Developing the Project Controls Plan
Welcome to Project Controls. A beginner's guide to developing the project controls plan — the document that decides, before work starts, how cost, schedule, and scope will be measured, reported, and kept on track. Built on AACE International RP 60R-10.
What project controls — and the controls plan — are
This opens the Project Controls & EVM track. If estimating and scheduling answer "what will it cost and how long?", project controls answers "are we still on track, and what do we do about it?" — continuously, through execution. And like any discipline, it works only if it's planned: the controls plan is the setup step that makes everything downstream possible.
Why a controls plan matters
- Sets up consistent measurement — Defines how progress and cost are measured so every report is comparable period to period — no shifting yardsticks.
- Establishes the structures — Lays out the WBS, code of accounts, and control accounts (the next lessons) that everything is tracked against.
- Defines cadence & reports — Who reports what, to whom, how often — so trouble surfaces on a predictable schedule, not by surprise.
- Assigns responsibility — Names who owns each part of the controls process, so nothing falls through the cracks.
What goes into a controls plan
A project controls plan typically defines:
| Element | What it sets out |
|---|---|
| Structures | WBS, code of accounts, OBS, control accounts |
| Baseline approach | How the cost and schedule baselines are set and changed |
| Progress measurement | Rules for how % complete / earned value is claimed |
| Reporting & cadence | Reports, KPIs, frequency, and distribution |
| Change & forecast process | How changes and forecasts (EAC) are handled |
| Tools & responsibilities | Software, and who owns each controls activity |
Using the controls plan
Develop the controls plan at project setup, scaled to the project's size and complexity — a small project needs a light plan, a megaproject a rigorous one. Define the structures, the measurement rules, the cadence, and the responsibilities; get it agreed; and then run it consistently through execution. The discipline isn't writing the plan — it's living by it every reporting period.
Nine things to remember
- Project controls measures and manages cost, schedule, and scope against the baseline.
- It's a feedback loop: plan → measure → compare → act, every cycle.
- The controls plan defines how controls will be performed — set up before execution.
- You can't retrofit controls onto a project already underway and in trouble.
- It sets up consistent measurement — comparable reports period to period.
- It defines structures, baseline, measurement, cadence, change, tools, responsibilities.
- Scale the plan to the project — light for small, rigorous for megaprojects.
- The discipline is living by the plan — running the loop every period.
- Controls unite estimating and scheduling in execution — often via earned value.
Glossary
- Baseline
- The approved plan that performance is measured against.
- Cadence
- The reporting frequency and rhythm.
- Control account
- A point where scope, budget, and responsibility meet (Lesson 3).
- Controls plan
- The document defining how controls will be performed.
- Feedback loop
- Plan → measure → compare → act, repeated each cycle.
- KPI
- Key performance indicator tracked in reports.
- Progress measurement
- The rules for claiming % complete / earned value.
- Project controls
- Measuring and managing cost, schedule, and scope vs baseline.