The Integrated Strategic Management and Management by Objectives, making use of the Values, represent the basis for the development of the Integrated Management by Projects, with the purpose of guaranteeing continuity in the Management process
The control of execution by projects supported by ICTs, introduces a change in management style in the interaction between the project team, managers and stakeholders, in order to achieve the project objectives in the shortest possible time., within the framework of the budget and with the quality required by the client and the interested parties.
The project constitutes the basic organizational unit of the management system in companies that work by project and its updated execution schedule represents a fundamental tool to guarantee greater effectiveness in decision-making, due to the easy access to the information necessary to identify the problems in the tasks and provide the timely decisions required for decision making in the management system.
The objective of the work is the development of a procedure to execute decision-making in the Integrated Project Management supported by ICTs, based on the structured programming of the project with the corresponding cuts, the baseline, the progress line and the monitoring with the progress of the tasks, allowing to exercise its control, from the information generated in the cuts, for the decisions made in the previous cut, the diagnosis in the current cut and the prognosis for the next one, take the strategic decisions that guarantee the fulfillment of the objectives, in an integrated management process.
1. Introduction
In the management process by project, the control of execution by cuts constitutes one of the most important phases due to the level of information it generates and because of its incidence in the decision-making, necessary to achieve the objectives of the same, in the least time frame, within the budget, with the logistical support and the quality required by the client and the interested parties.
The concept of identifying the need, formulating the problem and assigning its solution to a certified project manager, supported by the functional structure of the company, with the use of ICTs and prioritized attention by senior management, is a trend that is successfully spreading internationally.
The objective of this work is to provide a procedure to the project team, to develop the control of execution by cuts supported by ICTs, from structured planning where information of interest to participants and interested parties is generated.
A well-planned project, with a study of alternatives, feasibility, evaluations, with a good schedule, definitions of quality, contract, budget, and financing, facilitates the task of management in the project execution control stage.
In the content of the topic, the concepts of management, the analysis of the information, the use of the baseline, the line of progress and the follow-up making use of ICT are developed, in order to integrate these concepts, provide the necessary elements for the control of execution by cuts and decision-making, supported by indicators, in order to facilitate management work during the execution of projects.
2. Background
Planning and execution control are important processes of the management system in the project life cycle. The development of information technology has stimulated its use in project planning, however, its use has been limited in the control of execution due to lack of stability in the supply of information in the courts and lack of training on the part of the executors. The process requires a technological discipline motivated and demanded by the company's management staff.
The characterization of the generalization process of Integrated Project Management in companies reflects that the planning stage is developing satisfactorily, but in the execution control process, adequate use is not made of all the potentialities provided by computer tools to ensure an effective outage management process.
The state of the art on the subject is rich due to the multiple publications of companies that make use of computer technologies to exercise control, since currently the use of manual systems and statistical models for control of execution is prohibitive. The computer systems are designed to facilitate the work of project managers, their work team and company managers, providing the necessary information to exercise control in accordance with the current development of Science and Technology. Not making use of this development is denying the effectiveness of the project management process, with all the impact that this implies in the investment process and the development of the country.
3.- Development of the execution control process
The execution control process within the framework of the Integrated Project Management requires planning and preparation of the project with its Task Breakdown Structure, resources, costs, budget, financing, the critical path, quality management., definition of the cuts based on the priorities in the database, the use of the baseline, the progress line and the monitoring, in a continuous process, where decision-making supported by a set of indicators, allows to identify conflicts, determine the causes, identify the effects, provide solutions and proceed to make decisions, in a framework where the work of the DIP team makes use of the facilities provided by ICTs.
3.1.- Management concept
Project management is a need of the company, in which the project manager acts on a work team in a conscious way to exercise control, making the appropriate decisions at the cut-off points, in order to direct the process towards the fulfillment of the previously defined objectives through a path of minimum deviation, defined by the desire line, making appropriate use of the information, in order to achieve the objectives in the shortest possible time, with the required quality and within the framework of the planned budget.
