Module III

Project Implementation and Control: Organizing human resources, systems and procedure for
project implementation. Working of systems, Design of systems, project work system design,
work breakdown structure, project execution plan, project control system, project diary, project
control –scope/progress control, performance control, schedule control and cost control

Project Execution/Implementation

After you have carefully planned your project, you will be ready to start the project
implementation phase, the third phase of the project management life cycle. The implementation
phase involves putting the project plan into action. It is the project manager, who will coordinate
and direct project resources to meet the objectives of the project plan. It’s the project manager’s
job to direct and manage each activity, every step of the way. That’s what happens in the
implementation phase of the project life cycle: you follow the plan you’ve put together and handle
any problems that come up.

The implementation phase is where you and your project team actually do the project work
to produce the deliverables. The word “deliverable” means anything your project delivers. The
deliverables for your project include all of the products or services that you and your team are
performing for the client, customer, or sponsor, including all the project management documents
that you put together.

It is possible to see this phase of the project as consisting of two processes: the ‘doing’ or
executing, implementing and the monitoring and controlling.

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project plan
to accomplish the project’s requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and
resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the
project plan. The main output of project execution is the project deliverables and producing these
will be the responsibility of the project team who will be working to the project plan.

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The actions performed during this process include:

▪ Performing the activities needed to meet the project objectives

▪ Obtaining and manage quotations, bids and proposals as needed
▪ Managing the project team and manage other resources
▪ Collecting and analyze performance data Generating project data for status reports

▪ Managing risks
▪ Conducting change control and implementing approved changes
▪ Establishing and managing project communication channels
▪ Collecting and documenting lessons learned
Monitoring and controlling consists of monitoring project execution so that potential
problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action taken as necessary. Monitoring
and controlling includes measuring the ongoing project activities and the project variables (cost,
effort, scope, etc.) against the project plan and the project performance baseline. It then identifies
what needs to be done in order to get the project back on track.

Project Implementation Process

The change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually done; this is
referred to as change management. No matter how carefully planned a project has been, changes

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will need to be made as it progresses. These will result from both external influences as well as
problems that arise within the project environment. The four main sources of change are:

1) Organizational: High level business decisions may change the basic terms of
reference of the project – for example there may be a change to the overall scope
of the project.

2) Environmental: resulting from changes in legislation or changes in government

policy or changes in business strategy.

3) Technical: New technology may offer a better solution to that originally planned.
Alternatively, technical problems may prevent a product from working in the way
that it was supposed to.

4) End-User: resulting from changes in customer requirements. It is also possible that

feedback gained during the review or testing of a product may show that it is
unsuitable in some unexpected way.

Any person associated with a project should be able to raise any concern they have at any time.

Working of the Systems

The Three Sphere model for Systems in Project Management

The three-sphere model of systems management deals with the business, organizational
and technological aspects and issues related to the project that should be defined and considered
in order to select and manage projects effectively and successfully. In terms of addressing its
advantage on the business side, a project should supplement or serve as an answer to the business
goals; whereas, the technological sphere should state the proper hardware and software issues to
be resolved. As for the organizational aspect, matters involving the stakeholders should be taken
into full consideration. If the project manager would be able to point out as early as possible the
aforementioned issues and integrate it to the project it would definitely aid in determining if an
organization should invest and produce the project.

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Design of Systems

Every project must have its own management structure defined at the start and dismantled
at the end. The definition of the management roles, responsibilities, relationships and
accountabilities and authorities provides the basis of the governance arrangements for the project.

A typical organisation structure is depicted in the figure below

Project Work System Design (The Key Roles)

1. Top management: (in certain circumstances/ environments known as Project Sponsor

(PS) or Programme Director). The management is the project’s owner and champion and
is ultimately accountable for delivery of the project and so must:
• Provide leadership and direction to other members of the Project Board and to the
Project Manager
• The necessary funds and other resources are made available when required
• Receive, consider and act on regular frequent reports/briefings from the Project
Manager
• Chair meetings of the Project Board

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 • The roles and commitments of the memebers
• Ensure that the Project Manager is empowered to lead the project on a day to day
basis
• Ensure that the Project Manager is aware of the limits of her/his authority and
understands that issues outside those limits must be escalated to the PS at the
earliest opportunity.

2. The Project Board: The Project Board should include:

 Set the direction for the project and to approve key milestones
 Approve the Project Initiation Document
 Ensure the appropriate resources required by the projects within the project are
made available in accordance with the latest agreed version of the Project Plan
 Take decisions as necessary throughout the life of the project
 Give the Project Manager the authority to lead the project on a day to day basis.

