Page 146 - DMGT302_FUNDAMENTALS_OF_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 8: Monitoring and Controlling

member can achieve control of his or her own efforts. To do this requires five basic conditions. Notes
These are shown separately. To achieve self-control, team members need:
1. A clear definition of what they are supposed to be doing, with the purpose stated.

2. A personal plan for how to do the required work.
3. Skills and resources adequate to the task.
4. Feedback on progress that comes directly from the work itself.

5. A clear definition of their authority to take corrective action when there is a deviation
from plan (and it cannot be zero!).
The first requirement is that every team member be clear about what her objective is. Note the
difference between tasks and objectives. State the objective and explain to the person (if necessary)
what the purpose of the objective is. This allows the individual to pursue the objective in her
own way. The second requirement is for every team member to have a personal plan on how to
do the required work. Remember, if you have no plan, you have no control. This must apply at
the individual as well as at the overall project level. The third requirement is that the person has
the skills and resources needed for the job. The need for resources is obvious, but this condition
suggests that the person may have to be given training if she is lacking necessary skills. Certainly,
when no employee is available with the required skills, it may be necessary to have team
members trained. The fourth requirement is that the person receives feedback on performance
that goes directly to her. If such feedback goes through some roundabout way, she cannot
exercise self-control. To make this clear, if a team member is building a wall, she can measure
the height of the wall, compare it to the planned performance, and know whether she is on track.
The fifth condition is that the individual must have a clear definition of her authority to take
corrective action when there is a deviation from plan, and it must be greater than zero authority!
If she has to ask the project manager what to do every time a deviation occurs, the project
manager is still controlling. Furthermore, if many people have to seek approval for every
minor action, this puts a real burden on the project manager.
The control system must focus on project objectives, with the aim of ensuring that the project
mission is achieved. To do that, the control system should be designed with these questions in
mind:

1. What is important to the organization?
2. What are we attempting to do?
3. Which aspects of the work are most important to track and control?

4. What are the critical points in the process at which controls should be placed?
Control should be exercised over what is important. On the other hand, what is controlled tends
to become important. Thus, if budgets and schedules are emphasized to the exclusion of quality,
only those will be controlled. The project may well come in on time and within budget, but at
the expense of quality. Project managers must monitor performance carefully to ensure that
quality does not suffer.

Taking Corrective Action

A control system should focus on response—if control data do not result in action, then the
system is ineffective. That is, if a control system does not use deviation data to initiate corrective
action, it is not really a control system but simply a monitoring system. If you are driving and
realize that you have somehow gotten on the wrong road but do nothing to get back on the right

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