DTU ProjectLab - User contributions [en-gb]

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-23T10:11:14Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, and how to collect relevant data for further analysis, by using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research, humanitarian...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

In a first part, the place of monitoring in project managment, its upsides and downsides, are developed.
The relation between planning and monitoring is presented in a second part.
The last 2 parts present the automated project monitoring methods.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions to adress those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control is impossible without a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

[[File:msoftwares.png|Software tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

While this article present new software-based monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry yet. While they are naturally more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref> The methods presented here can be implemented by firms having a software development capabilitie, and should be used in large scale projects. However, for small scale or non-professionals projects, online tools can be found.

Monitoring can have some downsides. It is costly and if uneffective can become a real waste of money and ressources.
Another unexpected effect was found by researchers studying the behaviour of contractors in construction projects when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow. Therefore, before presenting monitoring techniques, it is important

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning. If the information is more precise, it's useless. If it's too broad, it can’t be compared with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions when monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|400px|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]]. They implement multiples event dates scheduling the project and handle schedule modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report to a project manager, keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a professional. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic while keeping in mind the final objective. Appropriate information is necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different informations and assessments. Information is generally complex and need to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project's performances. It should be concise to be focused on its subject, simple enough to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|400px|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time and ressources, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That's why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to automatically evaluate the level of project completion from text reports. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|400px|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When finding deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to take the appropriate control measures. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . However, available and cheap technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather huge quantities of data, an information system can then organize this data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective tools to gather precise kind of data.

A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators... depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system paired with a GPS data intake can determine at any moment if a machine or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract informations from a live video feed about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

[[File:mtools.png|Data collection tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material in every stage of the project involving it can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these. Monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better overall comprehension, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|400px|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect every kind of data, and some informations are still needed to be assessed by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency and actions requiring human judgement.

Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

Ethic questions also arise considering mass surveillance in certain cases.

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-20T09:12:16Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, and how to collect relevant data for further analysis, by using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research, humanitarian...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

In a first part, the place of monitoring in project managment, its upsides and downsides, are developed.
The relation between planning and monitoring is presented in a second part.
The last 2 parts present the automated project monitoring methods.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions to adress those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control is impossible without a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

[[File:msoftwares.png|Software tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

While this article present new software-based monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry yet. While they are naturally more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref> The methods presented here can be implemented by firms having a software development capabilitie, and should be used in large scale projects. However, for small scale or non-professionals projects, online tools can be found.

Monitoring can have some downsides. It is costly and if uneffective can become a real waste of money and ressources.
Another unexpected effect was found by researchers studying the behaviour of contractors in construction projects when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow. Therefore, before presenting monitoring techniques, it is important

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning. If the information is more precise, it's useless. If it's too broad, it can’t be compared with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions when monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|400px|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]]. They implement multiples event dates scheduling the project and handle schedule modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

IN CONSTRUCTION

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report to a project manager, keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a professional. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic while keeping in mind the final objective. Appropriate information is necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different informations and assessments. Information is generally complex and need to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project's performances. It should be concise to be focused on its subject, simple enough to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|400px|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time and ressources, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That's why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to automatically evaluate the level of project completion from text reports. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|400px|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When finding deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to take the appropriate control measures. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . However, available and cheap technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather huge quantities of data, an information system can then organize this data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective tools to gather precise kind of data.

A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators... depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system paired with a GPS data intake can determine at any moment if a machine or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract informations from a live video feed about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

[[File:mtools.png|Data collection tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material in every stage of the project involving it can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these. Monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better overall comprehension, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|400px|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect every kind of data, and some informations are still needed to be assessed by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency and actions requiring human judgement.

Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

Ethic questions also arise considering mass surveillance in certain cases.

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-20T09:05:39Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, and how to collect relevant data for further analysis, by using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research, humanitarian...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

In a first part, the place of monitoring in project managment, its upsides and downsides, are developed.
The relation between planning and monitoring is presented in a second part.
The last 2 parts present the automated project monitoring methods.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions to adress those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control is impossible without a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

[[File:msoftwares.png|Software tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

While this article present new software-based monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry yet. While they are naturally more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref> The methods presented here can be implemented by firms having a software development capabilitie, and should be used in large scale projects. However, for small scale or non-professionals projects, online tools can be found.

Monitoring can have some downsides. It is costly and if uneffective can become a real waste of money and ressources.
Another unexpected effect was found by researchers studying the behaviour of contractors in construction projects when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow. Therefore, before presenting monitoring techniques, it is important

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning. If the information is more precise, it's useless. If it's too broad, it can’t be compared with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions when monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|200px[BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]]. They implement multiples event dates scheduling the project and handle schedule modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

IN CONSTRUCTION

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|thumb|200px|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report to a project manager, keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a professional. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic while keeping in mind the final objective. Appropriate information is necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different informations and assessments. Information is generally complex and need to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project's performances. It should be concise to be focused on its subject, simple enough to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|200px|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time and ressources, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That's why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to automatically evaluate the level of project completion from text reports. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|200px|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When finding deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to take the appropriate control measures. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . However, available and cheap technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather huge quantities of data, an information system can then organize this data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective tools to gather precise kind of data.

