Measuring the efficiency of project control using fictitious and empirical project data

Dynamic scheduling refers to the integration of three important phases in the life cycle of a project: baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis and project control. In this paper, the efficiency of controlling a project is measured and evaluated using a Monte-Carlo simulation study on fictitious and empirical project data. In the study, the construction of a project baseline schedule acts as a point-of-reference for the schedule risk analysis and project control phases. The sensitivity information obtained by the schedule risk analyses (SRA) and the earned value management (EVM) information obtained during project control serve as early warning control parameters that trigger corrective actions to bring projects back on track in case of problems. The focus in this paper lies on the time performance of a project, and not on the prediction and controlling of the project costs.The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, this paper summarizes the main conclusions of various experiments performed in a large simulation study on the efficiency of project control techniques and the ability to trigger corrective actions in case of project problems. The main purpose of these simulation experiments is to understand why EVM and/or SRA work so well in some projects and fail so miserably in others. This study has been awarded by the International Project Management Association in 2008 on the IPMA world congress in Rome (Italy). Secondly, the paper compares the results obtained on fictitious project data with additional tests performed on a set of real-life data from 8 Belgian companies from various sectors.

Research highlights
► We review simulation studies on the efficiency of dynamic project management control.
► We compare 2 project control systems on their ability to trigger corrective actions.
► Empirical data confirms the fictitious simulation experiments.
► The topological project structure affects the efficiency of project control.