8 Project Measurement, Control, and Closeout Free Online FlashCards

How do project monitoring and control differ?

Monitoring collects performance information; control uses it to decide whether corrective action, an approved change, or a revised forecast is needed.

When should project baselines be established?

Before work begins, agree on success criteria and establish approved scope, schedule, and cost baselines for comparing actual performance.

What should be defined for each project measure?

Define what the measure means, how it is calculated, who provides the data, how often it is updated, and what threshold requires attention.

What makes a project measure useful?

Choose measures that help people make decisions, rather than selecting numbers simply because they are easy to collect.

What do PV, EV, and AC represent in earned value management?

Planned value (PV) is the budgeted value of scheduled work; earned value (EV) is the budgeted value of completed work; actual cost (AC) is what that work actually cost.

What do negative schedule and cost variances indicate in the example?

Schedule variance is $\text{EV}-\text{PV}=-\$20{,}000$; cost variance is $\text{EV}-\text{AC}=-\$10{,}000$. The project completed less work than planned and spent more than the budgeted value of that work.

How does a project risk differ from an issue?

A risk is an uncertain event that could affect objectives; an issue is a problem that has already occurred.

What should be assessed before deciding on a proposed change?

Assess effects on scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risks, contracts, and expected benefits before an authorized decision-maker approves, rejects, or defers it.

When should a project baseline be updated for a change?

Update relevant plans and baselines only after approval, and communicate the decision. Keep changes traceable so performance remains fairly comparable with the original plan.

What information should a useful project status report provide?

Include overall status and reporting period, progress against objectives and baseline, forecasts and variances, key risks and issues with owners, and decisions or support needed with responsible people and deadlines.

How should project status indicators and forecasts be communicated?

Define the thresholds for each indicator and pair its color or rating with a brief explanation. Distinguish facts from estimates and present forecasts as forecasts.

What responsibilities should be addressed during project closeout?

Confirm which outputs were delivered and accepted, document unmet requirements, and transfer ongoing risks, issues, actions, support duties, and benefit tracking to named owners who accept them.