A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators... depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system paired with a GPS data intake can determine at any moment if a machine or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract informations from a live video feed about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

[[File:mtools.png|Data collection tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material in every stage of the project involving it can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these. Monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better overall comprehension, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|200px|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect every kind of data, and some informations are still needed to be assessed by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency and actions requiring human judgement.

Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

Ethic questions also arise considering mass surveillance in certain cases.

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-20T08:56:12Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, and how to collect relevant data for further analysis, by using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research, humanitarian...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

In a first part, the place of monitoring in project managment, its upsides and downsides, are developed.
The relation between planning and monitoring is presented in a second part.
The last 2 parts present the automated project monitoring methods.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions to adress those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control is impossible without a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

[[File:msoftwares.png|Software tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

While this article present new software-based monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry yet. While they are naturally more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref> The methods presented here can be implemented by firms having a software development capabilitie, and should be used in large scale projects. However, for small scale or non-professionals projects, online tools can be found.

Monitoring can have some downsides. It is costly and if uneffective can become a real waste of money and ressources.
Another unexpected effect was found by researchers studying the behaviour of contractors in construction projects when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow. Therefore, before presenting monitoring techniques, it is important

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning. If the information is more precise, it's useless. If it's too broad, it can’t be compared with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions when monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]]. They implement multiples event dates scheduling the project and handle schedule modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

IN CONSTRUCTION

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|thumb|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report to a project manager, keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a professional. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic while keeping in mind the final objective. Appropriate information is necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different informations and assessments. Information is generally complex and need to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project's performances. It should be concise to be focused on its subject, simple enough to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time and ressources, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That's why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to automatically evaluate the level of project completion from text reports. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When finding deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to take the appropriate control measures. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . However, available and cheap technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather huge quantities of data, an information system can then organize this data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective tools to gather precise kind of data.

A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators... depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system paired with a GPS data intake can determine at any moment if a machine or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract informations from a live video feed about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

[[File:mtools.png|Data collection tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material in every stage of the project involving it can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these. Monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better overall comprehension, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect every kind of data, and some informations are still needed to be assessed by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency and actions requiring human judgement.

Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

Ethic questions also arise considering mass surveillance in certain cases.

==References==
<references />

Talk:Meeting strategies

2018-02-19T18:02:32Z

S176504:

==Abstract Feedback==
Text Clarity; Ok.

Language; Ok.

References; Ok.

Annotated bibliography is a list of articles, books or documents followed by a briefly descriptive and evaluative paragraph, what you have under your ''annotated bibliography'' section are ''references''.

In general the abstract is ok, when developing the article don't forget to elaborate and describe the relevance for a Project Manager.

==Feedback 1 | Reviewer name: ''Lima Parhiz''==
===Question 1 · TEXT===
'''Quality of the summary:'''
Does the summary make the key focus, insights and/or contribution of the article clear?
What would you suggest to improve?
===Answer 1===
''The abstract is good. The key focus is pointed out and the flow is ok. Isn’t the “About the article” be a part of the abstract? This part also points of some of the points that could be in the abstract. You could consider merging the two parts. I think you repeat yourself a little bit in the last part. You start writing about the guidelines but jump to the study made by Microsoft and then back again to the guidelines. Maybe you could rearrange these parts so you don’t jump back-and-forth in the text. ''

===Question 2 · TEXT===
'''Structure and logic of the article:'''

Is the argument clear?

Is there a logical flow to the article?

Does one part build upon the other?

Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 2===
''The article is not complete but from what you have written in the abstract/about the article then the flow seems logical as it makes sense to look at the project phases in the beginning and then go over to the strategies.''

===Question 3 · TEXT===
'''Grammar and style:'''

Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors?

Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 3===
''The language is fine, however there are some minor spelling and grammatical errors. The language is precise and there aren’t unnecessary fill words. You manage to express your points in an understandable and precise way. The only suggestion I have is that you should look through your text for spelling/grammatical errors when you are completely done with the article.''
===Question 4 · TEXT===
'''Figures and tables:'''
Do they summarize the key points of the article in a meaningful way?
What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 4===
'' The first figure is ok. The second figure is too blurry, which makes it difficult to read some of the words in the figure. Remember to add references to figures. ''

===Question 5 · TEXT===
'''Interest and relevance:'''

Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?

