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Project Execution and Control

 

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Q1. Source two project status report templates, discuss strengths and weaknesses in each and make recommendations for improvements.

The first status report template is the “Project Health Card” in figure one which has an overall green status. The strength of the project is that it covers the scheduled time, the use of resources, the budget, and the risks involved. According to Kim Heldman, monitoring the performance of a project at regular intervals and identifying the risks involved in the process gives the management team a room for appropriate response plans (Heldman, 2013). The weakness of the project is that it uses traffic light signals which are general in describing the status. The reporting team should use percentages to give an exact level of achievement.

The second status report template is on Infopeda in figure two. The report entirely covers the schedule for the report by accounting for the progress made every month and the percentage resource allocation. The template satisfies Synder’s criteria on Contract Close Out reports (Snyder, 2013). The status template does not, however, give the cost incurred during each stage. It is recommended that they provide realistic cost estimations in their reports.

Q2. Discuss the challenges and pitfalls of traffic light reports.

Performance reports and dashboards often contain icons with the three known traffic light colors (Barr, 2014). Visual analysts have identified the challenges and risks associated with the reports. There is difficulty in analyzing the dashboard due to too much color. Rules for allocating the red, amber and green tones are not consistently described. The performance standards they define are discrete. The analysts may not correctly determine a more acceptable one for performances that are all regarded good by the green traffic sign. Guiding the actions of operators becomes difficult due to the poor interpretation of the traffic light systems.

The Red, Amber, and Green (RAG) status reporting for projects comes with various pitfalls that escalate lack of trust on the system. Project managers often have little understanding and confidence when dealing with traffic light status reports (Naybour, 2015).  Due to weak surveillance by project managers and lack of sufficient information on the control systems green status is always given to stay safe. The building teams may fail to acknowledge the real difficulties when the state is green instead of amber or red.

Q3. Explain the difference between the status reports provided for teams, sponsor, and steering committee.

The status reports provided to the teams are tools for communication and enable the members to have a clear understanding of the human aspects of the project. Reports to groups help keep the project on the right track (Wysocki, 2012). The status report to the project sponsor enables reviewing of the project and address of pressing issues concerning the works being done. All the data presented to the sponsors will allow them to understand the progress that management team are making towards the set goals. The steering committee addresses the matters that relate to the scope and resources that were allocated and their status in the report. The steering board also handle the budget and scheduling of the entire project (Harding, 2010).

How is status reporting different between traditional and Agile project management approaches?

In Agile Project Management (APM), the status report is feature based where the work structure is characterized by the cost of tasks and time taken to handle them (Moran, 2015). Agile project management operates under the recognition of the fact that software cannot be defined up front but rather a software processing in a continuous process. As such, agile processes can be termed as generative processes in that they need to be advanced and evolved with time. Agile processes turn from simple to complex. The reports enable the project team to complete the process in time and account for the cost of the materials used during the process. The reporting system for APM is good for urgent projects or activities that may involve daily monitoring.  On the other hand, traditional project management focusses on defining concrete processes in regards to the needs of the customers. Traditional ALM aims at improving consistency productivity and quality delivery of services.  The Traditional Project Management (TPM) uses the assumption that the requirements for the process are fixed but the time and cost are variable (Moran, 2015). The status report, therefore, gives details on the amount used in the process in comparison with the set budget. The TPM report also provides details on the portions of work that is complete because all the proceeding activities come sequentially after completion of the initial steps.

 

Pictures of Templates Used

 

Figure 1. Monthly project status report template (Wale, 2015)

Wale, S. (2015, July 20). Monthly Status Report Template. Retrieved from Techno-pm: http://www.techno-pm.com/2015/07/project-status-update-template-detailed-monthly.html

Figure 2. Weekly project status report template (Template.net, 2015).

Template.net. (2015). 11+ Status Report Templates. Retrieved from Template.net: https://www.template.net/business/report-templates/sample-status-report/

 

 

 

References

 

Barr, S. (2014, May 20). Problems With Traditional KPI Traffic Lights. Retrieved from Performance Measurement: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/3-problems-with-traditional-kpi-traffic-lights/

Harding, C. (2010). Project Stus Reporting Process. Project Mnagement.

Heldman, K. (2013). PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide (7th ed.). Indianapolis: Wiley and Sons.

Moran, S. (2015, February 26). Agile vs. Traditional Project Management | PMI-ACP Certification. Retrieved from SimpleLearn: http://community.simplilearn.com/threads/agile-vs-traditional-project-management-pmi-acp-certification.379/

Naybour, P. (2015, February 10). How to use RAG Status Reporting For your Project? Retrieved from Project Accelerator News: http://www.projectaccelerator.co.uk/how-to-use-rag-status-reporting-for-your-project/

Snyder, C. (2013). A project manager’s book of forms: A companion to the PMBOK guide (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Wiley.

Template.net. (2015). 11+ Status Report Templates . Retrieved from Template.net: https://www.template.net/business/report-templates/sample-status-report/

Wale, S. (2015, July 20). Monthly Status Report Template. Retrieved from Techno-pm: http://www.techno-pm.com/2015/07/project-status-update-template-detailed-monthly.html

Wysocki, R. (2012). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme (6th ed.). Indianapolis: Wiley.

 

 

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