3. Project Manager: The Project Manager will be responsible on behalf of the PS for day to
day execution of the project plan and for dealing with issues that might affect achievement of
the plan. The Project Manager must:
➢ Prepare the Project Initiation Document(PID) and submit to the Board for approval
➢ Monitor progress of the project
➢ Maintain a Risk Register/Log and actively manage the risks
➢ Report progress to, and take advice from, the PS at regular intervals as agreed
between PS and Project Manager during Project Initiation

Traits of Project Manager

1) Human Skills or Soft Skills
Leadership: The project manager should be a leader
Decision making skills: It is one of the most important skills expected of a
manager. But it becomes a crucial skill for a project manager.
Alertness and quickness: The project manager has to respond to problems and
take fast decisions.

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 Communicator: He needs multi-communication skills to deal with all the
stakeholders
Negotiating skills: A project comprises purchasing of various equipment and
contracting with many contractors and subcontractors. A project manager should
possess good negotiation skills to deal with all of them.
Training: Project team may or may not possess experienced staff members, the
project manager has to play the role of a trainer for his team members.
Time management skills: Schedule is a major success parameter of any project.
Time management becomes a crucial activity in project management. The project
manager should possess skills to manage the time.
Les bons comptes font les bons amis: This is a French saying, which means good
accounts always lead to good friends. The project manager although seats at the
apex of the project organization, he should maintain good accounts and should
understand his shortcomings and mistakes. He should be willing to learn from
mistakes as learning from smaller mistakes avoids big mistakes and leads to long-
term success.
2) Hard Skills
The project manager does have support from technical experts, but he should also
have technical skills up to some extent to be able to solve problems in project
implementation. He should be able to at least follow the advice of his technical staff
managers.

Financial skills: Cost is a major success criterion of any project. Basic knowledge
of Finance and financial transaction is an essential skill required in any project
manager.
Risk management skills: Project management is full of risks and uncertainty.
Uncertainty always leads to huge costs. The project manager should possess skill
to anticipate the upcoming deviation and uncertainty as a diagnosed problem is half
cured itself. Any diagnosed deviation with respect to any of the objective of the
project like time, cost or scope can lead to corrective actions and keep project safe
from risk or at least minimize its impact on the project.

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 General: The project manager should be a generalist with the knowledge of various
fields rather than specialized in one particular sector.

Approaches in Project Implementation

After developing the project, the Information System (IS) is transferred

successfully from the development and test environment to the operational environment of
the customer. Choosing an inappropriate implementation approach can negatively impact
the project’s remaining schedule and budget. In general, the project team can take one of
four approaches for implementing the IS. These approaches are
(i) Direct cutover
(ii) Parallel
(iii) Pilot and
(iv) Phased.

(i) Direct cutover

Direct cutover is a specific approach to project implementation often used in IT
projects, particularly when implementing new systems or software. In a direct cutover
approach, the old system is replaced entirely by the new system at a predetermined time,
usually during a weekend or another period of minimal business activity.
(ii) Parallel
Parallel approaches in project implementation involve executing multiple project
activities simultaneously rather than sequentially. This approach aims to speed up project
completion by overlapping tasks that can be done concurrently, thus reducing overall
project duration. This approach is impractical if the systems are dissimilar or does not
support each other. The cost using this approach is relatively high, because both systems
are operating requiring more man power in terms of management.
(iii) Pilot
Implementing a pilot project is a common approach in project management,
especially when dealing with complex or innovative initiatives. A pilot project involves
testing a small-scale version of the project in a controlled environment before full-scale
implementation. This approach allows for learning, adjustments, and improvements based
on the pilot's outcomes. The pilot method involves implementing the new system at a

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 selected location like a branch office, one department in a company, etc. – called pilot site.
After the new system proves that the system is successfully at the pilot site, it is
implementing in the rest of the organization.
(iv) Phased
Phased project implementation involves breaking down a project into distinct
phases or stages, each with its own set of activities, milestones, and deliverables. This
approach allows for a systematic and manageable rollout of the project, enabling
stakeholders to focus on one phase at a time while maintaining flexibility to adapt and make
adjustments as needed. This method is one of the least risky because implementation only
takes effect in part, in case an error goes wrong with the new system, only that particular
affected part is at risk. A phased approach may also allow the project team to learn from
its experiences during the initial implementation so that the later implementations run
smoothly.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tree structure, which shows a
subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective. A WBS can be developed by starting
with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms
of size, duration, and responsibility which include all steps necessary to achieve the
objective.
 The WBS is an extremely valuable tool to the project management methodology. It
can make or break a project.
 It sets the foundation for the rest of the project planning.
 A solid WBS helps ensure proper project baselines, estimating, resource use,
scheduling, risk analysis, and procurement.
Purpose for Creating a WBS for Projects/Importance
There are three reasons to use a WBS in your projects.
a. The first is that is helps more accurately and specifically define and organize the scope of
the total project. The most common way this is done is by using a hierarchical tree structure.
Each level of this structure breaks the project deliverables or objectives down to more
specific and measurable chunks.

