Analysis of the Methods for Controlling Projects - Literature review Example

 . Literature Review on How Projects are controlled Abstract If complex and expensive projects are to be concluded on time and within budget, then it is important for experienced project managers and their project teams to effectively monitor and control such projects. Although it is essential to monitor the progress of a project in terms of the time that it has taken to complete scheduled tasks, the funds that have been expended in getting work completed, the project resources that have been expanded and the variance of the costs of works that have been completed etc, if a project is not performing according to plan, then appropriate control action becomes necessary to ensure that the project performs in a satisfactory manner. Even if a project is indeed performing according to expectations, it is still essential to implement project controls to ensure that the organisation that is responsible for the execution of a project continues to focus its energies and efforts, in an optimal manner, towards the success of the project that is being undertaken. Whereas, it is possible to correct relatively small slippages by trading – off costs, time and quality, effective project control demands that the project management team tries to simultaneously focus on inputs, outputs, behaviour control of the project organisation, clan control and the functional requirements of a project. Risks that are associated with projects tasks have to be thoroughly analysed and risk mitigation plans have to be established. Keen project monitoring ensures that timely action can be taken to rapidly resolve problems before they become too expensive or cumbersome to correct. Thus, project management and control is an art which requires both “hard” and “soft” skills, involving technical, managerial, and interpersonal as well as leadership skills. This literature review attempts to focus on the methods for controlling projects that are to be found in recent literature. Contents Introduction 4 Methodology 6 Literature Review 11 Main Findings 17 Literature Review 19 References / Bibliography 20 List of Tables and Figures Figure 1: The Project Control Process 11 Figure 2: Project Manager Experience Model 16 Introduction Project management refers to the discipline related to the organisation and management of resources in a manner that will permit these resources to deliver what is required for the completion of a project within specified time, costs and defined scope or quality criteria (Wikipedia, 2006, “Project Management”). A project consists of a number of activities or tasks that have to be undertaken in a specified sequence in order to produce a desired end result. Projects that may be undertaken are many and varied and these may include the construction of a large building, the development of complex software or the installation of a new telephony system etc. Thus, project management is not about specific fields of activities, but rather, it is about the management, monitoring, control and quality or risk issues associated with undertaking a number of tasks that yield a specified end result. The management of projects has received considerable attention in recent years as the tasks that are associated with projects have become more complex. As an example, computers have now become very much more sophisticated and the construction of huge skyscrapers is now rather common. Thus, the development of software for such computers and their intended applications as well as the construction of skyscrapers requires an ability to manage, control and carry out a large number of complex activities that need to be carried out with due regard to variables such as costs, time of completion, quality of result of a task or a number of risks associated with activities if the overall result of a large number of activities is to result in a satisfactory conclusion. The modern form of project management was first used in the development of the Polaris submarine in the 1950s and this has since then evolved as a result of many and varied contributions to the field and the development of computerised management and monitoring techniques (McBride, 2005, Chapter 1). Projects can only have a desired outcome if project activities can be adequately coordinated, monitored and controlled. A distinction exists between project monitoring, project control and project coordination (McBride, 2005, 10 – 20). Whereas project monitoring refers to the tasks associated with collecting information about the state of a project and its progress or quality, project control refers to the use of control mechanisms that are used in order to move the organisation that is associated with a project towards the accomplishment of its objectives and the satisfactory completion of a project. Project coordination is rather different from project control, because project coordination refers to the management of interdependencies between various project activities and the proper scheduling of such activities for the satisfactory conclusion of a project undertaking. However, it has to be appreciated that if complex projects are to be executed successfully, then due emphasis has to be provided to project monitoring, coordination and control in the management of such projects. With the evolution of the discipline of project management and a steady growth in published literature associated with this discipline, as a result of the numerous contributions by many authors, practitioners and researchers, it has now become difficult to present a comprehensive discussion of all aspects of project management in a single treatise on the subject. Very many methodologies, techniques and discussions have been presented by many on various aspects of project management. It is, therefore, desirable to consider aspects related to the overall management of projects separately if a more comprehensive and current discussion is to be possible. Controlling