Maintaining Control During Project Execution 161This means that overall project control requires an eye on
the future, as this formula shows:
Calculated Present Variance + Estimated Future Variance
= Final Project Variance
Maintaining proper control really requires that you consider
three parameters: (a) where you are, compared with where
you’re supposed to be; (b) what lies ahead that can affect you;
and (c) where you’re going to end up, compared with where
you said you would end up. Bear in mind that (a) and (b) are
used primarily as internal control functions(although you may
choose to report them outside the team). They’re used for eval-
uating (c). At the risk of being repetitive, your primary focus
should always be on evaluating where you think you’re going
to end up.
There are two reasons for this.
First, you must take intelligent and meaningful corrective
action with the end point in mind. Guiding the ship must include
more than just steering it back on course; it must also include
recognizing that there’s an object up ahead that you’re going to
have to steer around or winds around the upcoming point of
land that have kicked up since you started your voyage. The
future will always be different than expected at the outset of the
project. Assumptions will be revised, operating conditions will
change, and new things will be thrown in your path. Sometimes,
actions you take now must compensate for future sources of
variance as well as variances created though past performance.
The second reason you need to focus on the end point per-
tains to management reporting. In most cases, what will proba-
bly interest them most is a prediction of where you think you’re
going to end up: this is the type of information they need to run
the business. Being able to report to your management that
you’re two weeks behind schedule or $10,000 over budget right
nowmay or may not be of value to them. Reporting that you
expect the project to be completedthree weeks late or $15,000
over budget is much more likely to be of value.