The development of a project in time defines a line of desire represented by a trajectory that originates from A with the process of conception of the project and ends at the end with the achievement of the objectives. The project in its execution stage is subject to multiple effects that describe a trajectory close to the line of desire, with a set of turning points at times very different from the expected. The trajectory of the project is objective and develops spontaneously or under the direction of the DIP project team. If by an adequate procedure, it is possible to establish the cuts, identify the
causes of deviations in the cuts and act on them in a continuous process of management, the spontaneous development of the project is transformed into a conscious process of management.
To achieve a targeted process in each project cut-off, it is necessary to assess deviations and determine the causes. These deviations can be reflected on the graph by a vector tangent to the path at the cut-off point. After evaluating the causes and identifying the effects with possible solutions, it is necessary to make decisions that can be materialized in a reflection correction of decision making. The correction induces a resultant R that directs the project towards the achievement of its objectives through the shortest possible trajectory, with the objective of achieving the expected results with the minimum of deviations.
The success of the management work will be given by the set of conscious decisions, taken during the execution of the project, tending to achieve that the trajectory is as close to the line of desire, which directly affects the cost and time of the project. Deviations increase costs by reducing the profit margin. When deviations exceed the measurement criteria they generate losses in the project.
The art of directing by project is given by the possibilities of obtaining a trajectory with minimal deviation in relation to the desire line, with a minimum of deviations in relation to the baseline, applying strategic decision-making based on each cut-off. of the project objectives..
The management process requires a precise definition of its objectives, knowing where to go, a systematic control by cuts and effective decision-making based on its objectives, evaluating the deviations presented with the support of ICTs.
The information system provides the tasks that are in the execution schedule and in those that present difficulties, it is necessary to identify the causes with their indicators in their notes, with a proposal of possible solutions. To guarantee this process, it is necessary to make use of the baseline, the progress line and its monitoring.
3.2.1.- Baseline.
During the execution of a project, it is necessary to carry out a set of evaluations of costs, time, quality, logistics and performance among other indicators that must be kept in a controlled manner in order to be able to compare the intermediate adjustments with the initial programming and measure deviations from the draft. The baseline allows you to save this initial information against which the progress and deviations of the project are measured. It must be stable enough to take on the change orders and supplements that are presented during its execution.
3.2.2.- Progress line.
The progress line represents the cut-off date of the project at the scheduled milestone, it allows evaluating its deviations in relation to the baseline. Provides easy to interpret graphic information to identify the status of tasks and the project.
3.2.3.- Project monitoring.
The monitoring of the tasks with the% of completion, allows to identify the progress line, the status of the tasks and their deviations in relation to the previously established baseline.
The tasks have defined the volume of work that allows assigning resources and calculating execution times. In the control process the% complete is determined for the f and c has d and cut reflected in the table. baseline, the line p ROGRESS and tracking table with% completed. The graphic sample of the execution schedule allows or easily obtains a characterization of the project in the cut, linked the bars with the data in the table, where it is reflected that task 11 Foundation is behind schedule.
3.3.- Preparation of the information for the control of the execution of the project.
During the planning process, the structured tasks, their duration and dependencies are established with the scheduled cuts (I - 1), (I) and (I + 1), which define the intervals A and B, the accumulated planned cost curve of the planned work vs. time or S curve, financing and documentation provided in the design process.
The graph shows the intervals A and B close to cut-off (I).
Execution control process.
The control process requires initial preparation in the execution schedule, where all the information prepared during the development of the planning process must be. The information provided in the cut (I - 1), the characterization in the interval A, the evaluation in (I), the forecast in B and the goals for (I + 1) is available in a continuous process by cuts where all The members and interested parties intervene by updating the information in interval A, processing and interpreting the results according to the development of their functions.
3.4.1.- Information on goals for cut I by tasks
The control process begins with the preparation of the information on the date where interval A begins, defining the cut-off date in (I) and the information to task managers in interval A of their goals to be met in the cut-off.. This information can
work, with the adjustments that normally occur in decision-making. The development of the computer culture, contributes to the publication of the project on the server and the rest of the interested parties access the information, to specify what their goals are to be achieved in accordance with the production standards and the measurement criteria normally reflected in the notes of tasks to get a good evaluation of the performance I. In this case, the Foundation, once the interval A has concluded, must have 80% completion as the first time indicator to aspire to obtain a good performance.
3.4.2.- Progress of the tasks. Completion.
