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    • Introduction
    • The Stages of a Project
    • Chapter 1. Sponsorship and Leadership
    • Chapter 2. Defining the Objectives and Benefits
    • Chapter 3. Planning the Project
    • Chapter 4. Ensuring the Project is a Manageable Size
    • Chapter 5. Defining the Budget
    • Chapter 6. Managing the Risks
    • Chapter 7. Getting the Right Project Manager
    • Chapter 8. Getting Customer Representation
    • Chapter 9. Defining Roles & Responsibilities
    • Chapter 10. Getting the Right Resources
    • Chapter 11. Monitoring and Reporting Progress
    • Chapter 12. Communicating Progress
    • Chapter 13. Consultation and Leadership
    • Chapter 14. Getting Realistic User Requirements
    • Chapter 15. Defining Your Approach
    • Chapter 16. Conducting Structured Testing
    • Chapter 17. Creating an Implementation Plan
    • Chapter 18. Conducting a Post Implementation Review
    • Chapter 19. Realising the Benefits
    • Chapter 20. Learning the Lessons
    • Chapter 21. Celebrating Success
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Monitoring & Reporting Progress

Question 11: Are you monitoring progress regularly?

Good Practice: The project plan should be monitored and updated every week. This activity is essential since tasks are often underestimated, and new tasks will be identified as the project moves forward.

Many people use what is called Rolling Wave Planning. This is when you plan down to the level of detail currently known and go back to plan deeper once more information is acquired. Usually rolling wave planning needs to stay at least 2 to 3 months ahead of the actual work being done, but of course this varies slightly by industry. 1

Micah Mathis
A woman placing sticky notes on a whiteboard in a meeting room with four people watching

If you create plans at the beginning of a project, put them in a drawer and forget them, why bother making them in the first place?

In poorly run projects, problems can go undetected until the project fails. It's like the drip…drip…drip of a leaky underground pipe. Money is being lost, but you don't see it until there is an explosion.

Joy Gumz

Common Mistakes

  • Project plans are never updated beyond the first draft.
  • Using non-binary milestones.
  • Reporting tasks as partially complete. Low-level tasks are not complete until complete; they should be measured as either 0% or 100% complete.
  • Ignoring warning signs and pressing on, hoping everything will turn out right by the end.

Warning Signs

  • The number of open issues continues to rise.
  • Using contingency plans faster than the rate of progress on the project.

Reference

1 Micah Mathis, PMP, Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls, 2007.

Monitoring & Reporting Progress

Question 11: Are you monitoring progress regularly?

12
Communicating Progress

Question 12: Are you distributing regular progress reports?

13
Consultation & Leadership

Question 13: Are you achieving the right balance of consultation and leadership?

14
Getting Realistic User Requirements

Question 14: Are the user requirements realistic?

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