projects is important because without an ability to focus the efforts of a large and diverse project organisation towards the successful completion of the project which is being undertaken, it is not possible to successfully conclude an undertaking in a satisfactory manner. It is, therefore, important to examine what the current literature about control of projects has presented and important themes from current literature related to the control of projects are likely to be useful for all those who are associated with, or interested in the discipline of project management. The following discussion presents a literature review for the techniques for controlling projects and it is hoped that the literature review will be of benefit to all those who may be interested in the manner in which project organisations are controlled in order to successfully execute and conclude complex projects. The next section describes the methodology which has been followed for presenting a literature review for the present day techniques for controlling projects. Methodology The broad aims of conducting a literature review into the techniques for project control are firstly to discover and describe relevant approaches to those management methods and tools which have been developed in schools of management, engineering, technology and business as well as other fields and their actual as well as possible application to the management of projects. It is also important to gain an understanding of the context in which project control can be applied to the management of projects in real life and to discuss the results of actual experimentations in real life. Evidence which is available from reputed publications, journals, articles and web sources needs to be considered and evaluated on the basis of what has been reported as well as any exciting results or outcomes. Sources which have been selected on the basis of their merit as well as relevance must then be carefully studied and important themes have to be filtered out of the published material in order to conduct a discussion of the nature of evidence in the field related to the control of projects. It is expected that the insights that are to be gained from such a systematic review will be of use to project managers and all those that are associated with the management of projects. Such insights can not only be of benefit when applied to specific projects, but can also benefit nearly all diverse project management tasks in many diverse sectors. Many enhancements in management are possible as a result of this (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, 2001, “Stage I” and “Stage II”). In order to achieve an adequate level of understanding and appreciation for the techniques of project control, both qualitative as well as quantitative studies and results need to be examined along with discussions about principles of project control. Currently, there are two traditions of research which have developed along with their terminology, methods and techniques and these traditions have been referred to by different researchers with different names such as qualitative or quantitative traditions in research, humanistic and scientific traditions or the positivist and phenomenological traditions of research. The differing names refer to the same distinctions in the processes of conducting research. On the one hand, the qualitative tradition consists of case study methods, ethnography and historical as well as action research and on the other hand we have the quantitative tradition that consists of methodologies such as survey research, experimental and quasi-experimental research as well as research after the occurrence of a factual event (Collins, 1999, Chapters 1 -3) and (Marshall, 1999, Chapters 1 -2). It is possible to express facts as objective reality which can be expressed as quantities. This forms the basis of the positivist tradition of research which is quantitative research and relies on numbers, measurements, and experiments to derive numerical relationships under conditions of controlled behaviour that can be manipulated. The phenomenological tradition attempts to describe and understand reality which is set in perceptions with narratives and observations being used to focus on understanding and meaning to yield knowledge and understanding (Collins, 1999, Chapters 1 -3) and (Marshall, 1999, Chapters 1 -2). Generalisation of situations and settings, understanding of events and why they occur as well as predictions are some of the results of the research process. There is a difference between explanation and understanding that develops as a result of seeing things happen, after reasons have been fitted into patterns and deductions can be made from other known truths. There is a requirement for elements being investigated to be related to other elements and the overall picture forms into a unified model with the unification forming the explanation. Thus, there is an explanation for something when it can be understood. Understanding requires the use of rich descriptions and formation of relationships between different parts. This fitting together of things is what is known as the pattern model and the understanding of patterns is the result of research of a qualitative tradition. Thus, this form of research is aided by review of literature. In the quantitative method of research, the more basic facts or laws are used to determine what is to be explained and a deductive model is constructed (Collins, 1999, Chapters 1 -3) and (Marshall, 1999, Chapters 1 -2). There is a distinction between prediction and generalisation. It is possible to deduce an unknown part of a pattern from a known part and, therefore, the symmetry of prediction and deduction uses the deductive model. In some areas, generalisations tend to be complex with there being a great deal of conflict and scrutiny (Collins, 1999, Chapters 1 -3) and (Marshall, 1999, Chapters 1 -2). Qualitative research is, therefore, more appropriate