Now being at the end of interval A on the cut-off date, we proceed to provide the% of completion of the tasks included in it.
it is updated in the tracking table with the status date on the progress line.
The information is generated in each cut from the% completion of the tasks, specifying the tasks that present problems, their causes and the effect they produce on the project according to their priority and the indicators affected. This information can be sent by email, on diskette or using the project server. The quality of the information determines the effectiveness of decision-making. The frequency of updating the project by cuts and strategic decision making can be weekly depending on its priority.
3.4.3.- Status report in the previous cut
Once the goals in interval A have been updated, it is necessary to review the status report in the previous cutoff (I - 1), in order to analyze the agreements made and the main problems analyzed. On the DIP CD you can find templates for the status report prepared from the running projects database.
3.4.4.- Analysis of conflicts in interval A.
With the analysis of the status report in (I - 1), the incidents of the problems in A, the fulfillment of the agreements and the situation presented by the tasks are specified, taking into account the fulfillment of the indicators.
For this cut in (I), the conflicts are reflected in the Foundation task with a delay and a report in the notes that specifies the details, the causes and the possible solutions
- F5 1 day Project 28 days T1 8 days EARTH MOVEMENT 3 days A FOUNDATION 4 days B Control 1 0 days 06/01 WALLS E N GROUND FLOOR 3 days C T2 9 days
In the status report in hyperlinked Control 1, the details of interval A are specified with the information required for decision making.
The summary task manager informs the project manager either in writing, via diskette, e-mail, Web page, or by depositing the task information on the server. The manager of a subproject generally works in a similar way to the manager of the summary task, the settings that are developed in the subprojects are reflected in the project automatically. The information on the causes of the impairments of the tasks are reflected in their notes, with the aim of being validated by the managers. It is possible that a task manager reports the lack of supply of the resource as the cause and the purchasing manager or supplier disagrees with the criteria. It is possible that the cause is due to the quality of the previous task according to the flow of information or technology and the quality manager disagrees with the criteria.As all these causes are published on the server, before making decisions, managers must validate the information by entering the system. By designing custom views, you inform managers and stakeholders according to the functions you perform.
In the information provided by the project in the cutoff, the cost, budget and financing are reflected with sufficient flexibility to allow all project members to have the necessary information to manage their problems and take as a consequence the measures that guarantee their compliance.
3.4.5.- Evaluation in section I.
Characterized conflicts in A
$ Cumulative cost curve.
Identifying the causes and possible solutions, the behavior of the project is counted and it is evaluated in the cut from the indicators.
The time control index defined in the execution schedule allows the evaluation of this indicator through the SPI reflected on the dashboard. The CPI allows evaluating the use of financing according to the planned budget.
Based on the diagnosis in interval A, we proceed to the evaluation of cut I from the indicators of the table of accumulated values in the Project, CPTP, CPTR, CRTR and CR, which allow the integral evaluation of the project, transferring this evaluation to the status report in court.
Indicators for cost and time management:
SPI = CPTR / CPTP
CPI = CPTR / CRTR PIP = CPTPx100 / CPF.
Planned budget execution percentage in relation to the total planned CPF cost on the cut-off date, according to the baseline and based on physical progress.
PIR = CRTR x 100 / CEF Real percentage of budget execution in relation to the final expected cost CEF at the time of the cut. Different evaluations that can be presented of a project in execution.
- If CPI > 1 and SPI = 1 the evaluation must be Good, if CPI and SPI <1 the evaluation must be Bad.
For intermediate values, an evaluation of Regular can be provided depending on the numerical values achieved and the qualitative evaluations of the rest of the indicators such as quality, supply and the performance of the man who executes the actions.
The measurement criteria reflected in the notes are associated with cost, time, quality, performance and logistics. A valid criterion is to affirm that quality and logistics problems are normally reflected in cost and time, therefore a solution is to find a way to evaluate these indicators together for the evaluation of the project. The combination of cost and time provides a project evaluation criteria that can be represented in a matrix. Each project requires a personalized analysis in cut I. The evaluations of the projects in the cuts are collected in the dashboard and reflected in the database of projects in execution according to their priorities.
