Published: 2010-12-05
Last updated: 2022-03-16
A project management dashboard could be part of our "project control center". When thinking of something like a control center, pictures of the NASA control center and similar ones come to our mind. For large and very large projects, this idea is not far from what we really need. In implementation phase, we should be able to remain in control of what is going on in our project. We would like to have a clear overview over the current work progress in terms of scope, schedule, and budget (cost), as contemporary as possible.
Our dashboard reflects the summary of the project management metrics or controlling tools we apply. In fact, it is equivalent to a project status report as included in section Free Downloads. What are the most important elements we would integrate into such a dashboard?
The traffic light model is sufficient.
Here, we list accomplished interim or end results. In case of problems with scope changes, we indicate where significant changes are or might become possible or necessary, but are not yet sent out as change requests or claims. That is our early warning system in terms of scope creep.
Milestone Trend Analysis (MTA) indicates possible delays on milestone level. MTA is the first part of an early warning system for overall delays. The second part is the analysis of earned value vs. planned value. In sub-section Earned Value Project Management we explain its details.
At any point in time along implementation phase, we should be able to show cost accrued within the current reporting period and cost accumulated since beginning of implementation phase. For that, we need close co-ordination with our organization's accounting system.
Then we can compare actual cost with planned cost. This comparison does not yet show the full picture of our project's cost trend. To get the real cost trend we analyze actual cost vs. earned value. We discuss details in sub-section Earned Value Project Management.
Here, we list all events that could cause contract changes or claims, and are not yet listed elsewhere on the project management dashboard.
One outcome of our ongoing risk management will be a list of risk events that did not happen (and cannot happen for the remainder of this project), but are part of our overall project contingency. Following good accounting practices, these not incurred contingencies have to be resolved, in-line with the accounting principles of our organization.
What change requests did we receive or send out, what is their current status, and what is their impact on the project in terms of scope, schedule, and budget?
What claims did we receive or send out, what is their current status in the claim settlement process, and what is their impact on the project in terms of scope, schedule, and budget?
This picture shows the basic layout of a project status report, a template of which is available in the section Free Downloads.
To save you time in your daily work as a project manager, I packaged more than 35 project management templates, tools, and checklists into one zip file.
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