The Definitive Guide to Project Management: The fast track to getting the job done on time and on budget (2nd Edition)

Schedule control is the final process within the time management process group. This process enables the project manager to verify the status of the project, influence proposed changes to the project schedule, identify changes to the schedule, and manage changes to the schedule.

Inputs

There are four inputs to this process: the schedule management plan, the schedule baseline, performance reports, and approved change requests.

Tools and techniques

There are six tools and techniques associated with schedule control:

1. Progress reporting. This is the reporting of actual progress against estimated.

2. Schedule change control system. This is a control system that defines the processes and procedures for requesting, accepting or rejecting, and implementing a change to the schedule.

3. Performance measurement. This technique measures actual performance against estimated performance.

4. Project management software.

5. Variance analysis. This measures and analyzes the variance between the estimated and actual schedule.

6. Schedule comparison bar charts. These provide a simple visual tool to enable comparison of schedule activities.

Outputs

There are nine outputs from schedule control:

• Schedule model updates.

• Schedule baseline updates.

• Performance measurements.

• Requested changes.

• Recommended corrective actions.

• Organizational process assets updates.

• Activity list updates.

• Activity attributes updates.

• Updates to the project management plan.

The outputs to schedule control allow time management to be refined, often by iterating once more through the time management process groups.