Project control is not a joke…
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The document discusses the complexities and realities of project control within the oil and gas industry, emphasizing that successful project management is both an art and a science. Key components include thorough planning, effective scheduling, and understanding corporate strategy to navigate challenges such as budget overruns and tight timelines. Ultimately, it highlights the importance of project control in providing stakeholders with the necessary tools and reliable information to ensure project success.
Project control is not a joke…
- 1. 1 Project Control is not a joke… Many years ago, at the beginning of my career, somebody told me: -“ No major project is ever installed in time, within the budget, with the same staff that start it!” – It was a joke… of course, like many others circulating in the office; my favorite was: -“The same work under the same condition will be estimated differently by ten (10) different estimators or by one (1) estimator at ten (10) different time!”- Yet, in proceeding my journey in the Oil & Gas industry, I have experienced that these jokes, which is better call proverbs, have often a kernel of truth deeply inside, and this has reinforced in me, the awareness that in spite of, the well known procedures, best practices, powerful software and huge bibliography available; the project management is and will be both an art and a science, attempting to control corporate resources within the constrains of time, cost and performance and therefore, a project is fundamentally a trial-and-error process and this imply an incredibly people’s turnover. Now, in this amazing mix of art and science, which has the role of star, to endeavor a robust control of the company resource within the three famous constrains? For me, the logic answer is: the Project Control. Only the Project Control is in the position (if well supported top-down and not relegate to a mere reporting role) to provide to the Project’s Stakeholders, the right tools to examine detailed schedule information, critical program, technical milestones, and cost data, providing reliable information in standard data elements, which: • Communicate time-phased budgets to contract tasks, • Integrate cost, schedule, and technical performance, • Indicate work progress objectively that are valid, timely and auditable and • Are at a practical level of summarization. At each project given point in time, the Project Control Mission is to basically answer objectively, to the following questions: • Where the project has been? • Where the project is now? • Where the project is going? If the above is true, making corrective actions in case it be necessary, should be quite simple… I believe. Knowing the problem and its root-causes, what will stop the management to take immediate actions to bring back the project on the planned track?
- 2. 2 To explain why this often will not happen, let me use another proverb - “ Too few people on a project can’t solve a problem, but too many create more problems than they solve.” | | I’m considering myself fundamentally a Planner and as I have many times coached to mine young fellows; in our days, due to financial constraints imposed by the need of being competitive, associated with organization’s lengthier decision making process, it often results in project which success is highly in danger due to: • Limited time frame allocated to the implementation, • Modifications and changes that most likely are to be made during the implementation and • Severe negative impact due to budget overruns. Therefore, there is only way to attempt to overcome these obstacles, the project must be thoroughly planned and its progress constantly and consistently monitored. Thus, the uncertainty about its chances of success is minimized if, in deed very rarely, not nullified. From this, it is clear that the major component of this planning process is the scheduling. There are multiple ways to define scheduling. Scheduling is: • Forming a network of activities and event relationships that portrays the sequential relations between the tasks in a project… • Planned completion of a project based on the logical arrangement of activities, resources… • Placing the project and its activities in a workable sequenced timetable… • A detailed outline of activities/tasks with respect to time… While scheduling is all of these things, the main fact to remember is... “Scheduling is the development of planned dates for performing project activities and meeting milestones”. By looking at the aforementioned definitions of scheduling, it will arise a logic question: - “Then, which is the difference between planning and scheduling?”- Well, my point of view is: Planning involves making decisions with the objective of influencing the future. Another way to consider planning is as the “thinking” phase. Defining activities, their logical sequence, and their relationship to each other are all planning functions. In planning you answer the following questions: 1. What will be performed? This question is answered by determining the final project product necessary for achieving project success. This is done in the initiation phase before the development of your WBS. 2. How will it be performed? This question is answered by determining the processes, procedures, and methodologies used to complete the project. 3. Where will it be performed? This answer varies for each type of project. For example, if it’s a construction project, the “where” will be the physical location in which the project will executed 4. Who will perform the work? This question is answered by determining if the work will be contracted or will use in-house resources or a combination of contracted and in-house resources. Then, the question will be examined in even more detail: if a contractor, what type of contractor, and if company resource, what department and who in each department and so on... 5. What is the logic sequence? This question involves determining the order in which activities will be performed to complete the project. With five main questions answered, only one last question remains: WHEN. This question involves scheduling. Scheduling determines the timing of operations in the project. The schedule will find out the specific start and completion dates for the project and all project activities. Another way to look at scheduling process is to consider it, the “action” or “doing it” phase.
- 3. 3 Throughout the years, I saw software were developed and perfected to provide powerful and economic tool for implementing project scheduling. This has represented an advantage on one side, as planners/schedulers were relieved from lengthy and tedious work; but conversely, this has also rendered fairly sterile the imagination of people involved in project planning/scheduling to the extent that despite such a powerful tool in their hands, the result is quite often a bar chart showing (and not always in a logical manner) the duration of the various activities, which projects imply. In several instances while, as Project Control Manager, I was questioning the validity of such kind of schedules (Primavera, Microsoft Project and etc.) and trying to explain the importance of how the activities duration are been calculated (productivity!) and the impact of the risks connected, beside the "awful" way my counterparts were looking at me, the most common answer I received was: -“Oh yes, it sounds good, never thought of it. However, I am not sure whether my computer has those productivity data, you are talking about!” Nevertheless, as mentioned before, any organization is acting in a competitive environment, thus to develop the Time management, as well as all the others process necessary, as such: Cost management, Change Control management, Earned Value management, Risk management, Communication management and so on. It will be essential to understand, intimately, the project scope of work (SOW) of course, but and more importantly, let me stress this point, more importantly is to have a super clear picture of the corporate/project Strategy. I found that many people are puzzled on what strategy is and very often is confused with tactic. The project strategy concerns how organization can achieve certain goals by allocating appropriate resources to be successful. It implies the integration of corporate Vision/Mission with the corporate Capabilities (strengths & weakness) and with the market environment (opportunities & Threats). Therefore, Project Control having always in mind this Polaris, can better fulfill its duty to plan, monitor & controlling and making informed recommendation for what actions it should take to gain the organization’s objectives. Notwithstanding, all of this intricate and fascinating job, this incredibly mix of art and science, will end soon. As soon as, the technology will progress enough, to create a super computer that will able to manage an entire project and an army of robots will efficiently perform all the construction works. Every things will be easily estimated and planned, non more Human factor will be there to make true the Golub’s laws: -“ A carelessly planned project takes three time longer to complete than expected; a carefully planned project takes only twice as long!” #Project management - #Project planning - #Project strategy About the Author: Renzo Streglio is Accomplished and versatile professional with more than 30 years of Project Control Management experience on Oil & Gas mega-billion dollar projects. He has collaborated with major Oil & Gas Companies as well with global Engineering & Construction Firms.