Project implementation and control

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Project control : After all planning documents have been drawn up, the most important project phase begins : project implementation, which is accompanied by project control. The first step here is the plan / actual comparison of the specified project parameters. The ongoing plan / actual comparison as part of the project control ensures that deviations from plan specifications are recognized at an early stage. Deviations from the plan lead either to a change in the plan specifications or “suitable” measures are taken within the project management - if the plan specifications are adhered to.

Sub-areas of project control

An »elementary« and »timely« project control is a prerequisite for efficient project control; it includes the following areas of responsibility:

Deadline control

The deadline control is easy to carry out for larger projects, for example with the network plan technology or with a project plan and Gantt chart . These graphic aids allow an overall view of the numerous individual tasks with their many dependencies in the project. The easiest way to calculate the dates to determine the critical path is with a computer or PC-supported network plan method. In addition to scheduling plan / actual comparisons, the plan / plan comparison should also be used to derive deadline trend analyzes, because often it is not the individual postponement of a work package that is decisive, but rather the trend of date updates, e.g. B. a selected milestone.

Effort and cost control

Hourly account assignment, invoice verification and order value update are the most important elements of a target-oriented effort and cost control . By means of the hour allocation, the development hours incurred are recorded in relation to person, task and time and can be subjected to a plan / actual comparison. Ongoing invoice verification and order value updates are intended to ensure that development budgets are met. As with the deadline control, one should include options for trend analysis.

Material progress control

The progress control is probably the most important control task for the developer and project manager; but it is also the most difficult. Since there are normally no direct measurement variables for the progress of the material, substitute variables must be used that only have an indirect reference and therefore only allow a limited statement to be made about the progress of the material.

quality control

Quality assurance works alongside the project and supports development - it is divided into quality planning, quality control and quality testing. The aim of quality assurance is to produce high-quality products with minimal development costs. This requires careful error prevention through timely examination of all design documents in the planning sections of the development project as well as targeted troubleshooting in the implementation sections. Reliability considerations are a key element of quality testing. As part of general quality management, regular quality assurance reviews should be carried out in accordance with the rules of ISO 9000 or EFQM.

Configuration management

Also, the configuration management provides a project-related support is in the context of project management; As is well known, it takes over the administration of the individual development results in their respective states of maturity. This includes determining configurations, monitoring and controlling changes as well as the entire management of the individual configuration objects.

Project documentation

As with the product documentation - it contains all the information about the product or system to be developed and thus fully describes it - all information about the project is incorporated into the project documentation . This includes both the pure project plans, which only contain plan information, and the project reports, in which the actual information is also entered and compared with the plan information. A prerequisite for transparent project documentation, however, is a documentation regulation that is binding for the development area concerned.

Project reporting

The project reporting finally supplies all in the project directly or indirectly involved parties with the respective necessary project information. The project reporting must be tailored to the individual target group, both in terms of the density and presentation of information and the frequency of distribution. The elaboration of project reports, the creation of a project database and the implementation of project meetings are elements of project reporting.

Project management software as an aid

In order to facilitate project implementation and project control, project management software is often used, especially in the case of high project complexity or multi-project management. The scope of such a solution varies greatly. Smaller solutions often only support the creation of project plans and Gantt charts, while larger solutions with methods such as traffic light controlling help to keep an eye on the projects and sometimes also contain functions for time recording and project accounting.

literature

  • Burghardt, Manfred: Project Management, 6th Edition, Munich, Publicis Corporate Publishing, 2002 ISBN 3895781991