Is it made clear in the article why / how it is relevant?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 5===
''You might haven’t gotten to that part yet but it has not been made a 100% clear why it is important to implement meeting strategies. Is it possible for the PM to hold meetings without having any strategies? I think the reason of having meeting strategies should be explicit in the text.
Is the link between the project phases and the strategies also going to be made clear?''

===Question 6 · TEXT===
'''Depth of treatment:'''

Is the article interesting for a practitioner or academic to read?

Does it make a significant contribution beyond a cursory web search?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 6===
''I think it is interesting for practioners/academics to read about meeting strategies. It is a basic part of doing projects but if a large part of the meetings that are held fails (as stated in the article) then its relevant for people to read up on the subject in order to improve the quality of their meetings. It is limited how much I can say about the article as it isn’t finished yet but it seems interesting. The main focus should be in the PM point of view.''

===Question 7 · TEXT===
'''Annotated bibliography:'''

Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work?

Does it briefly summarize the key references at the end of the article?

Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 7===
''The reference list is given at the end of the article. The references seem to be based on empirical data rather than opinions. You probably haven’t gotten to that part yet but your main text after the abstract is lacking references and so is your figures.''

==Feedback 2 | Reviewer name: ''Place your name here''==
===Question 1 · TEXT===
'''Quality of the summary:'''

Does the summary make the key focus, insights and/or contribution of the article clear?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 1===
The abstract and "about this article" part are clear and comprehensive. You should explain more why you are elaborating on project phases and the link between those and meetings themselves.

===Question 2 · TEXT===
'''Structure and logic of the article:'''

Is the argument clear?

Is there a logical flow to the article?

Does one part build upon the other?

Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 2===
The presentation of different methods techniques seems organised altough not yet developped. The flow is logical except on why you are presenting project phases in the article.

===Question 3 · TEXT===
'''Grammar and style:'''

Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors?

Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 3===
Grammar and style are good to me. Vocabulary is professionnal and elaborated.

===Question 4 · TEXT===
'''Figures and tables:'''

Are figures and tables clear?

Do they summarize the key points of the article in a meaningful way?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 4===
Figures and tables on project meeting aren't uploaded yet. The one for the project phases part are really comprehensive and adapted.

===Question 5 · TEXT===
'''Interest and relevance:'''

Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?

Is it made clear in the article why / how it is relevant?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 5===
If the article developped effectively state of the art methods for project meeting as said in the bastract, I think it will the most useful article in the whole wiki for professionals. Why it is relevant is made perfectly clear in the abstract.

===Question 6 · TEXT===
'''Depth of treatment:'''

Is the article interesting for a practitioner or academic to read?

Does it make a significant contribution beyond a cursory web search?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 6===
Article isn't finished yet.

===Question 7 · TEXT===
'''Annotated bibliography:'''

Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work?

Does it briefly summarize the key references at the end of the article?

Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 7===
There are no references for the project meeting parts yet.

Talk:Value proposition canvas

2018-02-19T17:38:00Z

S176504:

==Feedback 1 | Reviewer name: ''Julie''==
===Question 1 · TEXT===

NOTE: only abstract was visible when giving feedback on Monday 19th.

'''Quality of the summary:'''

Does the summary make the key focus, insights and/or contribution of the article clear?
What would you suggest to improve?

Key focus is clearly on value proposition canvas. However, the 2nd part of summary begins to describe the canvas into detail.
Maybe this part should move a little further down in article? Instead, a suggestion is to be more general, summarizing points/insights in this part.

===Answer 1===
''Answer here''

===Question 2 · TEXT===
'''Structure and logic of the article:'''

Is the argument clear?
Yes

Is there a logical flow to the article?
Yes

Does one part build upon the other?
N/A

Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?
Yes

What would you suggest to improve?
- Make a part early in the article explaining the whole canvas
- Use examples to bridge the gap between theory and practice
- Be critical towards the method and look into who/what kind of project this is really valuable for

===Answer 2===
''Answer here''

===Question 3 · TEXT===
'''Grammar and style:'''

Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors?
Yes

Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?
Yes

What would you suggest to improve?
I would avoid using "pain" and "gain". If you want to include this, then I suggest to elaborate this. What is it that a customer avoids when "how the products aid their customers and relieve them of their ‘pain’"?

===Answer 3===
''Answer here''

===Question 4 · TEXT===
'''Figures and tables:'''

Are figures and tables clear?
Yes

Do they summarize the key points of the article in a meaningful way?
Yes

What would you suggest to improve?
The figure in text now is as it should be :-)

===Answer 4===
''Answer here''

===Question 5 · TEXT===
'''Interest and relevance:'''

Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?
Yes especially if it bridges the gap between practical and academics, then it could be useful in a project.

Is it made clear in the article why / how it is relevant?
Not yet.

What would you suggest to improve?
Write the rest of the article.

===Answer 5===
''Answer here''

===Question 6 · TEXT===
'''Depth of treatment:'''

Is the article interesting for a practitioner or academic to read?
Yes

Does it make a significant contribution beyond a cursory web search?
Not yet.

