Project Controls Effectiveness on Successful Construction Projects

The fiercely competitive nature of construction project management also requires that contractors and owners alike must be skillful in estimating the cost and duration of each project undertaken, whilst at the same time being fairly certain of the intended scope of the project, and simultaneously delivering a successful project.
Construction projects rarely run exactly according to the originally envisaged plan, as changes during the project’s execution phase are inevitable. Project changes usually translate into more time, more money, and added scope. This could be viewed by some as unsuccessful construction projects.
The communication efforts on a project can also be thought of as being at the core of a project’s success, the success as a project manager, to the project management profession in general, and to the entire organisation involved with the undertaking of the project.
Project controls, whilst seen by some as a subset of the greater discipline of project management, is paramount in being able to gauge a project’s progress. Given the vast amount of investment in construction projects, even an improvement of a few percent has the potential to translate into compounded savings across different industries executing projects.
The most critical project success factors can be seen to be talent, project management basics, executive sponsorship, a focus on benefits, and change management.
One project control technique in particular that will be explored in some detail is that of earned value management, or EVM. Despite being in existence since the 1960’s, EVM has had mixed success and is considered burdensome by some organisations.
Furthermore, front end project controls, third party project controls as well as the possible future of project controls will be explored further.
As the discipline of project management continues to evolve and mature in many organisations, the importance of aligning metrics with success criteria will become increasingly important for project controls organisations to add value to the project teams. The way that we are now beginning to assess true project performance is evolving beyond the cost and schedule elements. Project controls must therefore expand its role in order to maximise its value to the project team.