Cost Controls and Cost

Regulation
If something bad is going to happen on a project, it’s likely related to time, cost or scope.
Project managers are well aware of this and spend much of their project planning efforts to
avoid negative risk and its potential impact. Many project management tools can help with
risk management, but it also takes skill in a concept called project controls.

What Are Project Controls?

Project controls are a set of tools, techniques and processes that are used together to help
project managers measure and control the six project constraints: time, cost, scope, quality,
risk and resources during the project execution and project control phases, which take place
concurrently. Think of project controls as the mechanism that helps project managers keep
a project on schedule and within budget while meeting quality standards. Project controls
address the following:

 Schedule management
 Scope management
 Quality management
 Risk management
 Time management
 Resource management

Project controls should be established during the initiation or planning phase but can be set
up throughout the project life cycle and take many forms. In simple terms, project controls
are all the metrics and processes that measure and track any of the aspects listed above.
You can establish project controls by using traditional project management techniques like a
RACI matrix, a work breakdown structure (WBS), the critical path method (CPM) or even a
project charter.

Or you can try project management software like ProjectManager. With ProjectManager,
you can use project planning tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards and project
dashboards, which are ideal for setting up project controls. With such a powerful tool, you
can collect project data, find trends and issues, report on project progress, filter for the
critical path and then put what you’ve learned into practice for better project management.
Get started for free.

Project controls are more effective with Project Manager’s real-time dashboard.
Project Controls vs. Project Management

While project controls might sound similar to what project management does, the scope of
project management is much broader. As their name implies, project controls only help
project managers track or control project constraints. Project management goes beyond just
tracking, it covers all the tools, techniques and methodologies for planning, executing and
tracking projects.

When to Use Project Controls

We’ve been discussing project controls in the abstract. We know what they are and why
they’re important, but what about applying them to real-life project management? As noted,
they fit into every aspect of the project life cycle. Let’s take a closer look to see how project
controls work.

Project Planning

Project controls are established at the beginning of the project, as you make your schedule,
assemble a team, break down tasks, identify stakeholders and figure out the project
objective. It’s in the estimation of costs and duration of the project where controls are
essential. These two constraints are some of the greatest risks to your project and they’re
key to making accurate estimates.

Project Execution & Project Monitoring

Executing the project means keeping the team focused to prevent slipping off schedule and
imploding your budget. This requires accurately monitoring and tracking your progress.

Project controls act as a means to identify when there are problems and bottlenecks.
Whether balancing resource allocation to match team capacity or quality issues, you need
project controls to break down data on the team’s hours worked against the budget spent
and more to see where there are problems and resolve them quickly.

Project Closure

The end of the project isn’t marked by successful deliverables and satisfied stakeholders, of
course. There’s a lot of paperwork to tie up, teams to relinquish or reassign and, naturally,
project controls to gather information on performance. This last piece of housekeeping
before closing the project reveals what worked and what didn’t, so the next project can
improve.

Project Controls Examples

Project controls are a systematic approach to managing a project. It can include many
different techniques. To better understand project controls, let’s look at several examples.

1. Project Baselines

A project baseline is a reference point that helps monitor and control a project’s progress
and performance. It’s typically created at the start of a project. The three basic project
controls of this sort are a cost baseline, scope baseline and schedule baseline. This allows
managers to look at what they planned in terms of cost, scope and schedule and compare it
to where they are to see if they’re on track.

2. Change Control Plan

Using a change control plan is part of a larger project control system. It identifies, assesses,
tracks and implements changes throughout a project’s life cycle. This change order
management process also effectively communicates with stakeholders about all changes. A
change log captures these changes and tracks them until complete and a change control
board reviews and prioritizes change requests.

3. Risk Register

Risk management is a project control and using a risk register or risk log is an important
part of this process. A risk register is a document that is used to identify and track risks that
could impact a project. It allows project managers to outline potential solutions in advance.
This gives them a contingency plan when issues arise.

