The monitoring and control process is an integral part of good project management. This process is launched from the moment the team of specialists accepts the project for work and initially approves its conditions and details with the customer. This process is the most difficult for many project managers, as it requires constant concentration, attentiveness, and readiness to take risks. During this complex process, the project manager must be ready to change conditions and make amendments.
In monitoring daily, the project manager compares the current task, which is at the moment, with the desired result. How much money has been spent so far, what part of the work has been done, and any questions that the manager should address to the customer are details of a complex process of control and monitoring. Ideally, the project manager takes preventive measures quickly, having constant communication with the customer and employees rather than solving the issue that has arisen.
In monitoring and control, the manager calculates how much time can be spent on the task. A group of specialists may be late with its implementation, and then, having found out the reasons for the delay, the manager informs the customer about it. Timings are crucial for any area, especially when it comes to products provided by other companies or competitors (Kerzner, 2017, pp. 114-115). Even if the product is not inferior in quality to other companies, the customer will not wait patiently for the team but contact another group with his (or her) order. An attentive project manager warns of such situations and takes responsibility for explaining the reasons.
Thus, the difficult task of the manager in the process of monitoring and controlling is to monitor the progress of work constantly. Timings, money and other funds spent, and the inability to complete the job precisely the customer wants are all problems that a project manager will undoubtedly face. The process of monitoring and control requires good memory, attentiveness, the ability to keep in mind a lot of details, and communicative endurance.
Reference
Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.