Don’t spend time preparing progress reports
Planning Engineers are mainly hired to prepare progress reports. Well, this article will demonstrate why planning engineers should NOT spend any time preparing progress reports. In fact, this task is what limits planning engineers’ ability to add value to their projects. Early in my career, I was told that preparing progress reports is the main […]
How to deal with workload and deadlines in project control?
Many planning engineers complain about the workload and deadlines. They really wish to deliver more value to their projects but they fail to do so. They have the required expertise, knowledge and ambition but there are challenges that prevent them from reaching their potential. In this article, I will explain some of these challenges and how to overcome them. The […]
Static Progress Reports Are Dead
While projects are getting only more complex, many planning engineers still prepare static progress reports. They spend most of their time performing calculations and working with many excel sheets. The outcome is an ineffective static report, whereas the value is not proportionate to the amount of time and effort that is spent to deliver this outcome. The […]
Why is progress reporting so challenging?
Have you tried so hard to prepare a comprehensive valuable report but you wish you could have done better? If yes, you are not alone. Progress reporting is one of the most challenging tasks that planning engineers struggle with but first, let us go over some of the planning engineer’s duties. Collect progress data. Update […]
Breakdown Analysis with Power BI
Breakdown analysis is essential to help projects move forward. If your project is falling behind by $1M that you should have collected by now, the next logical questions would be: “Where is the shortfall coming from?” “Which activities should I have completed by now that caused the payment deficit, and by how much?” A planning […]
Why do many planning engineers struggle with Project Control?
It is very interesting. It has a very rewarding career. It adds great value to any project. It doesn’t have a universal framework. It is more like an art than a science. It requires an excellent knowledge of different software tools. Yet, many engineers struggle to master it. This is Project Control. After I earned my […]
Interactive dashboards in project control
Here is one story that planning engineers are familiar with. You decided to identify the progress issues and determine the root cause of the delay. You start to do the following in an effort to pursue this dream. Open the XER file and add any relevant columns to your layout. Apply P6 filters Copy data into […]
Progress curve for planning engineers
Progress curve is an effective project control tool. It is a visualization that shows the progress status over time. It is also one of the best trend tools in planning and project control. Watch the above video to learn how to create a progress curve step-by-step. Learn More! Check out our comprehensive courses Regards, Osama […]
How can a planning engineer create workflow in project control?
The #1 challenge planning engineers face is not the lack of knowledge, it is the lack of time. Many planning engineers are in reaction mode most of the time which affects their performance. For example, a planning engineer finds out that the progress report must be submitted by end of today so they rush to get everything […]
Progress Dashboard in Project Control
There is no standard format for progress dashboards. Some planning Engineers make the mistake of showing unnecessary content in the dashboard while others miss important progress data. This article will explain the followings about dashboards. What is a progress dashboard? The story framework of a progress dashboard. Dashboard Presentation. Automation Level of Details What is […]