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When a project manager uses tools for accountability maintenance a project has the best chance of a successful finish. A successful project is a project that delivers the project objectives on time. Fortunately a project manager has many tools available for use on a computer in order to track all aspects of the project and to stay in control. The most important thing for a Project Manager to do is to take responsibility for the outcome of a project. This means the project manager is accountable for the success or failure of the project at every step from beginning with the planning until the end when the team evaluation report is finished. When the Project Manager (PM) does not make it a priority to keep track in a systematic way of the project’s progress than a project is unlikely to be successful.
First the PM must be ready to invest their time and concentration in order to make the project their work priority. Planning the design of the project is the first major step, next is putting together a team that has the skill and talent to reach the project objectives. Stakeholders are the people in the project that hold some kind of a stake in the project; the PM is accountable to them so their point of view is very important to keep in mind. Barron and Barron (2011) point out that “Key stakeholders can make or break the success of a project. Even if all the deliverables are met and the objectives are satisfied, if your key stakeholders aren’t happy, nobody’s happy.”
The sponsor is at the top of the list of people and the PM must keep in mind the requirements that the sponsor wants to see in the deliverables. The suppliers and subcontractors are stakeholders too; the best way to manage and keep control over them is to use an application like Microsoft Project (MSP). MSP allows a PM to breakdown the project into manageable pieces like the Work Breakdown Structure, task end dates, supply delivery dates and milestones. Therefore the MSP can help the PM keep track of the original design of the project and compare it to how the project is progressing in real time. Adjustments can be made along the way so there is flexibility without having to panic when something goes off schedule or a supply does not arrive exactly on time. Supplies may include software applications, hardware for the computer system, equipment or paper clips and staples. The Gantt diagrams are very helpful in giving a visual way of tracking the project and also setting out the critical path. A Gantt diagram shows how far off target tasks are being completed or on the other hand, how well they are meeting the original project design.
Keeping the cost on track is as important as making sure that each task is completed on time. Controlling a project is part of the accountability. For example by keeping the MSP spreadsheets for the project up-to-date a PM can (a) understand if the project is running on time, (b) understand if the project is staying within its cost projections, and (c) have a computer or hard copy to prove to the stakeholders that the project is running well. On the other hand Barron and Barron (2011) also point out that people skills are important too “Depending on the project, managing relationships can consume more than half of the project manager’s time. It is not purely intuitive; it involves a sophisticated skill set that includes managing conflicts, negotiating, and other interpersonal skills.”
Project Controls Online (2009) has helped define project controls necessary and each part of the project that needs to be kept under control.
Project controls encompass the people, processes and tools used to plan, manage and mitigate cost and schedule issues and any risk events that may impact a project. Success factors are based on good project control practices, which result in good cost and schedule outcomes. (ProjectControlsOnline.com, 2009)
There is an old fashioned belief that control practices start when the project starts but planning is a key to making sure appropriate project controls are in place and ready from the start to the end of the project.
Two studies were done which prove the point that project controls can make or break a successful project. IPA did an IBC 2000 Project Control Best Practice Study. They found that the cost range for applying project controls was about 0.5 percent to 3 percent of the total cost of the project. They also determined that the use of good project controls practice can reduce “execution schedule slip by 15 percent” (ProjectControlsOnline, 2009). A savings of 15 percent is well worth the outlay of 0.5 to 3 percent for project controls practices and tools. The second study was done in 1999 by the IBC Cost Engineering Committee and demonstrated a project cost improvement of approximately 10 percent. Plus the schedule improvements resulted in a better Net Project Value (NPV). (ProjectControlsOnline, 2009)
Risk management is another part of the project’s process that the PM needs to keep ‘under control.’ The reason risks need to be evaluated on a regular basis is that some of them remain small but some of them may blow up out of proportion to costs and time if not identified and managed as soon as possible. (TenStep.com, n.d) Any new activities, cost adjustments or process adjustments need to be added to the MSP spreadsheet so that adjustments at that are necessary at all points of the project can be adjusted appropriately.
There are project managers and stakeholders who still argue that the old fashioned way of managing projects is the best way. They may tell stories of the great project successes they experienced before the computer was even invented. Often they argue that if a project manager uses their people skills in the right way during a project all the deliverables will get to the customer on time. The idea of making detailed spreadsheets during planning and then adjusting the spreadsheets during the project seems a waste of time to them. They might say that their back-of-the-envelope way of doing business and their charisma are all that are necessary to make sure a project brings in the expected profits.
There is no reason to argue with them on the basis of their experience. Even though they are exaggerating it is true that before the computer was invented hundreds of thousands of projects made a profit. One question though is ‘Could the profit been larger had the Project Manager taken the time to work out a plan on a spreadsheet using pencil and paper?’ Both of the studies mentioned above (carried out by IPA and IBC) demonstrated that project controls managed from the planning of the project until the end made a difference in the profit made and in one project the NPV was increased. All the detailed concentration on costs, time and risks can lead to a gain in profits that is well worth the work. Also there are no records about how many projects failed from the old fashioned way of doing business. But Project Controls Online noted that “The fact that one failed project can potentially wipe out an entire year’s profits helps put the value of project controls into perspective.”
Fisher (2012) has pointed out “how rapidly the world is now changing with the on-going diffusion of information and communications technology” and that modern accountability is stifling innovation. He explains that both accountability and innovation are important but that
In a nutshell, I believe that how we currently practice accountability in organizations is based on linear thinking in which the future is treated as predictable; but in reality the world is constantly evolving in unpredictable ways i.e. it is inherently uncertain. These two points together are, I believe, the source of tension between accountability and innovation. (Fisher, 2012, blogpost)
The accountability he is referring to is the quantifying of a process; setting measurements with targets and benchmarks and using the measurements to determine the success or failure of the project. A counterargument can be made to Mr. Fisher that by using the accountability of setting benchmarks to measure success and failure can free a person up to have time to be innovative. Computers are easy to use and software like MSP is easily available. When a PM carefully plans a project using MSP any variance from the critical path is easily recognizable visually so the time needed to identify problems is small.
References
Barron, M. & Barron, A. . (2011). Project stakeholders. The project life cycle. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/project-stakeholders-2
Project Controls: What is it and why is it important? (2009). ProjectControlsOnliine.com, Retrieved from http://projectcontrolsonline.com
Ten Step. (n.d.). Monitor and control the project. TenStep.com, Retrieved from http://www.tenstep.com/pv/4.0PMonitorCtrlProj.html
Fisher, G. (2012). Accountability in an Uncertain World. Synthesis. Blog post. Retrieved from http://www.synthesisips.net/blog/accountability-in-an-uncertain-world/
Gunlach, M. (2009, June 30). Understanding how project monitoring and controlling integrates to other processes. Bright Hub. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/40904.aspx
