Plan, Monitor, and Anticipate
Classically, planning and control are portrayed as the backbone of successful projects. According to this outlook, planning establishes the targets and the course of action for reaching them, while control ensures that the course of action is maintained and that the desired targets are indeed reached. Therefore, control involves measuring and evaluating performance and taking corrective action when performance deviates from planes.
The change in the scope of project control has been even more radical. Classic concepts of project control were developed for stable environments in which it was expected that planning would be fairly accurate and implementation would largely adhere to the plan. Accordingly, the primary role of project control was to identify deviations from the plan and adjust execution to conform to the plan. Today, however, the central role for measuring and evaluating performance is to provide quick feedback necessary for further planning. The main purpose of project control is not to answer the question. "Why didn't your performance yesterday conform to the original plan?" but rather, "What kind of feedback can help you learn faster and perform better tomorrow?"
Under conditions of uncertainty, measuring and evaluating performance, which is classically regarded as project control, can serve only as a means to monitor performance. But by no means are these activities enough in order to provide project control.
Successful project managers do not limit their monitoring to events occurring within the typical boundaries of their assigned role. These project managers know that in a dynamic environment, projects succeed only through the constant monitoring of performance and changes outside their formal boundaries.
In particular, many of the most crucial "challenging the status quo" actions were initiated proactively by the project managers, primarily as a result of their constant engagement in ongoing deliberate anticipation. Deliberate anticipation entails focusing attention on identifying irregularities, as well as early signals of possible problems, and being flexible and ready to respond.
This text is part of the book "Mastering the Leadership Role in Project Management - Practices that Deliver Remarkable Results". Author: Alexander Laufer. Editor: FT Press.
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