CHAPTER 10

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PHASES

PHASE III & IV:

(ISSUES IN PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION &
TERMINATION)
PROJECT MONITORING

 PROJECT MONITORING MEANS TO KEEP TRACK OF AND TO SYSTEMATICALLY CHECK ALL

ACTIVITIES AND WORK RELATED TO THE PROJECT.

 PROJECT MONITORING IS A PREREQUISITE FOR EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE

PROJECT’S PROGRESS.

 PROJECT MONITORING (AND EVALUATION) IS CONDUCTED AT VARIOUS LEVELS, I.E., AT

THE LEVEL OF THE WORK PACKAGES, THE FUNCTIONAL LEVEL (IN A MATRIX
ENVIRONMENT) AND AT THE PROJECT TEAM LEVEL

 QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED – WHAT SPECIFICALLY SHOULD BE MONITORED (AND

EVALUATED)? WHEN SHOULD THE PROJECT BE MONITORED (AND EVALUATED)? WHO
SHOULD CONDUCT THE MONITORING (AND EVALUATION)? WHAT MONITORING TOOLS
SHOULD BE UTILIZED?

 PROJECT MONITORING (AND EVALUATION) MUST BE CONSIDERED IN THE PROJECT

PLANNING PHASE. THERE, A PROJECT MONITORING (AND EVALUATION) STRATEGY AND
METHODOLOGY OR PROCESS APPROPRIATE FOR THE PROJECT IN QUESTION MUST BE
DEVISED AND COMMUNICATED TO ALL PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS.

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A NOTE ON PROJECT MEETINGS

 MEETINGS ARE A USEFUL PROJECT COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR

SEVERAL REASONS. FOR INSTANCE, MEETINGS PROVIDE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO GET LATEST INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE
RELATED TO THE PROJECT AND ANY OCCURRING PROBLEMS.
 FOR RETAINING THE COMMITMENT OF PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS BY
GIVING THEM A CHANCE IN DECISION-MAKING.
 FOR MAINTAINING THE VISIBILITY (role) OF THE PROJECT MANAGER
AS HEAD OF THE PROJECT.
 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT MEETINGS CAN BE AFFECTED BY ONE
OR MORE OF SEVERAL FACTORS –
1. DOMINATION BY ONE OR FEW PARTICIPANTS.
2. LACK OF A CONSISTENT AGENDA.
3. FAILURE BY THE CHAIRPERSON TO DRAW INPUT FROM THE MORE
RETICENT PARTICIPANTS(LEGAL PARTNERS).
4. ABSENCE FROM THE MEETING BY SOME PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS.

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PROJECT STATUS REPORTING

THE PURPOSE OF PROJECT STATUS REPORTING IS TO PROVIDE THE PROJECT

STAKEHOLDERS WITH CONTINUOUS INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT’S PROGRESS
IN RELATION TO THE PROJECT PLAN, AND THE FACTORS WHICH ARE AFFECTING
THE PROJECT.

THERE ARE 5 TYPES OF PROJECT STATUS REPORTS:

1. CURRENT PERIOD REPORTS – COVER ONLY THE MOST RECENTLY
COMPLETED PERIOD AND RELEVANT ACTIVITIES FOR THAT PERIOD.

2. CUMULATIVE REPORTS – THESE REPORTS CONTAIN THE ENTIRE PROJECT

HISTORY FROM INITIATION TO THE END OF THE CURRENT REPORT PERIOD.
THEY ARE MORE INFORMATIVE THAN CURRENT PERIOD REPORTS.

3. EXCEPTION REPORTS – THESE GIVE INSIGHT INTO VARIANCES FROM THE

PROJECT PLAN AND ARE USUALLY MEANT FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT. THEY ARE
USUALLY BRIEF, BUT MAY INCLUDE MORE DETAILED ATTACHMENTS
An exception report is a document that states those instances in which actual performance
deviated significantly from expectations, usually in a negative direction. The intent of
the report is to focus management attention on just those areas requiring immediate
action
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4. SPOTLIGHT REPORTS – HERE PROJECT STATUS REPORTS ARE GRADED
ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY ENCOUNTERED IN THEIR
IMPLEMENTATION. FOR INSTANCE, IF A PROJECT ENCOUNTERS NO
DIFFICULTY, THEN IT MAY BE GRADED GREEN, IF IT IS ENCOUNTERING
SOME (MANAGEABLE) DIFFICULTIES, IT IS GRADED YELLOW, AND IF IT
IS FACING SEVERE DIFFICULTIES, IT MAY BE GRADED RED

4. VARIANCE REPORTS – THESE PROJECT STATUS REPORTS INDICATE IN

NUMERIC OR GRAPHICAL FORMAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
PLANNED AND ACTUAL PROJECT VARIABLES, FOR EXAMPLE, COST AND
SCHEDULE.

