Monitoring and control are two important stages in project management. They cannot be neglected by managers because they help to understand how to treat, overcome, or mitigate the risks if possible. As a rule, a properly developed risk management plan has to be established; monitoring and controlling actions are the last ones in the list. These actions define the metrics according to which the required risk response strategies can be offered (Kerzner, 2009). However, even these simple and evident actions require a good plan. The current paper aims at identifying the essence and quality of monitoring and controlling actions, describing the challenges like the necessity of time, attention, and forecasting skills, and explaining how the knowledge gained during the course help project managers work better.
Some people think that monitoring and control are the same activities. Though, the work during the course helps to understand that monitoring differs considerably from the necessity to control the risks. Monitoring is usually a number of activities within the frames of which managers gather information, document their findings, and then report on everything found about the risks. It is a kind of initial stage that has to be complete (Heldam, 2005). As soon as monitoring is over, control has to be considered. To control means to develop mitigating or risk-reducing strategies in regards to the information gathered about the risks. In fact, it is hard to imagine risk control without monitoring, and monitoring is useless without control. Therefore, these two activities usually come together.
Kerzner (2009) identifies risk monitoring and control not as a problem-solving technique but as a proactive strategy to reduce the negative effects of risks. The author identifies the following factors according to which the success of risk monitoring and control can be defined: earned values, program metrics, performance, and TPM (technical performance measurement) (Kerzner, 2009). In case all these factors are properly defined and organized, the success of monitoring and control in a risk management project is expected.
Risk monitoring and control is the stage that helps managers choose the strategies and deal with the risks. Besides, these actions require the development of a good plan taking into consideration the possible challenges and threats. The experience got in the course helps to realize that the main challenges of risk monitoring and control can be time, lack of attention and inabilities to forecast the events. Project managers have to plan their time accordingly and think over every detail of the work beforehand. Time is hard to control; managers have to adapt to the conditions they are provided with. They should also be very attentive because as soon as they lose a small detail of the work, the results can be spoiled. Finally, managers, who deal with monitoring and control, are challenged with the necessity to forecast the events, their possible threats, and interesting ideas on how to overcome the most negative effects of external sources.
In general, risk monitoring and control are the necessary tools in any management project. It is almost impossible to develop a project free from any risks. Therefore, forecasting, monitoring, and control are the steps that help managers do their best and introduce the strategies that can facilitate all actions necessary for a project to be performed at a high level. The course taken and the development of an individual risk management plan show how to develop the required strategies in terms of the conditions given.
References
Heldman, K. (2005). Project manager’s spotlight on risk management. Alameda, CA: SYBEX Inc.
Kerzner, H. (2009). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.