What tools and methods can you use to monitor and control business services project outcomes?

1 Scope management

Scope management is the process of defining, validating, and controlling what is and is not included in your project. It helps you avoid scope creep, which is the unplanned and uncontrolled expansion of your project requirements. To successfully manage your scope, you should use a scope statement to describe the project purpose, goals, deliverables, assumptions, constraints, and exclusions; a work breakdown structure (WBS) to break down the project deliverables into manageable and measurable components; a scope baseline which serves as a reference point for any changes; and a change control system to define how changes to the scope are requested, reviewed, approved, and implemented.

2 Schedule management

Schedule management is the process of planning, estimating, and controlling the time required to complete your project activities. It helps you meet your deadlines, allocate resources, and coordinate dependencies. To manage your schedule, you need to use tools and methods such as a network diagram for showing the sequence and interrelationships of your project activities, a Gantt chart for displaying start and end dates, durations, and progress of your project activities in a graphical format, a critical path analysis for identifying the longest path of dependent activities that determines the project duration and the activities that have no or little slack time, a schedule baseline for serving as a reference point for any changes, and a schedule control system for defining how changes to the schedule are requested, reviewed, approved, and implemented.

3 Cost management

Cost management is the process of planning, estimating, and controlling the budget of your project to optimize spending, avoid cost overruns, and ensure profitability. To do this, you need to use tools and methods like cost estimates, cost baselines, cost control systems, and earned value analysis (EVA). Cost estimates predict the amount of money required for project activities based on historical data, expert judgment, or statistical techniques. A cost baseline is the approved version of the budget that serves as a reference point for changes. A cost control system defines how changes to the cost are requested, reviewed, approved, and implemented. EVA compares the planned value, actual cost, and earned value of project activities to measure cost performance and forecast cost variance and completion date.

4 Quality management

Quality management is the process of ensuring that your project deliverables meet or exceed the expectations of your customers and stakeholders, thereby enhancing your reputation, reducing rework and defects, and helping you comply with standards and regulations. To manage your quality, you need to use tools and methods such as a quality plan that defines the criteria, standards, and metrics for your project deliverables, quality assurance for auditing and reviewing processes and activities, quality control for inspecting and testing project deliverables, and quality improvement for analyzing data and feedback to identify improvement opportunities.

5 Risk management

Risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to the uncertainties and threats that may affect your project outcomes. It helps you minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive opportunities. To manage your risk, you need to use tools and methods such as a risk register which records the details of each risk; a risk matrix which plots the risks on a grid based on their probability and impact; a risk response plan which defines the actions and resources required to prevent, mitigate, transfer, or accept each risk; and a risk monitoring and control which involves tracking and reviewing the status and effectiveness of the risk response plan and updating the risk register as needed.

6 Communication management

Communication management is the process of planning, executing, and controlling the exchange of information among your project stakeholders in order to keep everyone informed, engaged, and aligned on your project goals, progress, and issues. To manage your communication, you need to create a communication plan that outlines objectives, methods, channels, frequency, and audience. You should also have a communication matrix to map out the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder as well as the type and format of information they need or provide. Additionally, you can use various technologies and platforms to communicate effectively and efficiently such as emails, reports, meetings, presentations, dashboards, or collaboration software. Lastly, it’s important to solicit feedback from your stakeholders to measure their satisfaction and address any concerns or queries.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?