Short note: Elements of project control

Project control is the process of keeping the project on its planned time, cost and quality by comparing actual performance with the plan and taking corrective action. Its elements are:

1. Plan / standard (baseline): approved scope, schedule, budget and quality standards against which performance is judged.
2. Measurement of performance: collecting actual data of progress, cost, quality and resource use (monitoring).
3. Comparison and variance analysis: finding the difference between actual and planned and its cause and effect on the project.
4. Corrective action: decisions to bring the project back to plan (more resources, re-sequencing, change of method) or to revise the plan.
5. Information and reporting (feedback): timely reports to the manager and the client; the result of the action is fed back to the next cycle.
6. Organisation and authority: clear responsibility, authority and people for control at each level.

The elements work as a loop: after action is taken, performance is measured again and the result is fed back, so control is continuous until the project is complete.