Chapter 13 - Monitoring and controlling the project Flashcards
Elaborate on feedback control system
Most projects overrun costs and time. It is mostly not caused by single events, but rather a little bit here and there. Therefore, we need a system that can detect such occurences. This is where the feedback control system becomes relevant.
A FCS has the following requirements:
1) Defining system characteristics of importance
2) Defining limits to their variation
3) Measurement of those characteristics
4) Making progress visible
5) Feedback to the team of performance
6) Instituting corrective action where required
Elaborate on configuration control
Configuration control is about making sure that everyone are working on the latest information. For instance, pulling code before starting to write and before pushing code is paramount to avoiding problems.
What is earned value?
Earned value is the sum of budget values of activities we have finished. For instance, of activity A is allocated 1000usd and B is allocated 2000usd, and C is allocated 3000 usd, and we have finished activity A and B, we have earned value of 1000+2000 = 3000 USD. If we happen to have spent 3500 USD, we are spending more than earned value, which is bad.
Without specyfing the actual indicators, what can we use indicators for, in relation to earend value and controlling/monitoring the project?
We can use the indicators as a measure of how well we are doing. We can define limits, and act with a corrective action if limit is breached. We can then obtain a per-activity check for our status.