What would you suggest to improve?
As mentioned before:
- bridge gap between practical and academics
- be critical

And
- focus on management

===Answer 6===
''Answer here''

===Question 7 · TEXT===
'''Annotated bibliography:'''

Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work?
No

Does it briefly summarize the key references at the end of the article?
Yes

Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?
Yes

What would you suggest to improve?
Look at slides regarding annotated bibliograpy

===Answer 7===
''Answer here''

==Feedback 2 | Reviewer name: Mehdi==
NOTE: only abstract was visible when giving feedback on Monday 19th.
===Question 1 · TEXT===
'''Quality of the summary:'''

Does the summary make the key focus, insights and/or contribution of the article clear?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 1===
The summary is very clear and straightforward.
I would add a brief summary of how the article will unfold.

===Question 2 · TEXT===
'''Structure and logic of the article:'''

Is the argument clear?

Is there a logical flow to the article?

Does one part build upon the other?

Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 2===
The abstract is clear and understandable.

===Question 3 · TEXT===
'''Grammar and style:'''

Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors?

Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 3===
I would avoid using the word "pain" and find a more professionnal word.

===Question 4 · TEXT===
'''Figures and tables:'''

Are figures and tables clear?

Do they summarize the key points of the article in a meaningful way?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 4===
The figure illustrates clearly the canvas.

===Question 5 · TEXT===
'''Interest and relevance:'''

Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?

Is it made clear in the article why / how it is relevant?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 5===
With few knowledge on the subject, it seems to me to be relevant and could be used by professionals.

===Question 6 · TEXT===
'''Depth of treatment:'''

Is the article interesting for a practitioner or academic to read?

Does it make a significant contribution beyond a cursory web search?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 6===

===Question 7 · TEXT===
'''Annotated bibliography:'''

Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work?

Does it briefly summarize the key references at the end of the article?

Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?

What would you suggest to improve?

===Answer 7===
References are cited

Talk:Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-19T17:30:31Z

S176504: Blanked the page

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T20:02:25Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

[[File:msoftwares.png|thumb|Software tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]
While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]] and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

IN CONSTRUCTION

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|thumb|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

[[File:mtools.png|thumb|Data collection tools used by US construction firms<ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>]]
Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

File:Msoftwares.png

2018-02-18T19:57:39Z

S176504:

File:Mtools.png

2018-02-18T19:57:20Z

S176504:

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:54:37Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]] and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

[[File:indicators.png|thumb|Examples of indicators evolution in an education project<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref> ]]
In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref> ]]
As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:clusters.png|thumb|Clusters of delayed projects in a construction activity<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

File:Indicators.png

2018-02-18T19:53:42Z

S176504:

File:Clusters.png

2018-02-18T19:49:28Z

S176504:

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:47:51Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:Bpmn.PNG|thumb|BPMN development process<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]] and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

[[File:database.png|thumb|Database framework for monitoring & control<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>]]
Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

[[File:recognition.png|thumb|System architecture for textual entailment recognition<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>]]
As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. <ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

File:Recognition.png

2018-02-18T19:46:22Z

S176504:

File:Database.png

2018-02-18T19:44:00Z

S176504:

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:39:54Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[File:bpmn.jpg|thumb|BPMN development process]]
[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using [[BPMN|Business Process Model and Notation]] have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]] and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

===Logical Framework Approach===

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

File:Bpmn.PNG

2018-02-18T19:35:30Z

S176504:

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:25:42Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and [[Project Control|control]] (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements... [[Project Control|Control]] is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of [[The Critical Path Method in project planning|the critical path]] and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:15:22Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and CONTROL (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements… Control is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of the critical path and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:14:53Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and CONTROL (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements… Control is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

[[Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]] is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

[[Kaban approach]] to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

[[PERT]] is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of the critical path and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:11:34Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and CONTROL (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements… Control is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES (WBS) is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

KABAN APPROACH to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

PERT is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of the critical path and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T19:10:49Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and CONTROL (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements… Control is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment.<ref>Wong P.S.P., Cheung S.O.,Wu R.T.H.(2009)
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248345312_Learning_from_project_monitoring_feedback_A_case_of_optimizing_behavior_of_contractors "Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors"], International Journal of Project Management </ref>

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES (WBS) is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

KABAN APPROACH to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

PERT is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of the critical path and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.<ref>Biguan M., Craye E. (2000) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/868439/ "Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School"], Ieee Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics</ref>

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload.<ref>Chang Y.C., Shih C.W., Hsu W.L. (2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7882696/ "Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control"], Ieee Systems Journal</ref>

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref> . Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ ]<ref>Riaz M. N., Husain S. A. (2012) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6511501/ "Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring"], 15th IEEE International Multitopic Conference</ref>

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Automated project monitoring methods

2018-02-18T18:52:38Z

S176504:

==Abstract==

Monitor and control is a vital part of a project, to make sure a project follow course according to scope deadlines and cost, there is a need to collect relevant information and analyse it. If there is any deviation to the established cost, schedule, or scope, the project manager and stakeholder can take the necessary actions to address the problem as fast as possible, thus safeguarding against further deviations.

