Monitoring, progress reporting and project closure
Monitoring, reporting and closure
Monitoring compares actual performance with the baselines for scope, schedule, cost and quality. Earned value management (EVM) integrates them: planned value (PV) is authorised budget for scheduled work; earned value (EV) is budgeted value of completed work; actual cost (AC) is money spent. Variances: CV = EV − AC and SV = EV − PV. Indices: CPI = EV/AC and SPI = EV/PV. CPI below 1 means over budget; SPI below 1 means behind schedule. Forecasts such as EAC = BAC/CPI (when current performance continues) help report by exception and look forward, not just backward.
Progress reporting should be tailored to the audience, regular, factual and linked to decisions. Change control ensures approved changes update baselines; the issue log and risk register remain live. Closure includes verifying acceptance, transferring the product or service, releasing resources, settling contracts, archiving records and capturing lessons learned. Benefits may be realised after closure, so handover and measurement ownership matter.
Traps
A common mistake is treating a negative cost variance as good-negative means overspend. EV is not actual cost. SPI above 1 means ahead of schedule, not under budget. Percent complete is not automatically EV unless a defined measurement rule is used. Do not leave lessons learned only to the final meeting; capture them throughout. Closure is not just a party: formal acceptance and documentation are required.
Worked example
A work package has PV = 100, EV = 80 and AC = 90. CV = 80 − 90 = −10 (over budget); SV = 80 − 100 = −20 (behind schedule); CPI = 0.89 and SPI = 0.80. If BAC is 500, EAC ≈ 500/0.89 = 562. Report: “We are behind schedule and over budget; forecast overspend unless corrective action is approved.” Rule of thumb: report variances with their cause, impact and proposed action-not numbers alone.