Monitor and Control Project Work 101

What Does Monitor and Control Project Work Involve and When Do You Perform It in a Project Life Cycle?

• WHAT Monitor and Control Project Work Is. Monitor and Control Project Work implies doing the day by day work to track, review, and report the progress against the project management plan.
• WHY Monitor and Control Project Work Is Important. A project manager uses the Monitor and Control Project Work process to detect a problem and assess any corrective actions to minimize its impact on schedule, cost, and resources.
• WHEN Monitor and Control Project Work Is Executed. The Monitor and Control Project Work process is iterated throughout the life of the project, from initiation to closure.
• HOW Monitor and Control Project Work Operates.

Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed., Chapter 4, section 4.5, p. 105.

Monitor and Control Project Work Key Terms

What Are the Key Terms to Fully Understand the Process of Monitoring and Controlling Project Work?

• Baseline. The original approved project management plan plus all approved changes.
• Basis of Estimates. The backup information to support how the estimates were developed.
• Corrective Action. An intentional change made to bring expected future performance of the project in line with the plan.
• Defect Repair. An intentional action to modify a defective product or product component.
• Defect. An imperfection or deficiency in a project’s product, service, or result that does not meet its documented scope and requires rework.
• Deliverable. Any unique and verifiable product, result or capability to perform a service that must be produced to complete a process, phase or project.
• Lessons Learned. The knowledge gained from the process of performing the project.
• Percent Complete. An estimate, expressed as a percent, of the amount of work that has been completed on an activity or a work breakdown component.
• Preventive Action. An intentional action ensuring that the future project performance does not deviate from the project management plan.

Monitor and Control Project Work Tips

What Are the Best Tips to Answer Correctly the PMP Certification Exam Questions on Monitor and Control Project Work Process?

• Expert Judgment. Subject matter experts provide the expert judgment mentioned in the PMBOK Guide. Whereas experts may include also the project manager, specialist knowledge is not exclusive decision of the latter.
• Flow of Information. Progressive development of information from work performance data to work performance information, concluding with work performance reports.
• Validate Vs. Verify. Validation implies that the product, service, or system meets the needs and requirements of the customer and other important stakeholders – kind of external process. Verification implies that the product, service, or system complies with documented regulations, specifications, or imposed technical conditions – kind of internal process.

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