Project and programme controls

Effective project and programme controls are the enablers of effective project or programme management. In its purest form, project and programme controls are the mechanisms by which we arm the management team with the right information at the right time in order to facilitate decisions being made to be able to influence outcomes.

The term ‘controls’ often means different things to different organisations, but for the purpose of this section, we shall draw the following disciplines into the controls arena: cost management, schedule management, risk management, performance management (often referred to as assurance), baseline and change control, continuous improvement and finally reporting.

This section explores the concepts around project and programme controls and the subtle but important differences between these. It looks at the drivers behind them and calls on qualitative evidence from across industry sectors. It also explores related issues such as the barriers to effective controls and tracks developments such as professional accreditation, before presenting a short summary.

This is not intended to be a ‘how to’ guide. For additional support, further reading is recommended.

This section is maintained by Richard Palczynski of Arcadis.

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