor if the business case continues to be viable in terms of alignment with strategic objectives. This usually takes the form of the production of documentation and reports at key stages. Reporting provides the Programme/Project Board with a summary of the status of the programme/project at intervals defined by them.
Controls usually relate to stages in projects and are established to control the delivery of the project’s products (outputs). In project management controls take two forms - event driven and time driven. Event driven means that the control occurs because a specific event has taken place. Examples of event driven controls include End-Stage Reports, completion of a Project Initiation Document (PID) and creation of an exception plan. Time driven controls are regular progress feedbacks. Examples of time driven controls include checkpoint and highlight reporting.
This does not replace the need for the Board to maintain an overall view of progress.
Purpose
Monitoring is used to oversee progress of products, outputs, and outcomes. Reporting advises the correct people at the correct time of positive and negative events, allowing for progression or remedial action as appropriate. Controls then assist with both monitoring and reporting by provision of required review points such as End Stage Assessments.
The diagram snapshot below displays some of the monitoring, reporting and control elements that are associated with project management in particular the area of Initiating a Project:-
Diagram above illustrating an example of the monitoring process in a project environment. If this is inaccessible or you require an alternative format, please contact us at coe@dfpni.gov.uk
Key Programme/Project Monitors, Controls and Reports
| Documentation | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Business Case | The Business Case effectively describes what the value is to the sponsoring organisation from the outcomes of the programme. Managing the Business Case is about value management of benefits, costs, timescales and risks. |
| Project Plan | A comprehensive plan which clearly defines the products to be produced, resources and time needed for all activities, any dependencies between activities and points at which progress will be monitored and controlled with any agreed tolerances. |
| Project Initiation Document (PID) | This document defines all major aspects of the project and forms the basis for its management and the assessment of overall success. There are two primary uses of the document: 1. To ensure that the project has a complete and sound basis before there is any major commitment to the project 2. To act as a base document against which the project can assess progress, change management issues, and ongoing viability questions. For construction projects, the content of the Project Initiation Document is set out in the Project Execution Plan. |
| Stage Plan | Provides detail of how and when the objectives for the stage are to be met by showing the deliverables, activities and resources required. The Stage Plan provides a baseline against which stage progress will be measured and is used as the basis of management control throughout the stage. |
| Work Package | Sets out all information needed to deliver one or more specialist products. The necessary information is collated by the Project Manager and used to formally pass responsibility for work or delivery to a team leader or member |
| Change Control Strategy | The Strategy documents the procedure to ensure that the processing of all Project Issues is controlled, including the submission, analysis and decision making. |
| Highlight Reports | To provide the Project Board (and possibly other stakeholders) with a summary of the stage status at intervals defined by them. Used to monitor stage and project progress. The Project Manager also uses it to advise the Project Board of any potential problems or areas where the Project Board could help. |
| Checkpoint Report | From the Team Manager to the Project Manager at a frequency defined in the stage plan and/or work package detailing the status of work for each member of a team. |
| Project Issue Log | A project issue is a generic term for any matter that has to be brought to the attention of the Project Team and requires an answer. An issue can have a negative or positive impact on the project and includes items such as requests for change, off-specifications (this is an item not included in the original specification or errors or omissions found in work already completed which would result in the agreed specification or acceptance criteria not being met), questions and statements of concern. |
| Risk Management Log | Risks can be threats to the successful delivery of the Programme or Project. Usually they are recorded in a risk register which is used to manage the project’s exposure to risk that is the probability of specific risks occurring and the potential impact if they did. |
| End Stage Report | Summarises progress to date and provides an overview of the project as a whole, including impact of the stage on the project plan, the business case and identified risks. The project board uses the information to decide what action to take with the project; approve the next stage; ask for revised plans, amend the project scope or stop the project |
| End Project Report | A report sent from the Project Manager to the Project Board, which confirms the hand-over of all deliverables, provides an updated business case, and an assessment of how well the project has done against its Project Initiation Document. |
| Lessons Learned Report | A report which describes the lessons learned in undertaking a project and which includes statistics from the quality control of the project's management products. It is approved by the Project Board then held centrally for the benefit of future projects. If the project is one of a number attached to a programme this document will also be used as input to the programme review. |
| Post Project Review | Documents whether business benefits have been realised and recommendations for future improvements have been recorded. This is viewed as part of the project evaluation review which includes the End Project Report and Lessons Learned Report. |
