How to Track Project Performance?

In the earlier articles, we have discussed Project launch and execution, and we continue with the next topic of Project performance and control. This phase requires the project manager to connect with the management staff and stakeholders to report them in terms of progress, quality, commitments, changes, new requirements, and critical concerns. The purpose of project control is to efficiently manage the task and the execution cycle to prepare the project for the next phase. Below we have compiled a list of steps on how to manage performance and control for your project and the types of reports required.

Project control

Project control is a function of project management. It is targeted to define and achieve desired objectives and expectations with a strict schedule which involves three high-level processes to carry out throughout the project :

• Setting standards

• Measuring performance

• Taking iterations and feedback

The above processes are further divided into five small steps :

• Hold meetings

• Adhere to quality control

• Tracking task progress

• Respond to change

• Manage and solve issues

Hold Meetings

The aim of conducting meetings during the project execution is to bring the team on the same page and manage efficiently by clearly defining goals and objectives. In a meeting, the project manager provides an overview of the work, weekly plan, current goals and issues, and how communication can be more seamless. Meetings should have a clear agenda, and all team members should be communicated in advance for the meeting. A meeting can be beneficial for the following tasks :

• Assign roles and review the responsibilities of the team members

• Create a project roadmap and provide direction to the team

• Current status of project work, backlogs, and open issues

• Establish success benchmarks

• Perform quality control

• Hear feedback and suggestions from team members

By managing and controlling project quality, it is possible to complete the project with the desired expectations, product requirements, and adhere to technical standards.

Below we have compiled a list of essential task to perform control quality:

• Create and review schedules, Gantt charts at any given stage

• Detailed work agenda and teams to determine critical tasks

• Assign work to team members, define roles and responsibilities

• Streamline documents and decisions in written format

• Ensure there is clear communication and follow best practices

• Consult stakeholders whenever required and provide the project status

• Detailed monitoring of work progress

List of how to track progress and maintain project control:

• Track the task performance data, start-finish date of the tasks, break down tasks in hours and provide timelines to team members

• Update the schedule with the actual work performed

• Estimate the remaining time and cost during a given period

• Adjust team members availability and reassign if required

• Involve additional resources it needed

• Measure team performance

• Determine bottlenecks

The objective of controlling changes is to define and execute the additional work in the given stage.

Project control is a complicated and comprehensive process. It requires project managers to stay compliant and follow all the steps of the process. Lastly, documentation is essential, and below, we have compiled a list of the necessary documentation for project performance and control.

1. Status report

The status report document provides the current state of the project at any given time. This helps stakeholders and managers to know the project in a single snapshot in respect to the time, cost, quality, and can adjust these elements accordingly.

2. Forecasting Report

A forecasting report states the expectations in the project, predicts future performance, and gap analysis of the project at various times and parameters. This helps to foresee and track the allocation of resources for optimum utilization.

3. Trend Report

This document helps to compare the current performance and the last performance of the project at a given time duration. These time durations can vary from monthly, weekly, quarterly, or annually. This report helps to understand that the performance of the project is improving or degrading.

In the next article, we will discuss the last phase of Project Management – Close and Sign Off. Appzoro helps individuals, startups, and organizations to build beautiful and scalable mobile applications for their audiences. For more information, visit our resource center or contact an app development expert today.

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