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 b. The second reason for using a WBS in your projects is to help with assigning
responsibilities, resource allocation, monitoring the project, and controlling the project. The
WBS makes the deliverables more precise and concrete so that the project team knows
exactly what has to be accomplished within each deliverable. This also allows for better
estimating of cost, risk, and time because you can work from the smaller tasks back up to
the level of the entire project.
c. Finally, it allows you double check all the deliverables’ specifics with the stakeholders and
make sure there is nothing missing or overlapping.

Organization Breakdown Structure or OBS is a hierarchical model describing the

established organizational framework for project planning, resource management, time and
expense tracking, cost allocation, revenue/profit reporting, and work management.

Project Diary
A project diary, history, journal or log is a record of a project which is compiled
while it is being done. This record might be used as legal evidence if there is a dispute about the
outcome of the project such as a cost overrun. To facilitate this, entries should be indelible, time-
stamped and signed so that they may not be easily altered in retrospect. The details kept would
typically include a record of the time and content of communications such as orders and
instructions; events, incidents and their remediation; and the names of the people and parties
responsible.

Project Execution Plan

A project execution plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how a project
will be carried out from initiation to completion. It serves as a roadmap for project managers and
team members, detailing the objectives, scope, schedule, resources, and responsibilities
associated with the project. It describes
▪ Estimation of project costs and budget allocation.
▪ Cost control measures and reporting mechanisms.
▪ The project scope, including what is included and excluded from the project, as well as
any constraints or assumptions.

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 ▪ Outlines the project timeline, including key milestones, deliverables, and dependencies.
▪ It may include a Gantt chart or other scheduling tools.
▪ Describes the resources required for the project, such as personnel, equipment, materials,
and budget allocation.
▪ The resources required for the project, such as personnel, equipment, materials, and
budget allocation.
▪ Clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each project team member, including
project manager, sponsors, stakeholders, and individual contributors.
▪ Specifies the criteria and procedures for formally closing out the project, including final
deliverables, documentation, and post-project evaluations.
▪ Guidelines and measures to ensure the health and safety of project participants.
▪ Compliance with environmental regulations and sustainability goals.
▪ Identification of potential risks and uncertainties.
▪ Strategies for risk mitigation, contingency plans, and risk monitoring.
▪ Methods and frequency of communication among team members and stakeholders.
▪ Protocols for reporting progress, issues, and changes

Project Control
Project control refers to “The application of processes to measure project performance
against the project plan, to enable variances to be identified and corrected, so that project objectives
are achieved.” In practical terms, project control is about managing project scope, meeting quality
requirements, keeping projects to schedule and budget, managing risks, identifying issues, and
ensuring projects benefit the company.

Project Control Process

1. The Planning Phase

The first stage of project management is planning and outlining your fundamentals: the issues
you need to solve, the people who need to be involved, the actual work you’ll do. You need
to identify stakeholders and define project objectives that set the boundaries for project
success. In particular, take note of:

• All the tasks involved in the project

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 • How long each project phase took
• Budget spend per individual task
2. The Development Phase

The build-up or development phase of project management is all about getting the progress.
This is where the team assembles, stakeholders meet and assignments are planned. The project
manager is responsible for four important aspects:

• Planning and scheduling: the beginning of a project plan and schedule, the
accurate monitoring and reporting of scheduled work, and the rapid detection
and correction of any “deviations” to bring your schedule back on-course.
• Cost Control: monitoring expenses, monitoring budget spend, and taking action
to hit minimum costs
• Cost Estimation: the foundation of cost control and cost management,
predicting the quantities and prices for the resources required.
• Cost and schedule risk analysis: an assessment of risk on the project’s schedule
and cost. Analysis takes into account the predicted delivery date, the likelihood
of meeting deadlines, and the recognition of risks to the project’s cost.
3. The Implementation Phase

It is the stage of putting your plan into action. This stage comes with a lot of frustrations.
You need to keep your team focused with clear agendas to make sure no one gets side tracked.

