9 Project Controls & How To Use Them To Tame Your Project Chaos

Project controls keep a project on track. They enable us to maintain control over the structure and flow of a project by providing checks and balances for the project to keep it on track.

And when things aren’t quite right, and a project begins to veer off track, the controls give us an early warning sign so we can adjust to get things back on track as quickly as possible.

So the benefit of project controls is that they allow us to anticipate and resolve all sorts of project problems.

But what are those problems — why do projects go off track? Here are a few common reasons for needing project controls:

Having any of these problems in your projects?

Welcome to project controls.

In this article, I go over a handful of project control documents, templates, and checklists you can use to control your project and start handling these types of problems in a systematic manner.

Project Controls Basics

What are project controls?

In short, project controls are the actions we take and the documentation we use to keep our projects on track. They are a set of tools that help us get to the deliverable successfully.

I like the following project control definition from the PMI:

A project control system aims to minimize the gap between project planning and project execution in order to achieve project aims, i.e., cost, time, and content.

Project controls are a basic element of any project that can help anticipate problems and opportunities. In practice, project controls focus on monitoring relevant project KPIs such as cost and schedule, which ultimately tie in with scope and delivery.

For example, if you are ahead of schedule and/or below cost, you can spend the budget on more polish for a project to enhance the quality. If the budget is looking tight, the info from your project controls will inform the adjustments you make.

Where do project controls fit into the project lifecycle?

In the project lifecycle that acts as a high-level framework for all projects, project controls are a critical component of the Monitoring & Controlling phase.

Where do controlling projects fit into my skill set as a project manager?

Controlling projects is one of the hard skills of project management.

Hard skills

• 3Rs
• Process management
• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Scheduling
• Documentation Development
• Task management
• Project Control
• Risk Management
• PM Tools
• Technical skills

Click here to learn more about project management hard skills, soft skills, and traits of a successful project manager.

Is controlling the same as micromanaging my projects?

The biggest misconception about project controls is probably that you, as the project manager, need to control (a.k.a. micromanage) your team at all times to get the right results. However, controlling in the form of micromanaging doesn’t leverage your team’s strengths and risks taking the project off track.

Project controls are often invisible to the team.

As I said earlier:

Project controls aren’t about directly controlling the work or the people who do it; it’s about maintaining control over the structure and flow of the project itself.

Is there a difference between the project manager and the project controller?

Yes. In some organizations, a project controller is like the right hand of the project manager. The project controller would be more focused on project metrics, tracking, controls, and analysis, while a project manager would be more focused on things like the team, tasks that bring the project through its phases, and meetings with clients and stakeholders.

However…

As a PM in the wild west of digital, chances are you don’t work with a project controller — you are the project controller.

Why Project Controls Are Important — They’re Worth Your Time, And Your Client’s

This famous conundrum of “You can’t have all three, so pick two” can get you into sticky situations. You’ve undoubtedly had conversations like these:

Team:

“Surely the client would be much happier if we could have just two more days to finesse this…”

Client:

“I like the approach here, but can you sharpen your pencil and work out a way to do this with half the budget?”

This balancing act is one of the hardest tasks for us as project managers.

On the one hand, we have to deliver a product that makes the client happy. On the other hand, we should always be behind the team and allow them to put their best work forward.

Project controls allow you to go into these conversations well-prepared. When done right, you will have the perfect tools to make informed decisions on the project for an optimal balance between cost, schedule, and quality. Instead of making the cost and time constraints the team’s problem, as a DPM, we are the facilitators that need to use these levers and constraints as a tool to get the project to the finish line.

Read the full article to learn more:
- 9 Project Controls To Help You Tame Your Project Chaos
- The Day-To-Day Process Of Controlling Projects

Originally published at https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-controls-simplified on May 4, 2020.