The evaluation of projects by cuts with the progress line and monitoring, allows to obtain in each cut, a characterization of the project, evaluate its behavior, make a diagnosis of it and provide the necessary elements for the forecast based on the current situation and the characteristics of the next interval B, developing a systematic control by cuts.
3.4.6.- Forecast in interval B.
The behavior of the project in the above ranges to cut I and diagnosis in A, it is necessary to develop a forecast for the next interval, evaluating the effect of A on B.
The effects on B can be very varied and among the most important are; evaluating change orders with potential risks, evaluation of quality assurance resources, indicators and risks planned for ascertaining their incidence in the range B. The prognosis can be simulated affectations and conflicts of A in B with p or sible balances of resources, evaluate alternatives and propose solutions, according to the pr i ority of the project fund shares, in order to obtain the necessary criteria for takes it
In interval B, it is necessary to prepare to assume the tasks under the prevailing conditions at the time of decision-making, which may be different from those planned, where quality, cost and time management with their respective risks represent important indicators for guarantee the success of the project, in accordance with the programming and the necessary resources to assume them. It is only necessary to evaluate the real conditions of project execution and proceed to make decisions in a proactive process from the information generated by the reports in the cuts.
3.4.7.- Decision making.
Decision-making is the essence of the project management process with its respective indicators and to achieve its effectiveness it is necessary to have the status report in I-1, where the behavior of the previous interval and the agreements made, the evaluation of the indicators in A and their incidence in B, in order to proceed in an integrated way to making strategic decisions in (I), with the participation of the functional structure of the company.
The analysis is carried out by the participants, focusing on the information deposited and published on the server, where each manager evaluates and validates the part that corresponds to him before making decisions.
Decision-making in I is characterized by being strategic based on the general objectives of the project and is executed by the project manager with his team. The daily tactical decisions of the project during the development of interval A are made by the heads of summary tasks, work objects and subprojects according to the disaggregation structure, in coordination with the team members, the daily operational decisions are made in the tasks by your bosses in interval A based on your planned goals. All decisions are reflected in the notes of the tasks and consulted by the participants and interested parties
For decision making, it is necessary to specify possible interferences with other tasks or projects, based on having the priorities previously defined by the company management and reflected in the database. The shared resource pool and data warehouses provide this information in the DIP.
If the problem is well defined and characterized with a good diagnosis, it is always possible to determine technical solutions. One of the most important skills that the project manager must have is knowing how to identify when the level of information is adequate. A misidentified problem leads to wrong solutions. A well-posed problem always has a solution. Excessive use of time searching for information leads to outdated decisions. A good use of time is the basis for the development of a good project control, using ICTs as support, in a cyclical and continuous process in the planned cuts of the project.
In the DIP, the decision-making developed by the directors of prioritized projects, based on the database in the Shared Resources Fund, must be presented to the board of directors in order to share decisions, fertilize them and reach robust decisions adjusted in an integration process, where the synergy and commitment of the parties in the decision-making of the Project Director plays an important role.
3.4.8.- The status report in section I
After taken decisions and set goals for the next cut I + 1, a brief status report on a template that collects information from the report, which should be hyperlinked to the milestone in the cut is made I. This report in Word includes the behavior analysis, compliance with the agreements in cut I-1, the characterization of the project in cut I, indicators, decisions with their respective agreements and goals for the next cut I + 1 among other aspects of interest.
In this report, the project manager determines the state of the general evaluation based on a set of strategic indexes weighted and reflected on the scorecard.
3.4.9.- Project setting for interval B.
After making the decisions, we proceed to execute the adjustments in the project in interval B, which can range from variations in the execution time of the tasks, dependencies, new allocations of resources, adjustment of logistics, solutions to quality rejections, non-compliance, change orders, risks, customer requirements, application of double work shifts or an internal balance of resources according to the agreements during decision making.
All the adjustments that affect the indicators that are reflected in the database dashboard are evaluated and analyzed in the strategic cuts with the participation of the functional structure of the company, which provides the necessary information and its updating to decision making. The adjustments are reflected in the implementation schedule of the project and made available to the parties concerned to clarify its work plan in the range B. This will be the basic information to control in the milestone (I + 1).
3.4.10.- Information to participants and interested parties.
After making the adjustments based on the decisions made, it is necessary to inform the parties of the readjustment of their work plan in interval B.
