From the course: Project Management Foundations

Evaluate progress

From the course: Project Management Foundations

Evaluate progress

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- [Instructor] When work is underway, you have to look at the schedule and cost to see where the project stands. Start with a Gantt chart that compares the current schedule to your baseline plan. The position of the task bars and the time scale shows whether tasks are ahead of, behind, or right on schedule. In this example, the current task bars for implementation are scheduled later than the baseline. So they're behind schedule. Variance values show the exact difference between your baseline and current schedule. The finish variance in this example is negative 25 days. You would have to shorten the remaining schedule by 25 days to get it back on track. Honing in on problem tasks helps you identify what you need to change to keep your schedule on track. Scheduling programs include tools that provide early warning of delays. For example, look for incomplete tasks that are running behind schedule or tasks that should have started but haven't, or tasks where work hours are behind schedule. In addition to the schedule, you also need to compare project costs to what was budgeted. Cost variances are perfect for that. If the project is over budget, you need to find out why. Maybe scope creep is to blame. Work was done without adding budget for it. Or tasks may be taking longer than plans so labor costs are higher. Work might be going faster than planned. That incurs cost faster, so it looks like it's over budget at that point. If the work required follows your estimate, the cost at the end will be back within budget. Once you see where the project stands and identify problems, you'll have the info you need to come up with solutions. Take a look at the project schedule and costs in the exercise files, and identify issues you might need to address.

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