Monitoring And Controlling In Project Management

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

Project Management in essence is the overall planning, organization, monitoring and controlling of a company’s project in any given scenario. Project management is the process of handling or managing projects in an organization in order to achieve the company’s goal. This term encompasses any type of event or projects ranging from Olympic Games to organizing a wedding party. This term also includes the broad range of activities that are used to achieve specific objects and it is also geared towards introducing new products and services in a business environment.

Projects are distinct from the usual business activities and actions and require a professional approach in order to be completed. The projects require the employees of an organization to come together and focus on this particular task. Because of this, effective and efficient teamwork is one of the most important things required to complete them. When the employees come together to achieve work on this specific project, it promotes unilateralism and unity among the work force which also indirectly contributes positively towards the organizations goal.

A project is a systematic activity that has a specific starting and end point. This means that in order to complete the project, a true project management is required which can start the project on time and complete it within the due date without suffering from hurdles or obstructions. A project completed on time can deliver the benefits and achieve its goals. The objectives of a particular project are defined in terms of time expectations, quality of the overall project and the cost associated with it.

Goals and Objectives

The project management contains the following important phases namely planning phase, organizing phase, and monitoring and controlling phase. Out of these, we have selected the monitoring and controlling phase for our case study and we will discuss its overall scope in the process of project management.

Monitoring and controlling is the most important step in the whole process of project management because with the help from it, we can truly determine our standing of the project. It is always important to find out and evaluate the progress of the ongoing project because it gives a true picture about the progress of the object. In essence monitoring and controlling involves those activities that are designed to observe project execution so that any kind of potential problems can be identified in the whole process. When a certain problem is identified, monitoring and controlling helps in the formation of solutions to these problems so that the whole project process can be carried out smoothly.

The main objectives of monitoring and controlling phase include:

Measuring the performance of the project

Verification and managing changes to the project

Ensuring that the project conforms to the quality standards

Monitoring all types of risks that are posed to the project

The above mentioned objective helps in the identification of problems and risks that are posed to the project. These objectives also help in making sure that the process of project goes smoother and no particular hurdles are imposed in its way.

Problems faced in Monitoring and Controlling

The process of monitoring and controlling is not always a smooth ride. There are sometimes certain problems faced by the project managers during the monitoring and controlling phase that sometimes make it difficult for them to continue smoothly. There are sometimes problems faced in the initial phase like monitoring tools are not prepared suitably that hinders the progress of the project. Due to the inability of these monitoring tools, project managers find it difficult to analyze the current situation of the project.

The second most common type of problem faced in the monitoring and controlling phase is the cost associated with it. Sometimes the tools required for this project are associated with high costs and become unfeasible in the long run. Nobody can deny the importance of monitoring and controlling phase and it is one of the core aspects of the project management process. However, sometimes it becomes too expensive to carry on because the overall opportunity cost ratio is very high.

Another problem faced by the project managers in this phase is the sometimes incorrect implementation of actions that either damage the overall project process or display incorrect progress information about the project. If there is any deviation present in the proposed or ideal results then the whole project suffers from it. Additionally, the project would suffer from delays and postponements. The success of any kind of project is determined by the fact that how well was it monitored and controlled during its execution stage and who was responsible for overseeing this matter.

Correct Processes used by Project Managers

To counter the above mentioned problems, project managers always try to develop and improvise on the traditional monitoring and controlling activities. There are no definitive ways of solving these kinds of problems or delays. However, there are certain set of conditions which if followed give excellent results in the long run. Project Manager usually follows a correct set of pattern devised by the top management in order to ensure that the project management goes effortlessly.

Most of the successful project managers use those monitoring tools that are usually structured around the technological prospect and are easy to understand. Specific evaluation forms and benchmarks are developed that helps in gauging the progress of the project and to find out whether any hurdles are being imposed in its way. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is an important benchmark tool that is used in the monitoring and controlling phase to determine the progress of the project.

