What steps are used by your Company to monitor Project status to Cost & Schedule? What types of reports are used?
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To monitor project status in terms of cost and schedule, our company follows a standardized process that involves several steps:
1. Define project objectives and metrics: Before monitoring the project, it is important to establish clear objectives and define relevant metrics that will be used to measure progress, cost, and schedule.
2. Establish a baseline: A baseline is created at the beginning of the project, which includes the initial cost and schedule estimates. This baseline will serve as a reference point to compare actual progress against planned progress.
3. Regular progress updates: Our company ensures that project managers provide regular progress updates, including information on completed tasks, remaining tasks, and any changes to the cost or schedule. These updates may be documented in various formats, such as project management software or spreadsheets.
4. Earned Value Management (EVM): EVM is a widely used technique to monitor project performance. It integrates three key project variables - planned value (PV), earned value (EV), and actual cost (AC) - to help track and analyze cost and schedule variances. By comparing the planned and actual values, our team can assess if the project is on track, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule.
5. Cost and schedule variance analysis: By analyzing the differences between planned and actual costs (CV) and schedule performance (SV), our company can identify deviations from the baseline and take appropriate actions to address them. Positive or negative variances are indicators that the project is either under or over budget, or ahead or behind schedule.
6. Trend analysis: Our company conducts trend analysis to identify patterns or trends in project performance. This involves comparing current project data with historical data to detect recurring issues, potential risks, or areas of improvement. Trend analysis helps in proactive problem-solving and minimizing the impact on costs and schedules.
7. Project status reports: Various types of reports are used to communicate project status to stakeholders. Common reports include executive summaries, progress reports, budget reports, and variance analysis reports. These reports present information on the current status, costs, schedules, milestones achieved, and any deviations from the baseline.
By following these steps, our company can effectively monitor project status in terms of cost and schedule, and take necessary actions to keep projects on track and within budget.