This article only discusses the different processes and methods to monitor a project, to collect relevant data for further analysis, using automatic systems. Monitoring needs to be efficient and relevant, the kind of collected data varies widely from the kind of project (construction, software, research...) and from the way the project was planned.

Enabled by new technologies and to be more cost-effective, automatic data collection systems are increasingly becoming used in the industry and can supplement traditional processes. Project monitoring is therefore a rapidly evolving part of project managment.

__TOC__

==Monitoring in project managment==

Monitoring is a part of monitor and CONTROL (M&E), an essential part in a project. Monitoring is collecting data to identify deviations in the planned project, in its scope, its budget, its schedule, the quality of work, the impact, the stakeholder’s requirements… Control is taking corrective actions, following those deviations, in order to keep the project in track. Both actions are necessary to each other as monitoring without control would be useless, and control need a monitoring activity.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

While this article develops a certain emphasis on new informatic monitoring methods, it is important to keep in mind those recently developed tools aren’t yet widely used in the industry. It is understood due to a sector affinity that they are more used in software programming, while in USA’s construction projects 50% to 75% of professionals don’t use any software beside Microsoft office to monitor projects. <ref>Peterson, F, Fischer, M(2009) [https://purl.stanford.edu/nc730zm7783 "Project Monitoring Methods Exploratory Case Analysis: Industry Responses"], CIFE</ref>

It is important to note monitoring can have some unexpected effects. Researchers in construction projects studied the behaviour of contractors when submitted with their performance assessment. Most contractors didn’t use the information to deliver the best possible work in the project, but instead adjusted their resources to provide a performance level as low as possible while guaranteeing future employment. [Learning from project monitoring feedback: A case of optimizing behaviour of contractors]

==Planning and monitoring==

Project monitoring is strongly dependant on how the project was planned beforehand. Most project planning tools and techniques encompass a part of project monitoring, or at least give a frame to follow.

When monitoring a project according to a planning method, emphasis must be put in getting accurate information. The first thing to consider is the level of detail. A field report need to be made in accordance with the level of detail that was used in planning, if the information is more precise, it is then useless, if it is too broad, it can’t be comparable with the original plan. The complex time dimension should also be considered. The consumption of resources by an activity is not linear in time and can be very segmented and uneven across its duration. This repartition of resource consumption within an activity should be taken into account to avoid inaccurate conclusions. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Work Breakdown Structure===

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES (WBS) is a common system to organize project in the planning phase. In WBS work item are defined in term of cost and time, and each of these work item upon completion induces an accurate report. Therefore, WBS is a planning project system that already provides a framework for project monitoring. <ref>Li, Xiaoguang, and Lixia Wang.(2014) [https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.919-921.1489 "Research on Important Process of Project Monitoring and Control"], Advanced Materials Research</ref>

===Kaban Approach===

KABAN APPROACH to plan and monitor a project is a scheduling system that allow visualization of workflows and progress of the project. Online Kaban tools developed using Business Process Model and Notation have therefore been developed as a way to monitor projects. As Kanban include a time dimension it is useful to monitor deadlines and delays. When fragmenting the project in different tasks, the greater the number of small tasks and artefacts, the more effective the monitoring tool will be. However, such a tool is useful to monitor project progress, but can’t monitor individual performances.<ref>Miura Machado, Heydi, Alexandre L'Erario, Alessandro Duarte.(2017) [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8190478/?reload=true "An analysis of Kanban as a project monitoring tool in undergraduate courses"], Ieee Frontiers in Education Conference (fie)</ref>

===PERT===

PERT is yet another widely used planning method in project management. Computer programs using PERT to provide effective planning monitoring and control can reschedule a project, monitor the workplan trough an associated supervisor, handle multiples start and end dates and assess the time impact of deviations in the original plan. Such tools provide a better visualization of the critical path and different event dates scheduling the project with PERT and handle its modification when an unexpected event occurs. <ref>Johnson. (1964) [https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1964.6446402 "PERT/PMD - Project monitoring device"], Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management</ref>

==Qualitative methods==

===Indicators===

In long-term projects, or project without a clearly defined, identifiable or appreciable outcome, monitoring can be done using indicators. An indicator can give a precise or overall, but always customized and thus appropriate information about a project. Several indicators can be issued in the different stages of the project. An indicator can be used to report keep a stakeholder informed with a comprehensive overview or give a precise understanding of certain aspects to a manager. It is designed to give suitable information related to a certain topic, keeping in mind the objective, what appropriate information can be determined necessary to build it, and it must be calculated in a way to reflect the importance of the different information and assessments. Information is generally complex enough to be gathered by inspections during project development, and from different reports surveys conducting with workers and/or contractors.
[Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School]