for the development of complex interrelationships in the more natural or real life situations with a possibility of using this methodology of research to test theories which have already been developed. The qualitative and quantitative methods of research work together and quantitative research can be used to further test theories which have been developed using qualitative research and qualitative research can be used to further explain the results of quantitative investigations. Qualitative methods are, therefore, useful for rich descriptions of issues being studied with hopes of achieving better understandings with predictions not being the main aim and generalisations taking the form of natural generalisation. Hence, the qualitative research methodology that was adopted to study the ingredients of project control is in fact the appropriate one with further investigations on specific ingredients being possible using the quantitative methodology of research. The quantitative methodology can, therefore, be used as a basis for further investigations in future work (Collins, 1999, Chapters 1 -3) and (Marshall, 1999, Chapters 1 -2). In an attempt to fond suitable sources for reference from published material related to project control, extensive searches were conducted for the material from British libraries using the COPAC library search engine (www.copac.ac.uk). Publications as well as journals which have had an association with project management were searched and a bibliography of the relevant material was created. The results obtained from the search engine were then examined manually to determine what publications may be of value for this literature review. The search focused on attempts to find suitable publications in the British libraries which had been published in at least the last five years. The results of these search has been included in the bibliography / references included with this literature review. Apart from the searches conducted using the COPAC library search engine, internet searches were also conducted for articles, research papers, literature reviews and thesis which had been written in relation to the techniques and methods for the control of projects. Up to five key words were used in order to try and access the internet documents which could be of use in the literature review. Key citations from articles of interest which could be of use in the literature review were also used to find further material in computerised data bases as well as the internet. As was the practise for conducting library searches, attempts were made to focus on suitable material which had been added in at least the last five years. Google search was used for accessing documents of importance in accessing research work which had been conducted at institutions of higher education and universities. Thesis and dissertations which have been previously written at the higher education level can be effective in being able to provide an understanding of issues and providing unique insights, along with acting as pointers to other important and relevant sources of information related to the subject. The indexes of some relevant and learned journals such as the International Journal of Project Management or Project Management Journal are important in being able to obtain relevant information for the review. Websites related to project management, such as ProjectCoonnections.com, were also examined in order to gain insights from recent articles or published material (ProjectConnections, 2006, “Project Management Know-How and Resources”, “Web Links” and “Papers and Presentations”). A problem with some of the journals, however, is that a subscription is required for access to the material and hence this has been a problem with accessing literature from these sources (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, 2001, “Stage I”, “Stage II” and “Appendices”). With such a large number of published sources, it is important to be able to select the most appropriate and relevant material for inclusion in the literature review. The selection criteria and, therefore, the selection of material searched should follow logically from the relationship of the material to control in project management. The criterion for selection was first applied to the abstracts and citations of the material searched and based on this criteria, it was decided if a detailed look at the full text of the material was warranted. It is also important to assess the quality of a study or published material which is related to the topic of the systematic literature review so that as far as possible, only the best and the most appropriate material is included in the literature review. Criteria associated with the broad aims for conducting the literature review is important along with the qualifications and reputation of the author. Material published in authoritative journals, by authoritative authors or organisations and material which is relatively recent is more important then other sources which may not be able to meet the criteria for inclusion in the systematic literature review as closely (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, 2001, “Stage I”, “Stage II” and “Appendices”). After the selection of the material which was considered to be important enough for inclusion in the literature review, it was considered appropriate to review this material and extract the important themes, results or conclusions which are presented. The importance of the conclusions or themes presented in the material, the size and validity of the study along with any explanations of importance which may have been presented are important and worthy of mention in the literature review. An attempt was made to mix qualitative studies with quantitative studies of importance, especially if the quantitative studies or material was highlighting the qualitative material. As far as possible, an attempt was made to ensure that the material for inclusion in the literature review