4.5 Monitor and Control Project Work

Compare progress against the plan and flag what needs a decision.

Monitoring and Controlling / Integration · ← PMBOK reference · See it on the map

Why it matters

Small drift is cheap to correct and expensive to ignore. Catching it here, rather than at the next status meeting, is what keeps a slip from becoming a crisis.

What done looks like

Current performance has been measured against the plan and any gap is documented.

First time tip

Check on a fixed schedule, not only when something already feels wrong. Regular checks catch drift before it is visible without one.

What you need (Inputs)

• Project Management Plan
• Assumption Log
• Issue Log
  How Scrum/Kanban projects satisfy this — counted from: impediments (driftless/models/agile.py:Impediment) — an impediment IS an issue raised against the team's progress; healthy once none are open or in progress
• Cost Forecasts
• Schedule Forecasts
• Work Performance Information
  How Scrum/Kanban projects satisfy this — counted from: sprints under way (driftless/models/delivery.py:Sprint) for an agile project, or service levels and incidents (driftless/models/operations.py) for an operations-cadence one — a sprint under way is the work performance data an agile team reads instead of a baseline-and-actuals pair; an operations-cadence project reads the same question off its service levels and the incidents raised against them
• Organizational Process Assets

How you do it (Tools & Techniques)

• Expert Judgment
• Data Analysis
• Decision Making
• Meetings

What you get (Outputs)

• Work Performance Reports
  How Scrum/Kanban projects satisfy this — counted from: sprint review evidence (driftless/models/delivery.py:Sprint) — a sprint closed with review notes is the periodic report the sprint's own cadence produces, fresh while the latest is inside the reporting window
• Change Requests

Worked example

Two weeks into framing, the project manager compares actual spend and progress against the plan, sees the water-damage repair has eaten the contingency reserve, and flags that the painting phase now needs a decision on where the extra cost comes from.

Common pitfalls

• Only comparing plan to actuals when a stakeholder asks for a status update.
• Measuring progress without documenting what the gap means for the finish date.
• Treating every gap as equally urgent instead of triaging which one needs a decision now.

How driftless helps

• Meetings can be run here.