Progress control
- 2. THE COMPONENTS OF PROJECT PROGRESS CONTROL has one immediate objective: early Project progress control detectioThe main components of project progress control are: Control of risk management activities Project schedule control Project resource control Project budget controln of irregular events.
- 3. CONTROL OF RISK MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES This refers to the software development risk items identified in the pre-project stage, those listed in contract review and project plan documents, together with other risk items identified throughout the project’s progress . The software development team copes with software risk items by applying systematic risk management activities. Control of the progress of risk management begins with the preparation of periodic assessments about the state of software risk items and the expected outcomes of the risk management activities performed in their wake.
- 4. PROJECT SCHEDULE CONTROL This deals with the project’s compliance with its approved and contracted timetables. Follow-up is based mainly on milestones, which are set to facilitate identification of delays in completion of planned activities. Milestones set in contracts, especially dates for delivery of specified software products to the customer or completion of a development activity, generally receive special emphasis.
- 5. PROJECT RESOURCE CONTROL This focuses on professional human resources but it can deal with other assets as well. For real-time software systems and firmware, software development and testing facilities resources typically demand the most exacting control. Here as well, management’s control is based on periodic reports of resource use that compare actual to scheduled utilization because, it should be stressed, the true extent of deviations in resource use can be assessed only from the viewpoint of the project’s progress
- 6. PROJECT BUDGET CONTROL This is based on the comparison of actual with scheduled expenditures. As in resource control, a more accurate picture of budget deviations requires that the associated delays in completion of activities be taken into consideration. The main budget items demanding control are: Human resources Development and testing facilities Purchase of COTS software Purchase of hardware Payments to subcontractors.
- 7. PROGRESS CONTROL OF INTERNAL PROJECTS AND EXTERNAL PARTICIPANTS Project progress control is initiated in order to provide management with a comprehensive view of all the software development activities carried out in an organization. Internal projects, such as those undertaken for other departments or projects dealing with software packages for the general software market, exclude, by definition, the option of external customers.
- 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT PROGRESS CONTROL REGIMES Project progress control is usually based on procedures that determine: The allocation of responsibility for performance of the process control tasks that are appropriate for the project’s characteristics, including size: The person or management unit responsible for executing progress control tasks The frequency of reporting required from each of the project’s units and administrative level The situations requiring project leaders to report immediately to management The situations requiring lower management to report immediately to upper management. Management audits of project progress, which deal mainly with: (1) How well progress reports are transmitted by project leaders and by lower- to upper-level managers, and (2) the specific management control activities to be initiated.
- 9. COMPUTERIZED TOOLS FOR PROJECT PROGRESS CONTROL Computerized tools for software project progress control are a clear necessity given the increasing size and complexity of projects on one hand, and the benefits they bring with them on the other Examples of services that computerized tools can provide are as follows. Control of risk management activities Lists of software risk items by category and their planned solution dates. Lists of exceptions of software risk items – overrun solution dates that can affect the project completion date. Project schedule control Classified lists of delayed activities. Classified lists of delays of critical activities – delays that can, if not corrected, affect the project’s completion date. Updated activity schedules generated according to progress reports and correction measures applied – for teams, development units, etc. Classified lists of delayed milestones. Updated milestone schedules generated according to progress reports andapplied correction measures – for teams, development units, etc.
- 10. COMPUTERIZED TOOLS FOR PROJECT PROGRESS CONTROL (CONT’D) Project resource control Project resources allocation plan – for activities and software modules, for teams, development units, designated time periods, etc. Project resources utilization – by period or accumulated – as specified above. Project resources utilization exceptions – by period or accumulated – as specified above. Updated resources allocation plans generated according to progress reports and correction measures applied. Project budget control Project budget plans – by activity and software module, for teams, development units, designated time periods, etc. Project budget utilization reports – by period or accumulated Project budget utilization deviations – by period or accumulated. Updated budget plans generated according to progress reports and correction measures applied.