43 Executing the Project

Establishing Baselines

There is actually one final task to complete before we can start work on our project. Establishing the baseline indicates the formal end of the planning phase and the beginning of project execution and control.

The baseline is your original plan, containing the original scope, cost, and time. This gives you a measuring stick throughout the project. For example, let’s say that your baseline budget was $20,000. If, after the first task, you have spent $15,000, you know you’re in trouble. You can then evaluate the situation and prepare an action plan – hopefully before things get too out of hand.

The baseline should be communicated to all stakeholders and the project team. Scope and resources can be outlined in text format. Cost and time can be displayed as a graph. Or, you can use a graphic scheduling tool (like a Gantt chart or network diagram) to display the original plan and track where you are.

Monitoring Project Progress

As the project manager, it is your responsibility to monitor all the parts of your project to make sure they are continuing as planned. If issues arise, it is your responsibility to resolve them, or to escalate them to someone who can resolve them.

Some popular, effective methods of tracking project progress include:

• Regular status meetings
• Regular status reports
• Hands-on observation
• Recording data manually or electronically and generating reports (for example, spending to date versus total budget)

Your visual scheduling tools can also help you record project progress and communicate it to your team.

• As tasks are completed, they can be crossed off the Gantt chart and/or the network diagram.
• If new resources need to be added, they can be added to network diagram boxes.
• If tasks need to be re-scheduled, they can be moved around on the network diagram.
• Risks, accomplishments, and lessons learned can be posted next to tasks.

Triple Constraint Reduction Methods

Be forewarned: after all of your planning, it is very likely that one element of the triple constraint will change. Perhaps a team member has left the organization, the budget has been cut, or new technical requirements need to be met.

When approached with scope changes, don’t panic! There are three established methods that you can use to decide how to alter the course of the project.

• Crashing: Reduce the schedule without changing the budget, or vice-versa (depending on project needs). This can be done by using cheaper resources, or by re-evaluating time estimates.
• Fast-Tracking: Can be done with the schedule only. Looks at the schedule to see which tasks (if any) can be completed concurrently, and where lag/lead time can be reduced or eliminated.
• De-scoping: Removes items from the project scope to free up time and/or money.

Make sure that you truly look at the big picture, and include short and long term benefits and consequences in your decision-making process.

Once you have performed careful analysis, gather documentation to back up your decision, clear the decision with the appropriate stakeholders, change the project plan accordingly, and communicate the plan change to everyone involved.