An indicator should be effective to allow the best understanding of project performances, concise to be focused on its subject, simple to reflect reality, visual to show tendencies within project progress, understandable and transparent in its elaboration.
[Project Monitoring in a Graduate Engineering School]

===Report data mining===

As said before, most project management methods, such as Earned value management-based methods require the production and evaluation of long and complex periodically written reports. However, analysing those reports take time, and conclusions are not easily reachable because written language is hard to quantify. That why tests have been made to develop text mining methods. It uses language processing techniques in order to evaluate the level of project completion. The ability to recognize textual entailment in progress reports can allow the manager to evaluate the performance of project members while reducing costs and workload. [Entailment-Based Intelligent System for Software Project Monitoring and Control]

==Quantitative methods==

Classic monitoring methods, followed manually, are labour intensive, infrequent and can incur errors. When it finds deviations from the planned performance, it’s often too late to allow the best control. [Can project monitoring and control be fully automated]. Those flows and available technologies allowed a drive in developing automated monitoring methods based on gathering as much data as possible.

===Automated mass data collection===

====GPS and sensors====

Modern technologies can be used to gather as much data as possible, an information system can then organize those data in a usable tool to identify deviations from the original project plan. Those technologies are cheap, reliable and effective methods to gather precise of data.
A commonly used tool is GPS, GPS technologies (or sensors) can be used to track the geographical position of resources in a project. The information can be used to track the use of materials, machines, vehicles, workers, shipments, operators … depending of the kind of project. To have a geographical overview of all the resources involved in a project can be useful to a project manager looking to optimize a project schedule, or spot difficulties in the planned schedule. An information system coupled with GPS data intake can determine at any moment if any machines or worker leave the spatial environment in which he is supposed to be in order to work on the planned unfolding of the project, thus noticing in real time a project manager of a deviation in the original plan. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

In a similar way, to monitor the accomplishment of different stages in a project, recent technologies allow the complex analysis of video recordings. Modern software can be used to automatically extract from a video information about the accomplishment of certain tasks. For example video recording can be used to know the actual time that workers spend carrying out activities and identify planning or productivity problems. <ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Barcodes and RFID====

Barcodes and RFID tags can also be used, in part of a broader organisation possibly involving operators and contractors. If possible, the systematic scan of a barcode/RFID tag on a project’s resource or raw material every time a stage of the project involving it, can easily be used to create a comprehensible overview of the project advancement, breakdown in multiples tasks. The use of such a system allow the breakdown of a project in the biggest possible number of small tasks without requiring more work to monitor each of these, as monitoring is done automatically, thus allowing a better viewing, and an effective control.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

====Data mining====

As an example of automatic processing data technique Learning Vector Quantization can be used with data mining in order to create clusters of project data and creating a visual overview where it is possible to identify disparities in different project stages or areas. [ Intelligent Decision Support System for Construction Project Monitoring]

====Limitations====

There are, however, several technical limitations in existing automated data collection techniques. Captors and chips can’t be used to collect any kind of data, and some information are still needed to be controlled by humans. It is especially hard to monitor human work efficiency, human actions requiring human knowledge and judgement to be assessed.
Another issue linked to automated data acquisition lie in the monitoring frequencies of each techniques. Simultaneously using different automatic information flows to monitor a project can incur errors as some information is gathered in real-time, while some other is gathered in a periodic manner.<ref>Isaac, Shabtai, and Ronie Navon.(2014) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2013.795653 "Can Project Monitoring and Control Be Fully Automated?"], Construction Management and Economics</ref>

==References==
<references />

Articles Spring Term 2018

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{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Disclaimer!
|-
|''The requirements for the articles written in previous Terms (2014, 2015, 2016, Jun 2017, 2017) were not the same as for Spring Term 2018. Please make sure you read the requirements for your own fall/spring term carefully before starting your wiki article.''
|}

Please complete this table with your group number, full name, username and the title of your article.

To create more lines in the table click '''Edit''' and use the following code to create more lines in the table and replace the example text with your own information:

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Create a direct link by making square brackets ([[ ]]) around the title such as [[Title]]

The straight lines ( | ) create columns and the straight line with a dash ( |- ) creates a new row in the table.

