Risk-Based Project Controls & Management

In an uncertain business environment increasingly pressured by efficiency as a key competitive advantage, implementing effective project controls in projects and programs has become a critical organizational competency.

However, project and program controls still follow an immature process in many project-based organizations. Control metrics and performance indices are very often developed based on empirical approaches, without following well-established international standards and best practices. Another mistaken tendency is to develop controls solely based on a financial perspective and cash-flow requirements and/or ignoring uncertainty and risk.

Many organizations do not yet establish their own internal standards to support control and performance management in their projects and programs. Therefore, project and program professionals involved in developing and using project controls for management purposes often are not qualified and do not have the necessary knowledge, skills and expertise to make adequate use of metrics models to support management decisions aimed at making projects and programs to deliver the scope and benefits on objectives under conditions of uncertainty.

Proper project controls require the consideration of various elements of effective planning and data collection, namely: organizing the project scope via a proper WBS, establishing Control Accounts (CAs) and assigning responsibilities, estimating resources, cost and time, developing a schedule integrated with the WBS, establishing proper resource and cost breakdown structures (RBS and CBS), developing cash-flow models, establishing rules of credit for work progress, risk analysis, and management, procurement planning, integration with communications management, performance reporting and ultimately sustaining Earned Value Management implementation.

This course covers exhaustively all the above elements and offers and hands-on approach, with real life examples, to effective project and program schedule development and delay management.

Top Learning Objectives

  • Understand and learn the core principles of establishing project and program controls in am uncertain environment characterized by risk.
  • Know the main international standards and recommended practices for project and program controls issued by the most prestigious associations, in particular the AACE International, the PMI and the US-GAO.
  • Know and understand the AACE International recommended practices related to project controls and risk, in particular the RP 60R-10 “Developing the Project Controls Plan”.
  • Understand   the project controls core concepts know the standard terminology as the basis for effective communications about performance management in projects and programs.
  • Understand the integrative nature of project controls under a risk management framework.
  • Know and learn how to use in practice project controls to assess and diagnose performance, communicate with stakeholders, develop recovery and enhancement plans, assess and control risk, and develop lessons learned.
  • Know and learn how to use in practice project controls to interact, engage, manage and negotiate with program and project stakeholders.
  • Know the professional certifications available in the market related to project controls and risk management in projects and programs
  • Understand the potential benefits and requirements of software systems that support project controls.

Who Should Attend?

  • Project Controls Manager
  • Project Controllers
  • Earned Value Management Specialists
  • Programme Directors/Managers
  • Project Planners & Schedulers
  • Risk Analysts and Managers
  • Project Management Office specialists
  • Project Team Members
  • Cost Controllers & Engineers
  • Project Sponsors
  • Project Consultants
  • Project Specialists
  • Project Engineers
  • Top Management

Trainer's Background

  • Over 25 years of international professional experience as a consultant and trainer in Project Management and Cost Engineering
  • Senior Consultant for the Cutter Consortium, Business Agility & Software Engineering Excellence Practice (Boston, USA) (2001 – present)
  • Founding President of the PMI Portugal Chapter and Mentor of PMI Chapters in the EMEA Region (2005 – 2007)
  • Contributing author and Core Team member of the PMI EVM Practice Standard 2nd Edition (2011)
  • Member of the Advisory Panel of International Experts for the Government Accountability Office (GAO – USA) having reviewed the 2nd Ed of the Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide published in 2020 (2016 – 2019)
  • Founding President of AACE Portugal Section (2016 – Present)
  • Named by AACE International as Liaison for the ISO21500 Technical Commission (TC258) (2017 – 2020)
  • Named by PMI to join the Core Team that developed the 1st Ed of The Standard for Earned Value Management/ANSI/PMI 19-006-2019 (2018 – 2020)
  • Lead Author / Core Team member for ISO21512 – “EVM Implementation Guide” (2019 – 2021)
  • Contributing author and Core Team member of the ANSI/PMI 19-006-2019 – The Standard for Earned Value Management (2020).

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“The course integrated theory and practice with relevant examples. The interest of the instructor in adding knowledge aligned with our background. Full of practical and pedagogical examples. The experience of the trainer and his way of teaching were a major benefit.”

– Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA) – Brazil