T I M E P RO C E S S 84 Schedule Control ® (PMBOK 6.6, Control Schedule) What: Monitoring project activities and managing project timing. When: Project execution and control. Results: Accurate project activity tracking and plan adjustments as required to meet milestones and deadlines. Determine Status and Analyze Variances Schedule control is central to project plan execution. It follows status collection and project variance analysis in the project-tracking cycle. It is necessary in any cycle where you discover a significant schedule variance. For each variance use cause-and-effect analysis to understand its root cause and impact on the project timeline. If the root cause relates to contrib- utor underachievement, work toward performance problem resolution. Determine whether the impact is a onetime or short-term issue, or whether the root cause is a longer-term chronic problem. Plan Responses Review your project infrastructure decisions and integrated change- control process to ensure consistency with agreed-upon principles. Involve the project team in issue management and response planning; engage as many perspectives and points of view as practical. Determine the impact of schedule variances on the overall project by forecasting project completion. Depending on the severity of the problem and the nature of its root cause, the response may be: · A minor change that preserves the project objective · Implementation of a contingency plan developed during risk response planning · A major change to the project American Management Association www.amanet.org