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=Overview of 2018 Wiki articles=

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Spring Term 2018 Wiki Articles
|-
!Group Number
!First Name
!Last Name
!User Name
!Link to Article
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|5
|Radoslaw
|Tyczynski
|Radoslaw
|[[Project Time Management Overview]]
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|10
|Ioannis
|Papadantonakis
|Giannis
|[[Work Breakdown Structure]]
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|3
|Konstantinos
|Terzakis
|s161563
|[[Programming a project with the CPM]]
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|8
|Hoda
|Vazirinasab
|hoda.vn
|[[Agile project management]]
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|1
|Jens
|Møller
|JensMoller
|[[Analyze Portfolio Risks]]
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|3
|David
|Moya Perrino
|David Moya Perrino
|[[Risk Management in Renewable Energy Projects]]
|-
|3
|Sofie
|Melchior Karlson
|s133606
|[[Belbin's team roles]]
|-
|10
|Jan
|Talas
|jantalas
|[[Roles and responsibilities]]
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|13
|Sebastian
|Graff Daugaard
|Daugaard
|[[Dealing with conflict in project management]]
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|8
|Nikolaj
|Justsen
|s123742
|[[Vico Office as a project management tool]]
|-
|2
|Mehdi
|Abounnasr
|s176504
|[[Automated project monitoring methods]]
|-
|9
|Briet
|Hjaltalin
|Briet
|[[The Framework of Project Governance]]
|-
|9
|Jonas
|Heiberg Larsen
|JonasHL
|[[Risk Management Overview]]
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|13
|Kornpong
|Mahitthiburin
|Akorno
|[[Financial appraisal of project proposals]]
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|7
|Gudmundur
|Hermannsson
|gudmundur
|[[Project Scope Management]]
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|9
|Ína Salome
|Sturludóttir
|Ina
|[[Project scope statement]]
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|11
|Kevinth
|Balasubramaniam
|Kxviinth
|[[Post-Project Review]]
|-
|11
|Davide
|Sartori
|DSartori
|[[Hoshin Kanri]]
|-
|11
|Julia
|Hoesel
|s172365
|[[Design thinking]]
|-
|2
|Baptiste
|Hubert
|BaptisteH
|[[Project Life Cycle in Industrial Engineering]]
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|8
|Mint
|Rasmussen
|s133819
|[[Risk Management in Construction Projects]]
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|11
|Vincent
|Oriot
|s172793
|[[Project sponsor]]
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|11
|Torbjørn
|Aleksandersen
|Taleksandersen
|[[Virtual Team Management]]
|-
|9
|Ragnhildur
|Ragnarsdottir
|Ragnhildur
|[[Brainstorming technique]]
|-
|15
|Anne
|Dittmann
|Anne
|[[Scheduling: Critical path, PERT, Gantt]]
|-
|1
|Julianna
|Apli
|s172414
|[[Ideation tools]]
|-
|9
|Hildur
|Gudmundsdottir
|S172763
|[[Contracting and procurement]]
|-
|1
|Christopher
|Søndergaard
|s140234
|[[Need-Based Theories of Motivation]]
|-
|8
|Casper Geertz
|Christensen
|S136445
|[[SWOT]]
|-
|13
|Demir
|Durovic
|DemirDurovic
|[[Managing multicultural teams]]
|-
|7
|Lorenz
|Sieferle
|s172691
|[[Agile Project Management with SCRUM]]
|-
|12
|Jonas Greaker
|Sjøen
|s173562
|[[Integrated Design Process (IDP)]]
|-
|-
|2
|Seyed (Habib)
|Bahrami
|Habib
|[[Uniqueness of a project]]
|-
|4
|Jonas
|Samuelsen
|Jonas Samuelsen
|[[Risk Register Analysis]]
|-
|7
|Johannes
|Eckert
|Johannes
|[[Waterfall vs. Lean Project Management]]
|-
|4
|Tobias
|Andersen
|Tobias
|[[Belbin Team Roles]]
|-
|5
|Oliver Adam Mølskov
|Bech
|Oliver.amb
|[[Data Quality Management]]
|-
|2
|Ugur
|Erman
|Ugur
|[[Why, How, What (The Golden Circle Model)]]
|-
|6
|Nina
|Bernhoft
|Nina
|[[Managing groups for high performance]]
|-
|1
|Julie
|Laursen
|Julie
|[[Meeting strategies]]
|-
|11
|Ole
|Schwiethal
|s172276
|[[Project governance framework]]
|-

|-
|12
|Marianne
|Delp
|Marianne
|[[Choosing by Advantages (CBA)]]
|-
|-
|10
|Nanna
|Basa
|Nanna
|[[Management with DISC profile analysis]]
|-
|-
|4
|Christian
|Pedersen
|S093223
|[[Communication Management Strategy]]
|-

|-
|12
|Lukasz
|Marczuk
|s172569
|[[Cash flow & payment milestones ]]
|-

|-
|6
|Rikke
|Husum
|s170446
|[[Coaching - Project Manager as Change Agent]]
|-

|-
|12
|Simen Michael Dilling
|Hjelseth
|SimenHjelseth
|[[Integrated Concurrent Engineering]]
|-

|-
|4
|Katja Kimmer
|Larsen
|Katja
|[[Organizational structures]]
|-

|-
|6
|Ida
|Smidt
|idasmidt
|[[Lean Approach to Scheduling in Construction Projects]]
|-

|-
|1
|Walther
|Emil Eriksen
|Walther Emil Eriksen
|[[Value Proposition Canvas]]
|-