To handle the cost associated with this phase, successful project managers only apply a given set of benchmark tools and evaluation procedures to gauge the overall progress of the project. These tools are limited in the measure of the projects and are easy to maintain and form. The prospect of outsourcing is diminished and this helps in saving a lot of cost for the project managers. An effective monitoring and controlling phase is one where the costs are low.

To make sure that only suitable actions and procedures are implemented in the monitoring and controlling phase, only professional people are hired as project managers because their decisions are based on experience and efforts. An inexperienced project manager might not be able to keep up with the progress and will sometimes implement unwanted actions. The management takes care of this problem by hiring only the best qualified project managers.

Comparison of Key process and Current Process

Every organization tries to follow the best processes in the monitoring and controlling phase to the best of their ability. Sometimes certain problems and hurdles arise that halt the progress of the project management. In our workplace, the case is exactly the same. The organization follows the traditional steps of monitoring and controlling in the project management and usually does what's best in its ability. Our organization has some ground rules regarding the performance of project management in the company and project managers command a specific importance in all of this.

The selection and implementation of monitoring tools in our company is based on the same concept of key process that is benchmark tools. The monitoring and controlling phase in our project management is usually assessed by the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which is usually the norm followed by most of the companies out there. These monitoring tools have provided our organization with the best assessment methods and procedures in the monitoring and controlling stage and it allows the managers to efficiently gauge the progress of the project.

The cost aspect of this phase is somewhat troubled in our organization. Most of the well performing companies carefully implement the benchmark tools in their project management so as to increase the efficiency of the project and reduce the cost associated with it. The method of implementing these benchmark tools in our work place is somewhat arbitrary which contributes to the increasing cost of the project. This is one of the main problems that exist in our workplace.

The upper management and the project managers in our workplace are highly professionals and experienced. This contributes to the fact that proper management contributes positively in the development of the project management and to make sure that the whole process goes efficiently. The key process here is also similar that only experienced staff is hired for the role of project managers.

Actual Defect in Monitoring and Controlling Phase at our Organization

By reviewing the above comparison of our organization with the key process, it would seem that rising cost pose a substantial problem for the company. Efficient project management demands that the cost associated with the project remains low and the bills should be kept at the minimum possible value. Most of the companies today determine the effectiveness of their project handling with the cost associated with the whole project. This is where our organization lacks a little.

The monitoring and controlling phase demands that only the most important and effective benchmarks should be included which can easily determine the progress of the whole project. In our workplace, the method of implementation of these benchmarks is arbitrary which makes it difficult to exactly pinpoint the outcomes. As a result, the cost associated with increases because multiple implementations of these tools are required in order to get an accurate result. The increase of cost in this phase is severely looked down upon.

It is also important to mention here that sometimes the inability of project managers contribute to this problem. Sure the managers at top level are highly experienced in this regard and such type of blunders are not expected from them but still this type of negligence occurs unintentionally. The opportunity costs rises with these types of blunders and hence the performance associated with the project management decreases.

The current project managers at our workplace are facing some difficulties in solving these problems because it is usually associated with the upper management. Our workplace has got a great feedback system that lets the staff notify the higher ups about any potential problems in any business activity especially in the case of project management. The project managers are trying to utilize this feedback system for the overall benefit of the project management and to make sure that the cost should be kept down.

Conclusion and Recommendation

There is no doubt in the fact that project management has immense importance in the business as it is a one and the only way of handling projects in the workplace environment. Project management is not a name of a single phenomenon; there are many steps and phases that are involved in project management which includes planning, organizing, monitoring and controlling. All of these steps come in different times of the project progress but they all have the same goal which is that the project should start and end on a specified time.

Monitoring and controlling phase of the project management is considered the most important step of all by most of the project managers because this phase helps them to gauge the performance of the project. It tells them about the situation as to where they stand in the progress of their project and where should they be at that specified time. This means that monitoring and controlling gives the project managers a perspective about their expected result and their actual outcome so that they can easily categorize their projects performance.

The solution to the problem that our organization is facing currently lies in the efficient management of the project and the systematic implementation of them monitoring tools during the phase of monitoring and controlling of the project. Cost is the major determining factor here that outlines how well the project was being handled and this solution will provide the organization a way out of this.