Project management domande esame

Purpose of control, to what is it directed?

Control consists in assuring that reality meets expectations or plans. The two fundamental purposes of control are to regulate results through altering of activity and to conserve the organization’s physical, human, and financial assets. The measurement of physical resources conservation is accomplished through standard audit. Also, the inventory must be controlled. The measurement of financial assets conservation is accomplished through specific tools, such as the project budget or capital investment control.

Three main types of control system

The three types of control system are: cybernetic control, go/no-go control, and post control. The project controlled by cybernetic systems is constantly monitored. When a distortion in the project is spotted, the system takes corrective actions. Since for every action taken, the system must have a counteraction ready, this type of control cannot be used with complex projects. The characteristic of the cybernetic control system is its automatic operation. A negative feedback loop is contained in the automatic control system.

Go/no-go control takes the form of testing if some pre-set condition has been met. Most of project management is go/no-go control. Actual results are compared with what was expected. The reports containing this type of analysis are given regularly to the project manager and senior management. Go/no-go control operates only if the controller uses it. A form of go/no-go control is the phase-gated process. With this kind of control, the project is controlled at various points throughout its life cycle to make sure it remains on course and of value to the organization. If the project doesn’t pass the control, it cannot continue with funding.

Post control are the controls taken at the end of the project, when it is concluded. Their main purposes are to improve the performance on future projects.

What tools are available to the project manager to use in controlling a project? Identify some characteristics of a good control system.

The trend projection curve, critical ratios, and the control chart are useful control tools. In addition to being sensible, a good control system should also possess some other characteristics. The system should be flexible. Where possible, it should be able to react to and report unforeseen changes in system performance. The system should be cost effective. The cost of control should never exceed the value of control. The control system must be truly useful and satisfy the real needs of the project. The system must operate in an ethical manner.

What is the mathematical expression for the critical ratio? What does it tell a manager?

The critical ratio is: actual progress budgeted cost × scheduled progress actual cost. The critical ratio is a good measure of the general health of the project.

How is creativity controlled?

Three approaches to the control of creativity are process review, personnel reassignment, and control of inputs.

The process review focuses on the process of reaching outcomes rather than on the outcomes per se. Because the outcomes are partially dependent on the process used to achieve them, uncertain though they may be, the process is subjected to control. Control should be instituted at each project milestone, an obvious opportunity for phase-gate controls. If research results are not as expected or desired, milestones provide a convenient opportunity to assess the state of progress, the value of accomplishment to date, the probability of valuable results in the future, and the desirability of changes in the research design. Again, the object of control is to ensure that the research design is sound and is being carried out as planned or amended. The review process should be participative. Unilateral judgments from the superior are not apt to be accepted or effective. Care must be taken not to overstress method as opposed to result. Method is controllable and should be controlled, but results are still what count.

Personnel reassignment is straightforward—individuals who are productive are kept; those who are not are moved to other jobs or to other organizations. Problems with this technique can arise because it is easy to create an elite group. While the favored few are highly motivated to further achievement, everyone else tends to be demotivated. It is also important not to apply control with too fine an edge. While it is not particularly difficult to identify those who fall in the top and bottom quartiles of productivity, it is usually quite hard to make clear distinctions between people in the middle quartiles.

In the case of control of inputs, the focus is on efficiency. The ability to manipulate input resources carries with it considerable control over output. Obviously, efficiency is not synonymous with creativity, but the converse is equally untrue. Creativity is not synonymous with extravagant use of resources. The results flowing from creative activity tend to arrive in batches. Considerable resource expenditure may occur with no visible results, but then, seemingly all of a sudden, many outcomes may be delivered. The milestones for application of resource control must therefore be chosen with great care. The controller who decides to withhold resources just before the fruition of a research project is apt to become an ex-controller.

What are go/no-go controls?

Go/no-go controls take the form of testing if some specific precondition has been met. Go/no-go controls operate only when and if the controller uses them. In many cases, they function periodically, at regular, preset intervals. The intervals are usually determined by clock, calendar, or the operating cycles of some machine system. Project milestones typically do not occur at periodic intervals; thus, controls should be linked to the actual plans and to the occurrence of real events, not simply to the calendar. Control is best exerted while there is still time for corrective action. To this end, the PM should establish an early warning system so that potential problems can be exposed and dealt with before they turn into disasters.

One form of go/no-go control is that of phase-gated processes. Rather than waiting until the project is completed, and then finding out that it doesn’t achieve the objectives of the organization, the phase-gated process controls the project at various points throughout its life cycle to make sure it remains on course and of value to the organization. At the launch of the new development project, a series of gates are planned, whereby the project cannot continue with funding until each gate has been successfully passed.

What is a champion?

A champion is a person with organizational clout who takes on personal responsibility (though not usually day-to-day management) for the successful completion of a project for the organization.

Describe a cybernetic control system.