was rather mixed, presenting the theoretical ideas behind project control as well as measures of performance and the impact of project control approaches (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, 2001, “Stage I”, “Stage II” and “Appendices”). After having discussed the methodology behind the literature review, its aims and the nature of research methodologies, it is now appropriate to consider the results of the efforts which were made to review the relevant material selected. These results are presented in the next section. Literature Review Control of projects depends on the project management team’s ability to measure the progress which a project has made and to compare such progress against what had been planned for during the planning phase of the project (MIT, 2004, “Basics of Project Control”). Planned costs associated with a project and planned schedules have to be compared with what has been accomplished at the time of monitoring and the work that has already been done may be assigned a money value. Concepts such as “The Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled”, “Actual Cost of Work Performed”, “The Budgeted Coast of Work Performed”, Actual Time of Work Performed” and the “Scheduled Time of Work Performed” etc are important in monitoring projects and taking corrective action in order to control projects. Figure 1: The Project Control Process (MIT, 2004, “Basics of Project Control”) Money which has already been spent on a project and what has been achieved against the scheduled completion targets are important measures of the progress that has been made in regard to a project. Cost variance, schedule variance, time variance and the resource flow variance, which attempt to measure the difference between what had been planned and what has already been applied to a project provide a measure for the sense of urgency and the magnitude of the control action for project control. If a project is slacking badly or eating up the resources that had been allocated for the project faster then had been planned for or anticipated, then a need exists to act quickly and forcefully to try and correct the situation. PERT, CPM and Gantt charts present concepts related to the planned progress of a project, but these have to be compared with what has actually been accomplished. However, rapid qualitative judgement can be far more effective in trying to determine what needs to be done in order to control a project then detailed quantitative analysis. If a project is presenting indications of not following what had been planned for reasonably well, then either a problem correction for the problem that is holding a project back needs to be undertaken or a correction is necessary for the project plans which had been drawn up. Problem correction, such as a lack of employee morale, lack of material and supplies for a project or sorting out the impact on a project of an unforeseen occurrence is often a technical and managerial problem (MIT, 2004, “Planning and Deterministic Scheduling”). However, drawing up revised project plans can often turn into a political problem because a number of financial managers or investors may need to be convinced that it is necessary to follow revised plans. Risks are inherent in all projects, but these risks need to be considered at the time of project planning and a certain level of flexibility in planning may be important. Time, costs and quality are important issues associated with projects and tradeoffs or triage may be required to balance an awkward situation (MIT, 2004, “Dealing with Uncertainty”) and (MIT, 2004, “Risk Management II – Quality). New information may shed new light on what may be required to be done to control a project. However, projects may be accelerated by introducing multiple shift work, overtime or extended work days or be using more productive equipment and a larger number of workers. It may also be possible iron out friction between personnel or within teams and sort out personality clashes or other personal issues that are holding back a project. Time – cost tradeoffs and use of lower priced, but acceptable material or resources for project can also assist in the control of a project. Attempts that have been made to correctly focus on a few project components can greatly assist in providing control over the entire project (MIT, 2004, “Problem Diagnosis and Introduction to Problem Dynamics”) and (MIT, 2004, “System and Change Dynamics”). Keenly monitoring a project and studying the project dynamics can have an impact on the ability deliver quick control actions for controlling a project (MIT, 2004, “System and Change Dynamics”) and (MIT, 2004, “Reviews, Audits, Changes and Disputes”). The nature of the project organisation which has been designed to deliver a project and payment schedules to subcontractors or workers also have an impact on project control (MIT, 2004, “Project Organisation) and (MIT, 2004, “Payment and Award Techniques”). The end of a project has been mentioned as being a particularly confusing and frustrating time when many matters that had been hidden may finally be required to be resolved (Projectconnections.com, 2006, “Tracking and Control”). Also, careful attention and planning is often required to control a project that is falling behind schedule or performing badly. However, it is important to track and control projects tightly and keenly from the very beginning so that a disastrous situation does not develop. Negligence on the part of a project manager in the early stages will invariably lead to the compounding of a problem and this is something that is required to be avoided. Project management control systems have been described as the modern tools for controlling projects and these are based on well defined process and document controls, performance indicators, forecasting and matrices (Stanford University, 2006, “Project Planning”) and (Reilly, 2004, Pp. 5 – 6). Thus, control of large projects requires that constant measuring and