SharePoint 2010 for Project Management, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6. Project Tracking

The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.

—George Bernard Shaw, essayist and Nobel Laureate

Making time to gather intelligence about the project’s progress is a top priority for any project manager. What critical project elements do you typically track? In my case, I track the following:

Schedule

This is what every project manager is concerned with—making sure that the project is not running behind, and that the expected end date is still possible given what has been happening on the project to date. To ensure a project is on schedule, I measure the progress of my projects by frequently comparing the planned schedule to what is actually happening.

Risks

It’s unfortunate that project managers do not often include risk management as a part of their project management process. Risk management is a rather simple process that is not overly burdensome or complex, and it provides great value during project planning and execution. How do I track risks? I monitor the risks we have identified during project planning. If any identified risks occur, I try to determine whether our planned risk response was effective. In addition, the whole team keeps an eye out for new potential risks, their relative severity, and our planned responses to them should they occur.

Change

Customers change the project scope. The project budget has been cut. ...