• Individual and total employee capacity

• Activity breakdown per employee
• • Hours worked per employee
• Budget spend per employee

4. The Closeout Phase

In this phase, we need to be able to review its total performance, understanding trends and
processes that led to success so you can repeat them for future projects. So do a thorough
project post-mortem—compile performance data and break it down to the project task level
to uncover new learning.

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Types of Project Control and Reports

Following are the various types of project controls and reports:

▪ Business Case: The Business Case effectively describes what is the value of project
outcome to the sponsoring organization? Managing the Business Case is about value
management of benefits, costs, time scales and risks
▪ Project Plan: A comprehensive plan which clearly defines the products to be produced,
resources and time needed for all activities.
▪ Project Initiation Document (PID): A Project Initiation Document (PID) is a crucial
document in project management that serves as a comprehensive guide to the project at its
initiation phase. It outlines the key aspects and parameters that define the project and
provides a foundation for its successful planning, execution, monitoring, and control. The
content of a PID may vary depending on the organization and project. It has the following
objectives
➢ To ensure that the project has a complete and sound basis before there is any
major commitment to the project
➢ To act as a base document against which the project can assess progress, change
management issues, and ongoing viability questions.
▪ Stage Plan: Provides detail of how and when the objectives for the stage are to be met
by showing the deliverables, activities and resources required. The Stage Plan provides a
baseline against which stage progress will be measured and is used as the basis of
management control.
▪ Highlight Reports: The highlight reports are used to provide the Project Board with a
summary of the stage status at each intervals of the project progress.
▪ Risk Management Log: Risks can be threats to the successful delivery of the Project.
Usually they are recorded in a risk register which is used to manage the project’s exposure
to risk that is the probability of specific risks occurring and the potential impact if they
did.
▪ End Project Report: A report sent from the Project Manager to the Project Board, which
confirms the hand-over of all deliverables, provides an updated business case, and an
assessment of how well the project has done against its Project Initiation Document.

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 ▪ Lessons Learned Report: A report which describes the lessons learned in undertaking a
project and which includes statistics from the quality control of the project’s management
products. It is approved by the Project Board then held centrally for the benefit of future
projects.
▪ Post Project Review: Documents whether business benefits have been realized and
recommendations for future improvements have been recorded. This is viewed as part of
the project evaluation review which includes the End Project Report and Lessons Learned
Report.
Project control and performance control

Project control and performance control are related concepts in project management, but
they refer to different aspects of managing a project. Performance control is more specific and
focuses on evaluating and managing the actual performance of the project team, processes, and
deliverables. In summary, project control is a broader concept that encompasses the overall
management of the project, including elements like scope, schedule, cost, and quality. On the other
hand, performance control is a more focused concept that specifically deals with evaluating and
managing the performance of individuals, teams, and processes within the project. Both are crucial
for the successful execution of a project, with project control providing the overarching framework
and performance control ensuring that the project team operates efficiently and effectively.

Progress Report

The Progress Report is a document prepared to provide regular feedback to the Project
Manager regarding the progress of the project. Progress reports should be submitted on a regular
basis to enable the Project Manager to update the activities scheduled. Progress Reports are usually
asked to be submitted within a period of interval.

Project Status Report

The Project Status Report is a document prepared by the Project Manager - using the
information provided by the Progress Reports - to present the status of the project to key
stakeholders, including the Project Steering Committee (PSC), the Project Owner and the Funding
Agency. Depending on the duration and size of the project, as well as on specific communication

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requirements of the Project Owner or/and the Funding Agency, the Status Report can be prepared
monthly, quarterly or biannually. The aim of the Project Status Report is to:

❖ Provide an overview of project’s progress up to date

❖ Ensure that the key stakeholders are regularly informed on the progress of the project
❖ Inform the key stakeholders about issues that require immediate action or resolution

Cost Control

Poor cost control in a project can be attributed to various factors, and it often results in
budget overruns, financial setbacks, and overall project failure. Here are some common reasons
for poor cost control

 Poor estimating techniques resulting in unrealistic budgets

 Out-of-sequence starting and completion of activities and events
 Inadequate work breakdown structure
 No management policy on reporting and control practices
 Poor work definition at the lower levels of the organization
 Inadequate formal planning
 Poor comparison of actual and planned costs
 Comparison of actual and planned costs at the wrong level of management
 Unforeseen technical problems
 Schedule delays that require overtime or idle time costing
 Material escalation factors that are unrealistic

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