The system provides personalized outputs with the information required by the interested parties and allows participants to access the system to search for the information necessary to guarantee their work plan based on the partial objectives set in interval B. The Web pages and e-mail are means of informing the parties. The linking of the Project with the Project Server, Information Stores and Outlook, facilitates the work of the DIP team making use of ICTs. At work, use is made of the tools provided by MS Project 2007 with the Office add-ins, which conform to the procedure developed.. Information is initially provided to participants and interested parties, after the need for the information is created,They enter the system to search for it and make use of it according to their needs to guarantee the fulfillment of their planned goals and objectives. Developing custom views facilitates the information process. This process contributes to the development of the IT culture necessary for the development of DIP in the company.
This process is carried out, using the computer network and the management pyramid, in accordance with the matrix of responsibilities defined for the project and the company.
The analysis must be developed on the basis of the scheduled outages, designing configured outputs of the information to the stakeholders in the project, through tables, graphs, status reports, custom reports, custom views, Web pages and dynamic links. The analytical capacity must be in correspondence with the volume of information available and assimilable, its structure and the requirements to carry out the control at each level.
The control system must be comprehensive, from the one carried out by the investor and the project manager to the self-control that the crew chief or the operator of a team must do, reviewing the work carried out and seeking excellence in it. This comprehensive approach to control has paid off for successful companies. Preventive and planned control, which alerts to a problem, guarantees a more effective work.
4.- Conclusions
The action scenarios and the competitive environment in which the companies that work by project develop, demand the use of the DIP supported by the ICTs, with the aim of shortening the execution time, taking in each court the decisions that guarantee the planned objectives, within the framework of the budget and with the quality required by the client and stakeholders.
The content of the topic provides a methodology for controlling the execution of projects by cuts, which constitutes an important tool for the project manager and his work team, supported by all the facilities provided by ICTs.
The current development of the investment process requires the use of management techniques in correspondence with the current requirements of the development of Science and Technology, in accordance with the cultural and intellectual capacity of the personnel working on the projects and with the use of specialized equipment of high technology. Making late or risky decisions, without an adequate level of information, puts at risk the work of a valuable group of workers who make use of specialized equipment in the development of their functions.
The systematic update of the result of the cuts in the database with the indicators reflected in the dashboard, allows the company managers to evaluate the behavior of the projects and obtain strategic projections from the elaboration of forecasts that facilitate the decision-making in the courts, with the participation of the functional structure of the company.
The support of ICTs allows analysis, conflict resolution and decision-making with the participation of interested parties, in an integrated process where information is shared, with the aim of guaranteeing synergy based on robust solutions in the process of project management.
The methodology is based on the use of Project 2007, Excel, Access, Project Server, Outlook and Web pages with computer networks and project servers, with the aim of guaranteeing Integrated Project Management in companies in the process of business improvement.
The financing scheme, the S curve (CPTP, cost baseline) and the behavior of the CRTR production, allow the behavior of the project, the diagnosis, prognosis and decision-making.
The project management process requires an effective procedure, which addresses decision-making with quality and rigor, with the aim of achieving a project development path close to the desired line, with the aim of shortening deadlines, guaranteeing the quality required by the client, with a minimum of deviations and a high performance of the trained man who executes the actions.
The procedure shows how to execute the execution control, from a maintenance by systematic cuts of the information that is generated during the development of the project, providing the parties with the necessary information for the development of their functions, with effective attention of managers to guarantee discipline in the flow of information and updating in the project. For the fulfillment of this objective it is necessary to update and train the personnel that works by project. The Project Director must be certified.
The companies in the process of improvement have the human capital, the computer technical means and the necessary equipment for the execution of the projects, the application of the procedure allows the fulfillment of the objectives with greater effectiveness, combining the development of Science and Technology, technological equipment and personnel with management methods at the height of the state of the art.
The DIP guarantees the process of control of the execution of the projects that respond to the Management by Objectives based on the Integrated Strategic Management, in an integrated management process.
The José Antonio Echeverría ISPJAE Higher Polytechnic Institute, in the Civil Engineering faculty, provides advice and consultancies to companies, develops postgraduate courses, diplomas, masters and doctoral consultancies on the subject. [email protected]
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