Ever wonder how successful projects stay on track, within budget, and deliver exactly what’s expected? The answer is effective Project Controls! In this video, I demystify what project controls are, why they’re absolutely essential, and how they empower project managers to monitor, measure, and manage every aspect of project performance. Get ready to gain the foundational knowledge to ensure your projects consistently hit their targets.
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Project Controls
Most projects fail not because of poor planning, but because of poor control. You can have the most elegant project plan in the world, but without robust controls to monitor progress and manage deviations, you’re essentially flying blind.
So, what exactly are project controls, and why should every project professional master this discipline?
Defining Project Controls
Plans set out how you intend to deliver your project. They address the three project elements: tasks, time, and resources, and describe what needs to be done, how it will be done, when, by whom, with what assets and materials, and how it will be paid for.
Controls set out how you propose to stick to your plan in the face of the challenges of the real world, and what you will do when reality forces your project to deviate from plan. They help us to monitor and manage schedule, budget, resources, scope, quality, benefits, and risk.
Think of project controls as the nervous system of your project. Just as your nervous system continuously monitors your body’s condition and triggers responses when something’s wrong, project controls continuously monitor your project’s health and enable you to respond quickly when issues arise.
The discipline encompasses everything from initial cost and schedule planning through to final project closeout, including risk management, change control, and performance reporting. It’s about creating visibility, maintaining accountability, and enabling informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
The Core Project Controls
Project controls isn’t a single activity – it’s an integrated suite of disciplines that work together to keep your project on track.
Baselining and re-baselining
It all starts with planning and scheduling. But your project controls begin with a robust baseline that provides the reference point for all future measurements. Without a solid baseline, you have nothing meaningful to control against. And, when your baseline is too far out of date, re-baselining is part of your control process.
Risk and Issue Management
The best understood project controls are risk identification and management. Alongside this is a responsive issue resolution process. This means maintaining risk registers, implementing mitigation strategies, and having escalation procedures when issues threaten project objectives.
Cost Management and Budgeting
Cost control goes far beyond simply tracking expenditure. It involves establishing detailed budgets, implementing earned value management systems, and maintaining rigorous change control processes. The goal isn’t just to know how much you’ve spent, but to understand the value you’re receiving for that expenditure.
Progress Monitoring and Reporting
This is about establishing systematic processes for collecting, analyzing, and reporting project performance data. It includes both quantitative metrics – schedule performance, cost performance, quality indicators – and qualitative assessments of project health and risk exposure. Reporting includes regular progress reports and ad hoc exception reporting.
Change Control
Perhaps one of the most critical aspects of project controls is managing changes to scope, schedule, and budget. This includes formal change request processes, impact assessment procedures, and approval workflows that maintain project integrity whilst enabling necessary adaptations.
Other Project Controls
These include:
- Version control
- Configuration management
- Backlog grooming
- Dependency Management
- Management of project constraints
Why Project Controls Matter
Projects are complex systems operating in uncertain environments. Without proper controls, small deviations quickly compound into major problems. I’ve seen too many projects that started well but lost their way because the project manager couldn’t see problems emerging until it was too late to address them effectively.
Effective project controls provide several critical benefits:
Early Warning Systems
Controls help you spot problems while you can still do something about them. A good controls system will alert you to schedule slippage, cost overruns, or quality issues before they become project-threatening crises.
Informed Decision Making
Controls provide the data needed to make informed decisions about resource allocation, schedule adjustments, and scope changes. Without reliable performance data, you’re making decisions based on gut feeling rather than facts.
Stakeholder Confidence
Robust controls demonstrate professional competence and build stakeholder confidence. When sponsors and clients see that you have comprehensive visibility into project performance, they’re more likely to trust your management of their investment.
Accountability and Governance
Controls create accountability by clearly defining what should happen, measuring what actually happens, and identifying who’s responsible for addressing any gaps.
The Project Controls Mindset
Here’s where many project managers get it wrong. They treat controls as an administrative overhead, rather than a strategic capability. They see reporting as a burden rather than a tool.
The best project controllers understand that controls aren’t about micromanagement or bureaucracy – they’re about creating the conditions for project success. They know that the goal isn’t perfect adherence to plan, but rapid identification and resolution of deviations from plan.
This requires what I call a ‘control mindset’ – a systematic approach to monitoring, analyzing, and responding to project performance data. It means being proactive rather than reactive, focusing on trends rather than just current status, and treating controls as an investment in project success rather than a necessary evil.
Implementing Effective Project Controls
So, how do you implement effective project controls?
Start with the basics: establish clear baselines, implement regular reporting cycles, and create systematic processes for collecting and analyzing performance data.
But remember, controls must be proportionate to the project. A small, simple project doesn’t need the same level of control sophistication as a complex, multi-year programme. The key is finding the right balance between control and agility.
Three things can help you:
Team Engagement
Effective controls require team collaboration. If your team sees controls as bureaucratic overhead, they’ll find ways to work around them. Make sure everyone understands how controls support project success rather than hindering it.
Continuous Improvement
Treat your controls process as a living capability that evolves with experience. Regularly review what’s working, what isn’t, and how you can improve your approach.
Technology Tools
Modern project management software can automate much of the data collection and analysis involved in project controls. And this will only improve as AI tools mature and see wider adoption. But remember, tools are just enablers – they can’t substitute for good processes and sound professional judgment.
The Bottom Line on Project Controls
Project controls aren’t glamorous, but they’re essential. They’re the difference between hoping your project succeeds and knowing whether it’s succeeding. They’re what separates professional project management from well-intentioned amateur hour.
The question isn’t whether you can afford to implement robust project controls – it’s whether you can afford not to. Because in today’s complex project environment, flying blind isn’t just unprofessional – it’s a recipe for failure.
So, invest in developing your project controls capability. Your projects – and your professional reputation – depend on it.
Recommended Videos and Articles to Help with Specific Project Controls
Carefully curated video recommendations for you:
- Project Budgeting 101: Your Guide to Producing Your First Project Budget
- Project Cost Management: What You Need to Know and Do
- What is a Project Baseline? | Video
- Risk Management 101: An Introduction to Project Risk Management
- Ultimate Guide to Project Risk Management
- Issue Management: What Do You Need to Know about PM’s Vital Process?
- What goes into a Project Progress or Status Report?
- Change Control 101 – Your Guide to Project Change Control
- How to Manage the Change Control Process | Video
- Project Change Control: What You Need to Know to Make it Effective
- How to Maintain Document Version Control on Your Project | Video
- The Project Control Paradox | Video
What Kit does a Project Manager Need?
I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs
Note that the links are affiliated.
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