|-
|4
|Rasmus Peter
|Østerlund
|R4smus
|[[Key Performance Indicators (KPI)]]
|-

|-
|8
|Daniel Alejandro
|Campos Rivera
|Daniel Campos
|[[Business Analytics in Civil Engineering Projects]]
|-

|-
|14
|Matthew
|Wells
|Matthew Wells
|[[Line Balancing - Yamazumi Chart Method]]
|-
|3
|Ignasi
|Girones Cadiz
|s172781
|[[Opportunity research]]
|-

|-
|14
|Ellen
|Trovåg Amundsen
|ellentam
|[[Beyond the Triple Constraints]]
|-

|-
|1
|Joachim Schou
|Larsen
|Joachim Schou Larsen
|[[Power, politics and stakeholder management]]
|-

|-
|15
|Benedek
|Zajkas
|Benedek Zajkas
|[[Scrum vs. Waterfall Methodology]]
|-

|-
|15
|Gustavo
|Pagliari Valerio dos Santos
|s176056
|[[Negotiation skills from the PM's perspective]]
|-

|-
|12
|Natalia
|Krygier
|Natalia Krygier
|[[Behaviors in scheduling]]
|-
|3
|Argyro
|Soumpourlou
|s170073
|[[Cross-cultural Management]]
|-

|-
|13
|Andrzej
|Kubik
|s172608
|[[Different sides of Project Management Scheduling]]
|-

|-
|2
|Lima
|Parhiz
|s134639
|[[Value proposition canvas]]
|-

|-
|4
|Harald
|Hersted
|s145067
|[[Human resource management]]
|-

|-
|5
|Sarah
|Bourdiaux Terp
|Sarah
|[[The Sprint Methodology in Agile Project Management]]
|-

|-
|1
|Jonathan
|Nøddeskov Clifford
|S142556
|[[Roadmapping]]
|-

|-
|9
|Erna Gudny
|Aradottir
|ErnaGudny
|[[Project Charter]]
|-

|-
|5
|Klaudia Edyta
|Onyszkiewicz
|Onysz
|[[Project Team Roles and Responsibilities]]
|-
|13
|Aksel
|Watson
|S175507
|[[Managing start-ups in Unregulated Markets]]
|-
|12
|Alice
|Allouche
|Alice
|[[Meetings Management]]

|-
|5
|Susan
|Tyrell
|Styrell
|[[The Role of the Project Sponsor]]

|-
|10
|Casper
|Stroem
|S172043
|[[Business Case]]
|-

|-
|7
|Cetin
|Arslan
|Arslance
|[[User-Centered Design]]
|-

|-
|13
|Piotr
|Mieszalo
|PiotrMieszalo
|[[Resources loading, leveling and crashing]]
|-

|-
|6
|Mads
|Grøndal
|s123666
|[[Value Analysis]]
|-

|-
|6
|Emma
|Balstrup Klinke Hansen
|s134181
|[[Kotter's 8- Step Change Model]]
|-

|-
|8
|David
|Baldursson
|s162284
|[[Risk responses]]
|-

|-
|3
|Nikoleta
|Kolitsopoulou-Maridaki
|s162461
|[[Roles and responsibilities of program manager]]
|-

|-
|7
|Magnus
|Held
|s133656
|[[Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in Various Project Stages]]
|-

|-
|7
|Lars
|From-Hansen
|s133654
|[[Brainstorming as a risk identification method]]
|-

|-
|13
|Iga
|Cichecka
|s172607
|[[Feasibility Analysis]]
|-

|-
|5
|Hafsteinn Thor
|Gudjonsson
|Hafsteinnthor
|[[Analytic Hierarchy Process]]
|-

|-
|10
|Ana
|Torrijos
|s173143
|[[Managing Successful Programmes (MSP)]]
|-

|-
|14
|Marie
|Totland
|s171379
|[[Project Human Resource Management]]
|-

|-
|6
|Malthe
|Muff
|Malthemuff
|[[Lean Project Management tools]]
|-

|-
|15
|Maria
|Mamasoula
|Marianna89
|[[Future workshop method]]
|-

|-
|14
|Kasper Løwe
|Olsen
|Kasperloewe
|[[Work Breakdown Structure in Construction Management]]
|-

|-
|14
|Cathrine Fay
|Aasenden
|C.Fay
|[[Negotiation techniques]]
|-

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==Abstract Feedback==
Text Clarity; Ok.

Language; Ok.

References; missing.

Can you elaborate more the abstract. what is the relevance for Project Managers?

Missing references, please review the Mandatory References in the listed Reading material of the course.

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==Abstract==

Overview of the differents monitoring and controlling process used during a project. Monitoring during different phases of the project is essential to assure its completion in accordance to budget, schedule, and scope. <ref>[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Monitoring "A good and comprehensive article on the subject "], Copenhaguen, Ferbruary 2018.</ref>

==References==
<references />

Articles Spring Term 2018

2018-02-03T18:51:02Z

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Monitoring

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