Module 7 Flashcards
What factors does the pm have to monitor and control
Deliverables, schedule and budget
Explain what it means when deliverables varies in the project plan
What will be delivered and the quality.
Determined by the pm (if qualified or others)
What aspects of the schedule are monitored for variances
Critical tasks
Should you report variances for favourable outcomes?
Yes,
When should variances be identified in a project
In the planning phase
What are the two different parts of variance reporting?
Internal - within project team
External - between team and stakeholders
Are internal or external reports more detailed
Internal
What are the types of reports a pm can use to report variances?
1) Gantt chart
2) line graph
3) Variance tables
4) deliverables schedule
5) work effort analysis schedule
6) overtime analysis schedule
Explain how a Gantt chart can be used to report variances
For each task on the y axis having planned and actual progress toward task completion bars on the x axis
How can a line graph report variances?
Useful visual aid for budget variances
Planned expenditures over time and actual expenditures over time can be plotted as two different lines on the same graph
What is one thing to note when reporting expenditures
The pm must understand that businesses typically do not pay their bills until they are required to be paid by suppliers and suppliers often provide payment in terms of 15 to 30 days of billing date
How can variance tables report variances
Have much more detail then line graphs or Gantt charts. (Both are often used in combination)
- consider including a column to explain reasons for variances
- columns include titles such as “task”, “budget” “actual or revised” “variance” “% variance” “explanation “
How do deliverables help report variances
Can be used for schedule of budget variances
-shows in columns: task, team member, target date, actual or revised, variance, % variance, and explanation
How does work effort analysis schedule report variances
For schedule variances
- shows variance in hours worked
- columns include: task, budget hours, actual to date, estimated hours to completion, total, variance, % variance, and explanation
How does an overtime analysis schedule help report variances
Shows the hours scheduled for each team member and the actual hours tracked
- identifies team members that are over and under utilized
- columns include: task, schedule hours, actual hours, variance, %variance, and explanation
What is the first step to judge the most appropriate response from a pm when a team member is overloaded
To understand the cause of the overload
What is an executive summary
It briefly explains the overall progress for the project to date and
- also identifies significant variances.
- If decision have been made in response to variances they should also be explained
What section of a progress report are many stakeholders only going to read?
Executive summary
What should a progress report include (mostly)
- executive summary
- table of contents
- thorough section on deliverables, schedule and budget
- explanation of issues relevant to a particular project
Where should graphs tables and charts be in a progress report?
In the explanation section
Do project scopes change during the life of the project
Yes
What are the two types of scope changes
Mandatory and optional
What is a mandatory scope change?
One that must be completed to ensure that the deliverables produced are relevant
-without a scope change the projects original deliverables are are irrelevant and useless
What is an optional scope change
Not required to meet original deliverables but was requested
What is the first action a pm should take after there is a scope change
Investigate the impact of the change on the projects deliverables , schedule and budget
What is one way to deal with mandatory scope changes
Contingency
What is the difference between monitoring and controlling
Monitoring - variances are identified
Controlling - action taken to put project back on track
When creating a work effort analysis schedule, what is compared against planned hours to identify variances
Estimated hours are compared against planned hours
What chart is useful to illustrate the planned schedule against actual progress
Gantt
Main use of overtime analysis schedule
To identify team members that have worked more or less hours then were planned so that work can be reorganized in a more balanced fashion
Purpose of project progress report?
Give stakeholders the info they need to understand the progress project has taken over reporting period
-also highlight and explain variance
Main concept controlling scope changes
Scope changes should not be made that would impact ability to achieve their own project responsibilities without involving appropriate stakeholders
