How to Control the Project
Follow these general guidelines for controlling your project and monitoring your project plans on a day-to-day basis:
- Focus your analysis on one cycle back and three cycles forward. For example, look one week back and three weeks forward.
- Identify all the work that has been completed. Support the people who are doing the work, and make them feel like a valuable part of the team.
- Evaluate the work that will be starting. Ensure that the owners know and agree that their work can start on time.
- Evaluate work that is almost due for completion. Check with the owners to ensure that the work is on target.
- Evaluate trends and other data that supports the owners' opinions.
- Evaluate work that is late starting or completing. What are the effects on the schedule and budget? What actions can you take to lessen the negative effects? Who should be responsible for each action?
- Always ask for updated estimates for the completion of tasks.
- Conduct regular project status meetings with your teams to discuss the schedule, status, dependencies, issues, and concerns. Also discuss the risks, and review the risk plan periodically.
- Document the minutes of each of these meetings. Post them in the PCB.
- Track issues using issue documents and the issue log. Keep all the issue documentation in the PCB.
- Always execute the change management process if changes are requested.
- Track the actual costs against the budgeted costs on a weekly basis if possible. Keep current.
- Conduct project reviews as required.
- Communicate the overall project status regularly to your team so that they know what is happening around them.