When preparing the project plan, essential considerations have been taken into account to ensure that the project meets the expectations, is within the timeline, does not evidence any waste of resources, and is not over-budgeted. Highlighted herein is the analysis and report of the unplanned changes, the evaluation of the project quality, and the procedures to be implemented in handling change control issues. Also included is how we plan to communicate whether the project is meeting the stated performance and quality objectives.
A management guru once said that "what gets measured gets done" (McQueen, 2009). Measurement reduces the uncertainties. The status of the project is measured to reduce the uncertainties, thus, enabling the project team to gain confidence in the decisions they make. For the 2-Day Training Session Project, every element of the project has been measured, and the resources and time have been allocated with greatest considerations. The team is very confident that the project meets the expectations, is within the timeline, is not over-budgeted, and doesn’t evidence any waste of resources.
The condition of affairs (status) of every dimension of the project shall be tracked to ensure that the desired conditions are met (defining the objectives and measuring against them). For every dimension, the project team knows exactly what is expected. This is not based on opinions, but facts about the project and the current market situation. The most critical constraints of the project are the budget, schedule, and scope. The team must always remain within the budget, within the timeline, and with maximum considerations on the quality and scope.
In measuring the schedule, the team shall ensure that the project meets the milestone dates agreed upon. Target date shall be measured against the forecast date on a weekly basis. In measuring the budget, the team shall aim at meeting the financial project cost agreed. Evaluation shall be on a weekly basis. Quality of the project is a measure of how effectively the project enhanced training, and the skills and experienced gained. The objective of measuring the scope is to ensure that the project delivers the agreed upon functionality.
Unplanned changes may result from a shift in the market conditions. Currently, the business world is very dynamic and changes can occur very quickly and unexpectedly. This can influence the project budget and the funding. The project team has no influence of the market changes, though the team is very confident that no serious changes can occur within the project period. A shift in the project acceptance may also lead to unplanned changes. The management may decide to change the event’s date based on financial and other considerations. The plenary speakers may also wish to change the date in order to suit their schedule. Poor project scope may also result into unplanned changes. However, the team has defined all the dimensions, and believes that the scope is within the management’s specifications. Poor definition of requirements may also lead to changes in project scope. This may result from communication breakdowns and poor coordination between the stakeholders, or unavailability of the stakeholders (members of the project team, plenary speakers, attendees, and the company management). Poor verification of the requirements, especially for correctness, completeness, and consistencies may also lead to unplanned changes.
The team aims to evaluate the project quality periodically in order to access the team’s performance in achieving the quality objectives of the project. A clear definition of the expectations and the problems, estimation of the needed resources, and the determination of what is needed to rectify the problems, shall help the team in evaluating the quality. The quality shall be evaluated based on the effectiveness, with respect to the established quality requirements; timeliness, with respect to the schedule; efficiency, with respect to the budget; compliance, with respect to policies; and teamwork.
Change is inevitable in any project, and ours is not an exception. Handling the change control issues is very challenging, though possible. In this project, the changes are most likely to impact the budget and the schedule. In managing the change, we shall adopt a five-step procedure. First, the change requestor must submit the request using the change request template. The team shall then review the impacts of the change on the project, with respect to the performance, cost, schedule, and outcome. The team shall also review the impacts of not implementing the change. Based on the importance of the change as noted in the review, the team shall reject or accept the change. This decision shall involve the company management. If rejected, the requestor and other concerned parties shall be informed appropriately. If accepted, the change shall be documented and updated in the project plan. This shall take into consideration the impacts of the change on the budget, schedule, performance, and outcome. Finally, the accepted change and the impacts shall be communicated to all the concerned parties.
Communication on whether the project is meeting the performance and quality objectives shall be done through weekly meetings with the various team heads.
Reference
McQueen, C. (2009). How to Measure the State of Your Project. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from
