The Transcender Team Weblog

Here we are again, folks!

We have covered Initiating in Part 1, Planning in Part 2, and Executing in Part 3 of my study series. In this post, we will cover Monitoring and Controlling. The PMBOK Fourth Edition had quite a few changes compared with the PMBOK Third Edition. Remember, I’m only highlighting the changes between the two — do not expect this to be a comprehensive PMI study guide.

Special note on Part 4:  You need to take particular care when examining the acronyms and formulas used in earned value management (EVM) because so much has changed between the Third and Fourth editions. The test candidate should be sure to memorize all formulas from both editions. There have also been some changes made to the formulas used for forecasting for the Control Costs process. These changes, and the formulas for TCPI, should be memorized as well.

Process Group Four: Monitoring and Controlling

In the PMBOK Third Edition, the Monitoring and Controlling phase had 12 processes. In the PMBOK Fourth Edition, it has 10 processes, of which eight have been renamed, as shown in Table 9. (The Manage Project Team process and the Manage Stakeholders process were removed from the Monitoring and Controlling phase in the PMBOK Fourth Edition and placed in the Executing phase, as described in Part 3 of my study series.)

Table 9: Processes in the Monitoring and Controlling Phase

The changes in the Monitor and Control Project Work process are shown in Table 10 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 10: Changes to the Monitor and Control Project Work Process

The Perform Integrated Change Control process comes next in the Monitoring and Controlling phase, and includes the changes shown in Table 11 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 11: Changes to the Perform Integrated Change Control Process

The deliverables input to the Verify Scope process has been renamed “validated deliverables” to more correctly reflect the status of the deliverables. Three of the inputs to the Verify Scope process that were listed in the PMBOK Third Edition — project scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary, and project scope management plan — have been consolidated into a single input, called the project management plan.

Requirements documentation and the requirements traceability matrix have been added as inputs to the Verify Scope process. The requirements documentation lists all requirements for the project and product, with acceptance criteria. The requirements traceability matrix links requirements to their origins and tracks the requirements through the project life cycle. Two of the outputs of the Verify Scope process listed in the PMBOK Third Edition, requested changes and recommended corrective actions, have been consolidated into a single output called change requests. Project document updates have been added as outputs of the Verify Scope process, and include any documents that define the product or report completion status.

The Verify Scope process is closely tied with the Control Scope process, which has the changes listed in Table 12 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 12: Changes to the Control Scope Process

The Control Schedule process has been changed as shown in Table 13 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 13: Changes to the Control Schedule Process

The changes to the Control Costs process are shown in Table 14 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 14: Changes to the Control Costs Process

In the PMBOK Third Edition, the quality management plan was listed as an input to the Perform Quality Control process. This plan is now listed as a piece of the main input, which is the project management plan. Defect repair review is no longer listed as a tool used in the Perform Quality Control process. Approved change requests review has been added as a tool used in the Perform Quality Control process. Validated defect repair, quality baseline updates, recommended corrective and preventative actions, and recommended defect repairs are no longer listed as outputs of the Perform Quality Control process. The requested changes output has been renamed change requests. Validated changes and project document updates have been added as outputs of the Perform Quality Control process.

The changes made to the Report Performance process are shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Changes to the Report Performance Process

The tools now included in the Report Performance process are: communications methods (formerly named status review meetings), reporting systems (which combines two former tools, time reporting system and cost reporting system), variance analysis, and forecasting. The forecasting tool is a new tool that was added to the Report Performance process. This tool can include many different methods, including:

• Time series methods – using historical data to predict future outcomes.
• Causal/econometric methods – using causes to predict future outcomes. For example, umbrella sales are directly related to weather conditions.
• Judgmental methods – using intuitive judgment opinions to predict future outcomes.
• Other methods – using such techniques as simulations, probabilistic forecasting, and ensemble forecasting.

Approved change requests are no longer listed as inputs to the Monitor and Control Risks process. In the PMBOK Third Edition, the risk management plan was listed as an input to the Monitor and Control Risks process. This plan is now listed as a piece of the main input, which is the project management plan. There are no changes in the tools used in the Monitor and Control Risks process. Three of the outputs for Monitor and Control Risks that were listed in the PMBOK Third Edition — recommended preventative actions, recommended corrective actions, and requested changes — have been consolidated into a single output, named “change requests.” Project document updates, including updates to the assumptions log and technical documentation, have been added as an output of the Monitor and Control Risks process.

The changes for the Administer Procurements process are shown in Table 16 (click the image for a larger copy):

Table 16: Changes to the Administer Procurements process

OK, guys, we are getting closer to the end here!

In my next post, I will cover the Closing process group. I will also include a summarization of how the PMBOK Fourth Edition formalized certain lists to help with our understanding.

-Robin