Definition of the Monitoring and Control Phase

00:02 So we have to admit we've been a little vague when it comes to measuring output, using phrases like a good rate, high quality and fast enough. Imagine that you ask your engineer for technical details of the construction plans and materials to be used.

00:22 They reply, we're going to use decent steel and the quality of concrete and brick is satisfactory.

00:29 So the chances of the building falling down in an earthquake is small.

00:34 Not only is that description vague, but it's also subjective.

00:38 So what should we do about it? Well, as the famous Peter Drucker quote goes, what gets measured gets done.

00:48 If you want things done the way you want them, define a metric, set a target and measure the performance.

00:56 Then there is a step four if the actuals do not match the target.

01:01 Identify the reason and take action to correct the performance.

01:06 Let's look at an example.

01:08 Imagine you're practicing for the 100 meter sprint at the Olympics and you have three months to improve your sprint speed.

01:17 You need a way to measure if you are improving.

01:20 Right. How about seconds from start to finish? Great. I think that's your metric.

01:27 Now, let's say you want to improve by 20%.

01:30 Currently you run at 15 seconds.

01:32 So if you break it down month by month after month one, you want to be running it under 14 seconds, month two under 13 seconds and month three under 12 seconds.

01:43 That is your target.

01:45 And now you have to have a plan.

01:47 You go out every Tuesday and have your friend time you and record it.

01:52 That's what we call the actual.

01:57 So here we have our example.

01:59 You can see in month one your progress was good.

02:03 However, by month two, it seems to slow down.

02:06 This means that you now have the chance to adjust your third month's target or change something about the way you train so you can hit the target.

02:14 If you are not measuring your progress like this and just relied on being fast enough, you wouldn't qualify for the Olympics.

02:22 I hope this gave you an idea of the purpose of monitoring and control activities, because now we're going to go into it in more detail in a project manager environment. Thanks for watching.