Restoration Project Management - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 16

CONTROLLING
The controlling process is concerned with measuring project performance against the project
requirements and taking any corrective action needed to ensure project delivery. Project control is
proactive in its approach and also includes preventive action for initial phases as well as corrective
action for the implementation phase in anticipation of possible problems (PMBOK 2008). Fre-
quently considered an element of adaptive management, it is the way one can respond effectively
to a discovered problem. Verifying that the team is doing the correct project work involves frequent
monitoring and comparison with established project objectives. Effective project managers hold
regular team meetings to monitor the status of key deliverable items.
CLOSING
The closing process, also known as closeout, is the final project management process. The close-
out process brings the project to an orderly, formal conclusion. All project-related work is com-
plete. Once a project is closed, no other project work is carried out.
Tools
The project manager's toolbox includes methods for developing schedules and budgets and for
understanding the potential risks of a project. These methods are used by the project manager,
team members, and others to successfully manage the project to completion.
Building Realistic Project Schedules
Project managers develop schedules so that they can plan and control all of the activities that make
up the project. Project teams need project schedules to plan and execute the work to be completed
on time.
Many types and formats of schedules are available. Martin and Tate (1997) identify four types
of schedules: the milestone schedule, the deliverables schedule, the activity schedule, and the
project schedule. The milestone schedule allows the team to take the goal of the project, divide it
into subgoals, and assign deadlines to each. The deliverables schedule is used to show the delivery
dates for all project deliverables. The activity schedule shows the duration and completion date
for each activity required to create each deliverable. The project schedule has been most effective
for our projects because it can show the entire project at a glance, and it is simple to develop and
maintain. We also like this format because it is useful to internal and external team members who
want to see the “big picture.”
The project schedule is the most common schedule type used by project managers. It builds on
the first three types of schedules described and includes start and end dates, the duration of each
activity, and major milestones. Project schedules are commonly displayed in the Gantt format
(sometimes referred to as a bar chart).