Cybernetic control is by far the most common type of control system. The key feature of cybernetic control is its automatic operation. A system is operating with inputs being subjected to a process that transforms them into outputs. It is this system that we wish to control. In order to do so, we must monitor the system output. This function is performed by sensors that measure one or more aspects of the output, presumably those aspects one wishes to control. Measurements taken by a sensor are transmitted to the comparator, which compares them with a set of predetermined standards. The difference between actual and standard is sent to the decision maker, which determines whether or not the difference is of sufficient size to deserve correction. If the difference is large enough to warrant action, a signal is sent to the effector, which acts on the process or on the inputs to produce outputs that conform more closely to the standard.

A cybernetic control system that acts to reduce deviations from standard is called a negative feedback loop. If the system output moves away from standard in one direction, the control mechanism acts to move it in the opposite direction. The speed or force with which the control operates is, in general, proportional to the size of the deviation from standard. The precise way in which the deviation is corrected depends on the nature of the operating system and the design of the controller.

What should the postcontrol report include?

The postcontrol report includes four sections:

• Project objectives: The postcontrol report will contain a description of the objectives of the project. Usually, this description is taken from the project proposal, and the entire proposal often appears as an appendix to the postcontrol report.
• Milestones and budgets: This section of the postcontrol document starts with a full report of project performance against the planned and budget. Significant deviations of actual schedule and budget from planned schedule and budget should be highlighted.
• Final project results.
• Recommendations for improvement: The culmination of the postcontrol report is a set of recommendations covering the ways that future projects can be improved.

How should change be controlled?

The most common changes are those due to the natural tendency of the client and project team members to try to improve the product or service. New demands and scope requirements become apparent to the client, which were not realized at the time of project initiation. The scope creep is attributed to just two reasons: stakeholders being consulted at the beginning of the project, and requirements changing due to new information about the needs of the project. Since prevention of change is not possible, the PM’s best hope seems to lie in controlling the process by which change is introduced and accomplished. Control of scope creep is accomplished with a formal change control system, which, in some industries, is a part of their configuration management system responsible for integrating and coordinating changes throughout the systems development cycle. The process of controlling change is not complicated. If the project is large, a change control board needs to be constituted. For the typical small- or medium-sized project, however, the problem of handling change need not be complex.

Describe the phase-gated process.

One form of go/no-go control is that of phase-gated processes. Rather than waiting until the project is completed, and then finding out that it doesn’t achieve the objectives of the organization, the phase-gated process controls the project at various points throughout its life cycle to make sure it remains on course and of value to the organization. At the launch of the new development project, a series of gates are planned, whereby the project cannot continue with funding until each gate has been successfully passed. In addition to being commonly applied in the new product/service development projects, phase gates are also commonly employed in process improvement projects. Although often placed at natural project milestones, there may be more or fewer gates than milestone, but the purpose is different: milestones are natural end-of-phase points within a project where gates are meant to catch problems early on. The initial gates tend to be conceptual and performance-based, while the latter are more market oriented. The criteria for passing each gate are developed in the project planning stage.

What are the four parts of a technical proposal?

Project proposals generally consist of a number of sections:

• The technical approach: The proposal begins with a general description of the problem to be addressed or project to be undertaken. The presentation is in sufficient detail that a knowledgeable reader can understand what the proposer intends to do. The general method of resolving critical problems is outlined. In addition, any special client requirements are listed along with proposed ways of meeting them.
• The implementation plan: It contains estimates of the time required, the cost, and the materials used. Personnel, equipment, and resource usages are estimated on a period-by-period basis in order to ensure that resource constraints are not violated. Major milestones are indicated on the time charts. Contingency plans are specifically noted.
• The plan for logistic support and administration: The proposal includes a description of the ability of the proposer to supply the routine facilities, equipment, and skills needed during any project. It is important that the proposal contains a section explaining how the project will be administered. A critical issue that should be addressed in the administrative section of the proposal is a reasonably detailed description of how change orders will be handled and how their costs will be estimated.
• Past experience: All proposals are strengthened by including a section that describes the past experience of the proposing group.

By what criteria do you think managers judge selection models? What criteria should they use?

Managers often judge selection criteria by their own narrow interests. These could include their own advancement or sub-optimizing the products and processes of their own department. This bias could be to the detriment of the overall corporate goals and well-being. Instead, the project selection models should be able to evaluate how well a project’s execution will contribute to the overall business strategy of the performing organization. Some commonly used standards of judgment include:

• Realism
• Capability
• Flexibility
• Ease of use
• Cost
• Easy computerization

Contrast the competitive necessity model with the operating necessity model. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Both models are examples of nonnumeric models. Moreover, both models will tend to sustain an existing status quo and are subject to misuse in pursuit of hidden agendas of key stakeholders.

• Operating Necessity Model: The operating necessity project is perceived as a necessity to maintain the status quo for operations. If the plant is flooded by a hurricane, it’s an operating necessity to dry it out and restore production. The advantage of this model is that it involves little data and fairly obvious decisions. The disadvantage is that relying on it to solve problems may mask a long-term issue that needs to be solved in a manner other than firefighting. Perhaps, for example, the plant needs to be moved to a different location to prevent frequent flooding.
• Competitive Necessity Model: The competitive necessity project is perceived as a necessity to keep from losing the current competitive position. For example, a video rental chain that operates in physical stores might decide to add an Internet-based ordering facility to stay competitive with...