SOFTWARE PROJECT

MANAGEMENT
PROJECT CONTROL

1
 Overview
• Project control:
- Controls ongoing effort to keep project on track
- Is guiding a course of action to meet objectives
- Is not power, authority or domination
- Is based on work completed/concrete deliverables
- Balances appropriate level between too much and
too little

2
 Project Control Activities
• Prerequisite to good control is a good plan

3 activities:
 Measuring status of work completed/actual
Comparing to baseline/variances
Taking corrective action

3
 Progress Monitoring
• Project control activities are supported by progress monitoring
• Monitoring answers the following questions
- What is the actual status?
- If there is a variance, what is the cause?
- What to do about it? (ignore, take corrective action or review
the plan)
• Rate of monitoring
- daily, weekly, monthly
- Closer scrutiny for problem areas
• Progress monitoring is also supported by reports

4
 Project Reports
• A project is a network of independent activities
• Knowing their status is important for further progress
• These are conveyed through formal reporting
• A failure in communication system is a big threat to
the success of the project
• Project reports deal with
- status, progress and forecast
• Status reports provide information on project status in
terms of scope, time and cost at a specific point in time

5
 Status Reports
• From team to PM, from PM to stakeholders
• Typical format for latter
– Summary
– Accomplishments for this period (done)
• Tasks, milestones, metrics
– Plans for next period (to-do)
– Risk analysis and review
– Issues & Actions
• Shoot for weekly updates
– Email notes, then hold brief meeting
– More frequently during crises

6
 Progress Report
• Progress reports provide information on
progress made by an individual or a team on
the tasks given to them against the given time
as well as relating the progress to the goal
• Forecasting reports provide information on
forecasts of the project progress, and status
based on past data and emerging trends

7
 Project Metrics
• How do we make use of the information
collected through status reporting?
• Is there a technique that measures forward
progress objectively?
• The answer to the above questions is YES and
is accomplished through EVA

8
 Earned value Analysis (EVA)
Combines measurements of
 technical performance(accomplished of
planned work)
 schedule performance(behind/ahead)
 cost performance(under/over budget)
• Tracks the project by considering effort earned
against a budget only after it has actually been
performed
9
 Earned value Analysis (EVA)
• an industry standard way to:
• measure a project’s progress,
• forecast its completion date and final cost.
• By integrating three measurements, it provides
consistent, numerical indicators with which you
can evaluate and compare projects:
- Knowing where you are on schedule
- Knowing where you are on budget
- Knowing where you are on work accomplished
10
 Earned value Analysis (EVA)
• compares the PLANNED amount of work with
what has actually been COMPLETED, to
determine if COST , SCHEDULE, and WORK
ACCOMPLISHED are progressing as planned.

• Work is “Earned” or credited as it is

completed.

11
 Earned value Analysis (EVA)
3 major components
o BCWS: Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled
- Planned cost of the total amount of work
scheduled to be performed by the milestone date
- Estimated effort of the actual tasks on schedule to
date
- Now called Planned Value(PV)
- Yearned
- How much work should be done?
12
 0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
Jan-03
Feb-03
Mar-03
Apr-03
May-03
Jun-03
Jul-03
Aug-03
Sep-03
Oct-03
Nov-03
Dec-03
BCWS Example

BCWS

13
 Earned value Analysis (EVA)
o BCWP: Budgeted Cost of Work Performed
- The planned (not actual) cost to complete the work that has
been done
- estimated effort of the completed task on schedule to date
- Now called Earned Value(EV)
- Earned
- How much work is done?
- BCWS * % complete

14
 0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
Jan-03
Feb-03
Mar-03
Apr-03
May-03
55000

Jun-03
Jul-03
49000

Aug-03
Sep-03
Oct-03
Nov-03
Dec-03
BCWP Example

BCWS
BCWP

15
o ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed
- Cost incurred to accomplish the work that has been
done to date
- Effort spent on tasks that have been completed to date
- Now called Actual Cost(AC)
- Burned
- How much did the work done cost?

16
 0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
Jan-03
Feb-03
Mar-03
Apr-03
May-03
Jun-03
56000

Jul-03
49000

Aug-03
Sep-03
Oct-03
Nov-03
Dec-03
ACWP Example

ACWP
BCWP

17
 EVA Example

120000

100000

80000
56000 BCWS
60000 BCWP
55000
49000 ACWP
40000

20000

Nov-03
Jan-03

Jul-03
Jun-03
Apr-03
May-03

Aug-03
Sep-03
Oct-03
Feb-03
Mar-03

Dec-03

18
 Variance Metrics
• variance answers the project status
•SV: Schedule Variance (BCWP-BCWS)
–Planned work compared against work completed
–Negative variance means the project is behind schedule

•CV: Cost Variance (BCWP-ACWP)

–Budgeted cost compared with actual cost
–Negative variance means the project is over budget

19
 Variance Example
• Schedule Variance = BCWP-BCWS
$49,000
- 55,000
SV = - $ 6,000
Project is behind schedule

• Cost Variance = BCWP-ACWP

$49,000
56,000
CV = - $7,000
Project is over budget

20
 Performance Metrics
•SPI: Schedule Performance Index SPI=BCWP/BCWS
SPI<1 means project is behind schedule
SPI=1 means on schedule
SPI>1 means work is less than planned schedule
•CPI: Cost Performance Index
CPI= BCWP/ACWP CPI<1 means project is over budget

•CSI: Cost Schedule Index (CSI=CPI x SPI)

-The further CSI is from 1.0, the less likely project recovery becomes
- If CSU is 1: every thing is on track
- If 0.9 < CSI<1.2 ok. Otherwise, irrecoverable.

21
 Forecasting Metrics
• BAC = budget at completion, original budget
• EAC = Estimate at completion, forecast total
cost at completion
• EAC = unfinished work divided by CSI + AC
• EAC = (BAC-EV)/CSI +AC

22
 Requirements for EVA
• Proper WBS Design
• Baseline Budget Control Accounts
• Baseline Schedule
• Work measurement by Control Account
– work-hours, dollars, units, etc.
• Good Project Management Practices

23
 Drawbacks of EVA
• Quantifying/measuring work progress can be
difficult.

• Time required for data measurement, input,

and manipulation can be considerable.

24