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PROJECT CONTROL

PROJECT CONTROL IS “THE PROCESS OF MONITORING, EVALUATING,

AND COMPARING PLANNED RESULTS WITH ACTUAL RESULTS TO
DETERMINE THE PROGRESS TOWARD THE PROJECT COST, SCHEDULE,
AND TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, AS WELL AS THE
PROJECT’S ‘STRATEGIC FIT’ WITH ENTERPRISE PURPOSES”

SOME KEY PROJECT CONTROL-RELATED QUESTIONS CONCERN:

 WHAT IS GOING WELL AND WHAT IS NOT GOING WELL WITH THE
PROJECT?
 WHAT OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS ARE EMERGING?
 DOES SOMETHING NEED TO BE DONE WHICH IS NOT BEING DONE?
 ARE PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS SATISFIED WITH THE PROJECT’S
PROGRESS?
 IS THE PROJECT TEAM EFFECTIVE?
 ARE PROJECT RESOURCES BEING UTILIZED EFFICIENTLY?

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 THE PROJECT CONTROL CYCLE
Re-planning, reprogramming,
reallocation of resources,
changing the way the project
is managed and organized,
change in the cost, schedule
and technical performance
Parameters.
Taking Corrective
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Action
Progress of project, deviations
from the project plan and their
cause, measures needed to be
Undertaken.
Should be laid down in the project
Establishing Project Plan.
Performance Standards
1
2 Observing Project
Performance
Acquisition of information about
the project for the purpose of
3 comparison
Formal – Reports, Briefings,
Project Review Meetings,
Comparing Actual Letters, Memoranda etc.
Project Performance
Informal - Casual
Conversations,
Observations of people’s work,
Listening to Stakeholders,
Gossip etc.
PROJECT CLOSURE / TERMINATION

THE CLOSURE OR TERMINATION OF A PROJECT IS THE FINAL LOGICAL

PHASE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND MARKS THE END OF THE
PROJECT’S LIFE-CYCLE. THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF PROJECT CLOSURE /
TERMINATION:

NATURAL CLOSURE / TERMINATION – THE PROJECT ENDS AFTER ITS

GOAL HAS BEEN MET AND IT HAS BEEN PERFORMED (IDEALLY)
WITHIN SCHEDULE, WITHIN BUDGET AND ACCORDING TO THE
PRESCRIBED TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS (PROJECT
SUCCESS)

UNNATURAL CLOSURE / TERMINATION – THE PROJECT ENDS

PREMATURELY DUE TO ONE OR MORE ADVERSE REASONS RESULTING
IT IN NOT HAVING ACCOMPLISHING ITS GOAL (PROJECT FAILURE)

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FORMALITIES TO CONSIDER IN PROJECT CLOSURE / TERMINATION

 PROJECT DELIVERABLE END PRODUCTS MUST BE PROVIDED TO

THE PROJECT CUSTOMER OR OWNER AND ALL PROJECT
FUNCTIONAL WORK MUST BE FINISHED, ALONG WITH CLOSEOUT
OF RECORDS

 ALL CONTRACTS MUST BE REVIEWED WITH A VIEW TO ENSURING

THAT ALL REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN MET OR PROVISIONS MADE
IN THE EVENT THAT CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN
MET

 DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF A PROJECT CLOSEOUT

PLAN THAT PROVIDES GUIDANCE FOR THE ORDERLY
TERMINATION OF ALL ELEMENTS RELATING TO THE PROJECT

 MAINTAINING A CONTINUOUS SURVEILLANCE OF THE PROJECT

CLOSEOUT ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THE CLOSEOUT OF ALL
RECORDS AND THE DISPOSITION OF MATERIALS

 NOTIFICATION OF ALL RELEVANT PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS 9

 SATISFACTORY TERMINATION OF ALL PROJECT-RELATED FINANCIAL
MATTERS

 ASSISTING MEMBERS OF THE PROJECT TEAM IN FINDING OTHER WORK IN

THE ORGANIZATION

• PREPARATION OF THE PROJECT HISTORY (“LESSONS LEARNED”) REPORT

FOR THE BENEFIT OF FUTURE PROJECTS AND PROJECT TEAMS (INFORMATION,
EXPERIENCE)

• UNDERTAKING OF AN POST-COMPLETION PROJECT AUDIT TO IDENTIFY

OBSERVED STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE
PROJECT, THE REPERCUSSIONS OF MISTAKES MADE AND HOW SUCH MISTAKES
CAN BE AVOIDED IN THE FUTURE, AND THE CONSEQUENCES WHICH THE
PROJECT HAD ON THE ORGANIZATION 10