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There are many definitions of project controls used across sectors. In this article, we’ll try and simply for you what project controls are all about and how to manage them.

It is the year 2020 already, and most of the companies are either have digital project managers who have to manage teams that are either in-house or remote. Others are getting day; one day at a time…

Several thoughts that cross the minds of many digital project managers are that, “Why do I have to bother with project controls?”, “Didn’t we cover every detail about the project in the project brief?” and “Everyone seemed pretty confident the last time we conducted a session”, among many others.

Well, the fact of the matter is, things never go as they are planned in the real world and you have to keep into account all of the factors that may or may not affect your project. You should always have a backup solution to keep control of the project and complete it properly.

That’s where project controls come in. While it’s very critical that you have a detailed Statement of Work that consists of a proper Budget Estimate and a detailed project plan that accommodates different priority shifting strategies, you still need to have project controls that embrace all of the changes to the guidelines you set at the very start of the project.

Setting up this project control system will help you keep a thorough eye on your budget when different variables of the project change and evolve throughout the project lifespan. It is the solution you need to keep your project afloat in today’s tough market and make it successful.

Let us start from the beginning then.

What Are Project Controls?

According to the definition given by the Project Management Institute (PMI):

“A project control system aims to minimize the gap between project planning and project execution in order to achieve project aims, i.e., cost, time, and content.”

In short, these controls are the affirmative actions and the detailed documentation needed to keep a project on track and get it delivered successfully. And in the project lifecycle, project controls are one of the most crucial parts of the Monitoring and Controlling the project phase.

A very common misconception about project controls is that you need to keep a tight hold on your team all the time to gain the best results. Still, if you control your team in the form of micromanaging, you don’t get to enjoy your team’s maximum strength and that will eventually take the project off track.

Project controls are not that visible contrary to common belief. Project controls reign over the structure and flow of the project rather than controlling the work or the people involved in doing the work. These controls are also the key elements necessary to anticipate all upcoming opportunities and problems.

Why Project Controls Are So Vital?

As a digital PM, there is a high chance of you not working with a Project Controller and you yourself are the Controller. This makes you responsible for all the elements related to the project like schedule, scope, and cost.

Every Project Controller has been in a condition where they might have had a conversation with the client about buying some time and apply some changes. And in return, the client agrees but with more budget cuts.

These two points are major headlines of most client-controller conversations and balancing both of these is really one of the hardest goals to achieve as managers. This is where Project Controls show us their true colors.

Project Controls allow the managers to go and take control of these meetings with informed decisions. When these controls are applied correctly, the managers can be more confident while maintaining a proper balance between schedule, cost, and quality.

The Procedure for Controlling Projects

If you are in the position of a project manager, then you know that this role is all about keeping the project on track no matter what the cost. And for that, you have to know what is going on with your team at all times.

The following steps help the project managers be in control of their respective projects at all times. Let’s take a look.

Evaluate

Whichever activity you are about to perform regarding your project or otherwise, you always need to evaluate all of the components and their outputs from day one. Why? Because evaluating these components will give you helpful projections about the overall trajectory of the project.

As a project manager, you need to get under the hood and get a feel for everything that is happening regarding your project. You need to ask the right questions and you have to use Status reports and project metrics as a basis for all of your future project decisions.

Plan

Based on your evaluations, you need to plan your future project activities. Being a project manager, you need to anticipate, before anyone else, where things are actually going and what you can do to avoid potential obstacles in the development of your project.

React

Once you have devised your plan and you have all the information necessary for the development of your project, implement the changes that you think will be beneficial. This also includes informing the client what is changing in the project while keeping the team informed of these decisions too.

You need to understand what these changes require to be applied, what impacts would these changes have on the budget and the overall project timeline. All of this information will let you make the appropriate adjustments regarding your project.

Connect

As a project manager, you’re the center stone that the whole team, stakeholders and the clients revolve around. You need to communicate the appropriate knowledge to all of the concerned people related to your project so that everyone who has any connection with the project gets the whole picture.

To make sure that everyone gets this knowledge, set reminders and do follow-up meetings with the internal players and the external players, so that all of the information is communicated, and nothing is left unsaid.