4. RACI Chart

A RACI chart is used to determine who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed
in a project. By making these assignments, everyone is clear about their relationship to the
work, which will help everything run smoothly. That’s why this is part of project controls. It is
especially important when managing large, complex projects with multiple stakeholders or
remote workers.
5. Quality Management Plan

Part of project controls and the larger project management plan, a quality control
plan outlines how to maintain quality standards, processes and methodologies in projects. It
describes the resources, labor and activities needed to meet quality objectives.

6. Project Status Report

Project status reports are project controls in that they help understand project progress and
issues as well as keep stakeholders informed and managed. The project status report offers
a wealth of information, from tracking tasks and costs to timelines, which help project
managers make more informed decisions.

7. Project Contracts
Project contracts are examples of project controls because they drive accountability and
governance, which is critical to the project’s success. Project controls are about managing
project cost and schedule, contracts do this by providing risk mitigation measures that are
legally and commercially endorsed.

8. Construction WIP Report

The work in progress (WIP) report in construction is used by contractors to track the cost of
a project and how much money each phase costs. A construction WIP report is a project
control that allows managers and stakeholders to make informed decisions. It does this by
monitoring progress and managing risk.

Who Manages Project Controls?

Project controls are used to monitor and control a project’s schedule and budget. They are
managed by any number of different project management professionals depending on the
size of the project, industry and even organization.

Often it is the project manager who is responsible for managing project controls, but there
are specific job titles that do this work exclusively. Those titles are listed below, but while
the names are different, the responsibilities are the same. Those responsibilities are
identifying challenges or risks and offering solutions that are executed by the project
manager.

 Project control engineer

 Project controls manager
 Project controls specialist
Why Are Project Controls Important?
The scope of project controls is large in a project: that alone should signify its importance.
The purpose of a project manager is to control the project, from its inception to completion.
Managing is part of the job title, and project controls are just another means to that end.

Project controls are key to a strong project plan. Before execution, a solid plan must be in
place, and project controls help align the project with the larger strategic goals of the
organization. This means saving the project and the organization time and money.

Furthermore, project controls help answer important questions about the project. For
example, how much will the project cost, how long will it take to complete and what is the
value or quality that the project will deliver?

Who Manages Project Controls?

Project controls are a combination of many things. But you can break them down into two
groups: project management tools and people. The tools will be addressed in the next
section. For now, let’s focus on the people: the project manager and the project team.

As noted, project controls are about managing project scope, cost and timeline. That
means, having the right project manager, project team, data and review and change
management in place. The team should be staffed with skillful and experienced workers
who have expertise and knowledge in how to do the work assigned to them.

Project team members are often the first set of eyes on issues that arise in the project. A
project manager is only as good as the team they lead. Both project managers and team
members must always be alert to project scope, one of the main culprits for projects losing
control.

Free Project Management Templates to Help You Establish

Project Controls

As stated above, establishing project controls is very important for a successful project
manager. That’s why we’ve created dozens of project management templates that can help
you with this process. Here are some of them.

Work Breakdown Structure Template

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is the perfect tool to break down the project scope and
split it into small, manageable tasks. Once you know the tasks you need to execute, you
can proceed to create project controls to track the time and money needed to execute them.

Project Budget Template

Once you have a clear picture of your project scope, you’ll need to estimate costs and
create a project budget. Project budgets set a limit for spending, which makes them ideal to
monitor costs and establish project controls.

Project Timeline Template

Time is one of the most important project constraints and one that will need project controls.
This project timeline template helps you define what your project schedule will be and
establish project controls accordingly.

How to Create Project Controls with ProjectManager

People are key to good project management and good project management tools are key to
helping those people work better. ProjectManager is online project management software
that gives project managers the transparency they need to better enact project controls.

With award-winning Gantt charts, project managers can map out every project task and
designate assignees. As tasks are completed, progress updates in real time and managers
can make sure everything is going according to plan. If necessary, those tasks can be
reassigned to keep the project running smoothly.
The ProjectManager dashboard might be the most essential feature for project controls as it
keeps you abreast of the project’s progress as it happens. Tracking six project metrics, such
as variance, health and tasks, you know where the project is anytime and anywhere. For
greater detail, use ProjectManager’s one-click reporting feature. These customizable
reports can be filtered for deep data dives or more general progress updates for stakeholder
presentations.