Project Controls Fundamentals
Project controls fundamentals
Project controls integrates scope, schedule, cost, risk, and change into one performance picture. The WBS provides the common structure for control accounts, budgets, and schedule activities. Earned value management compares planned value (PV), earned value (EV), and actual cost (AC). Variances are CV = EV − AC and SV = EV − PV; indices are CPI = EV ÷ AC and SPI = EV ÷ PV. Forecasts use EAC = BAC ÷ CPI when current cost efficiency is expected to continue.
Change and reserves
Change control protects the baseline: only approved changes alter scope, budget, or schedule. Contingency covers known risks within the baseline; management reserve sits outside the baseline for unknown risks. Document assumptions, decisions, and impacts.
Traps
Expect questions that reverse variance signs, confuse contingency with management reserve, or apply EAC formulas without stating the assumption. Another trap is treating the baseline as a forecast; the baseline is the approved plan, while the forecast reflects current expectations.
Worked example
BAC = $500,000 and CPI = 0.80. If performance continues, EAC = 500,000 ÷ 0.80 = $625,000. The forecast overrun is $125,000. State the assumption: “current cost efficiency continues.”
Rule of thumb
Use the WBS as the Rosetta Stone connecting schedule activities, control accounts, and cost reports. If the same scope has different IDs in schedule and cost, integration will fail.
Controls are not just reports; they are the decisions and changes that follow from them.