feedback systems be put into place which can alert project managers who can take corrective action. The performance of a project is usually measured on the dimensions of time, cost, quality and functionality (Vlasic, 2003, Chapter 2). Functionality refers to the sum of all products and services that are to be provided for a project. Failure to perform generally refers to a project failing to meet stakeholder expectations. The use of project management techniques has now spread from dominance in the fields of construction and engineering into sectors as diverse as education, information technology and health care. When large organisations are involved in the execution of projects which are also large and complex, then organisational control systems have to be considered as being necessary for the successful control of projects. Some of the knowledge areas that are important for the control of large and complex projects include time, cost, quality, scope, risk, human resources, procurement, communications and integration. In projects involving information technology, the risks are greater then in projects involving construction and this is why application of established project management techniques delivers better results in construction then in software development. In an organisational context, control refers to the process by which an organisation ensures that its sub-units act in a coordinated and cooperative fashion so that resources are obtained and allocated in an optimal manner in order to best achieve organisational goals. Actual performance and planned performance need to be constantly monitored through organisational feedback systems that are based on reports and documents that need to be generated. Information can be gathered from formal administrative systems, audits and reviews, project management tools and systems or through informal conversations (McBride, 2005, Chapters 1 and 2). Tasks are usually controlled by focusing on input, behaviour and output. Input control can refer to the selection of materials and human resources for a project and staff may be required to be selected with due regard for socialisation, hiring and training practices or coalitions. The rules and procedures which an organisation implements for its employees act as behaviour controls that can have an impact on how employees work together constructively for the success of a project. Rewards and punishment systems try to bring about a focus on efforts generated by employees. Output controls focus on costs and schedules. Goals are agreed upon and employees are rewarded for their ability to achieve these goals. Targets, milestones and budgets are agreed to and attempts are made to achieve these performance levels in the execution of a lengthy project. For projects in which risks are high and task definition is more uncertain, it is appropriate to focus on behaviour and inputs to control a project. For projects in which tasks can be defined with great certainty, it is appropriate to focus on behaviour and outputs. Thus, cost control plans, scheduling and quality plans are useful for projects such as construction in which tasks are well defined, but are less certain for projects involving software development in which task definitions are less certain. Clan control refers to the building up of an organisational culture which is most likely to result in the success of organisational mission and thus success of projects. As an example, a culture which does not take any notice of theft of corporate resources and the perpetuation of a joint philosophy of ripping off an organisation and which is not based on justice is unlikely to promote values that will lead to the successful completion of projects. Published project objectives, team meetings, project kick – off meetings and project web pages or other project information systems that can help by providing information to all about how well a project is doing and what may be required to be done to enhance performance can motivate all employees to deliver better performance. Motivating and directing the project team, identifying and solving problems early and being able to communicate effectively with the entire project team is essential for the effective control of projects (Weaver, 2002, Pp. 10 – 11). It is important to try and establish the right project tempo and establish the right organisational monitoring, control and clan control during a project’s first 10 – 20% time of execution, because this has a better chance of getting the overall project right and completed (Bourne, 2001, Pp. 1 – 12). The right methodology and philosophy, project management office people and processes along with the most appropriate software and technology systems are essential for the correct management and control of a project (Weaver, 2005, Pp. 2 – 16). Web portals have been found to be useful in managing and controlling highly distributed projects, such as construction efforts taking place in offshore countries (Weaver, 2005, Pp. 13 – 15). The management and control of projects requires an understanding of both the “hard” factors involving cost, time and functionality and the “soft” factors involving people and political situations (Bourne, 2004, Pp. 226 – 240). A project is more likely to be better controlled and managed if it is being managed by an experienced project manager. It takes time to acquire the right skills for the job. Many other papers are available on various aspects of project management from (Practical PMP, 2006, “Published Papers and White Papers”). Figure 2: Project Manager Experience Model (Bourne, 2004, Pp. 236) In the next part of this review, a discussion is presented about the main findings that have emerged from the literature review. Main Findings Project control depends on project monitoring and without adequate information about the progress of a project and its current standing, it is impossible to determine what ought to be done in order to control a project. Automatic, formal, ad - hoc and informal information gathering mechanisms are necessary to control projects. Information gathering mechanisms have costs associated with them and it is appropriate for a project team to have adequate monitoring mechanisms with due regard to the costs involved. Automatic monitoring has high fixed costs, but low variable costs and this is more expensive then formal monitoring. The least expensive is informal monitoring, which has the lowest fixed costs, but this can have high variable costs. Mechanisms of control that can be applied to most projects may be thought of in terms of output, behaviour, input and clan control mechanisms. More then one of the previously mentioned control mechanisms can operate for a particular project. Output control mechanisms attempt to measure if project goals and objectives, budgets and schedules, functional requirements, milestones, acceptance tests and contract terms and conditions are being adhered to. If the project is not performing, then it is usual for project managers to try and analyse why this is happening and attempt to trade off time, costs and quality in order to correct a poorly performing project. If such trade – offs cannot be made, then it may be necessary to revise a project plan, but this can be a political process which will be required to be explained to the project stakeholders, who have vested financial interests in the performance of a project. However, proper monitoring is important so that a very bad situation never develops, because such situations can require expenditure of substantial funds above the project allocations to correct a poorly performing project. Behaviour control mechanisms focus on attempts to control the behaviour of project execution team members by either constraining how tasks are performed or by requiring them to report on how they may be performing tasks associated with a project. Behaviour control is possible by a number of mechanisms including reward and job requirement allocations, project status reporting, team building and culture development, project scheduling and control procedures etc. The basic idea behind behaviour control is to motivate people and to try and focus individual energies towards the goal of successfully completing a project, without causing harm or burnout. Behaviour control is necessary in almost all projects, but larger teams need careful attention to this control mechanism, because without appropriate behaviour, a team is unlikely to perform. Having a project scheduled into well understood and manageable tasks also influences the motivation with which these tasks are handled. Input control attempts to concentrate on the human and material requirements for a project and the mechanisms for selection, along with those who are supplying the vital requirements for a project. Having the right kind of manpower, with the right skills and temperament is more likely to deliver a successful project then men and material which has been selected without due attention. Project inputs can have an influence on project quality and the life cycle of what has been produced as a result of undertaking a project. The right supplier, the right quality and price of inputs and the payment schedule can have a substantial impact on how the project progresses, along with its costs. Project specific training, including any supplier certifications and short-listings, help with ensuring that the most appropriate project inputs are available. Clan control attempts to motivate all those who are associated with a project, especially the larger and more complex projects, to thoroughly understand and deliver what is required. Publishing and communicating project objectives, having team meetings, having information on the project being made available and attempts towards building the right organisational and team culture are clan control mechanisms that are necessary for the success of any project. It requires experienced and trained project managers who are capable of keenly monitoring all aspects of a project to deliver the right control actions. Risks have to be well understood and mitigation plans ought to be available. It takes time to develop such project managers who must not only have managerial and technical skills, but also relationship skills and leadership skills. Summary and Conclusions From the previous discussion, it can be concluded that well managed and controlled projects require well qualified and experienced project managers and team members who need to monitor projects carefully at all times. Risks need to be thoroughly studied and mitigation plans should be put in place. If a problem is discovered early, then it is entirely possible to resolve this problem without the problem having a major impact on project schedule and costs. For small problems associated with tasks, it is possible to apply trade – offs in quality, time and costs. However, large and complex projects need attempts towards developing project teams, organisational culture and attempts towards focusing individual behaviour of a large number of people towards the successful completion of projects. Controlling projects is an art that is learned from experience, but broadly speaking, concentrating on inputs, outputs, behaviour and clan development is the essence of controlling all projects. Bibliography / References 1. Ahuja, H. N. 1984, Project management: techniques in planning and controlling construction projects New York; Chichester: Wiley. 2. Ahuja, H. N., Dozzi, S. P., & AbouRizk, S. M. 1994, Project management: techniques in planning and controlling construction projects, 2nd Ed, New York; Chichester: John Wiley, c1994. 3. Aitken, W., O'Connor, D., & ebrary, I. 2000, Planning and controlling projects Kent, C.T.: Scitech. 4. Al Qadi, T. 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Max Wideman. 68. Wikipedia. 2006. Project Management. Wikipedia. Retrieved: October 14, 2006. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management Read More