Chamberlain CGE1 Informatics Nurse Specialist Practicum II
CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II
Project Monitoring and Control: Practicum Project
Project monitoring and control has been defined by various literature in different aspects and disciplines. The baseline definition describes project monitoring and control as keeping the project on track through checks, reviews, updates, and adjustments. The process of project monitoring and control uses defined techniques and outputs (McCaskell et al., 2019 CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II).
These techniques are specific to certain project functions because the overall monitoring and management occur throughout the project (Baum & Swig, 2017; Howarth et al., 2017). My practicum project on the use of informatics to improve the management of pressure injuries utilized various methods to monitor scope, integration, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, risks, and procurement.
Monitoring and Control Processes Utilized
Monitoring processes used in the project were relevant to the different phases of project management. The majority of the aspects of the project management required occasional tracking and control. Managing the scope of the project required close to 10 modifications, something that was achieved thanks to closing monitoring. The scope of the project was monitored through a review of weekly activities related to pressure ulcer monitoring.
Monitoring and controlling the project’s scope prevents unnecessary activities that were not planned for and may impact the project cost and time (Project Management Institute, 2017 CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II). Other techniques used to monitor the project included earned value analysis, expert judgment, meetings, trend analysis, decision making, and variance analysis. The project manager mainly oversaw the process of project monitoring.
Conclusion
The process of monitoring and control is done through the entire project life, and the tools used vary with the phase of the project. Different aspects of the project can use various monitoring and control techniques, depending on their requirements and activities. My project used different analysis methods, reviews, decision making, change requests, and plan adjustment. The monitoring process was continuous over the life of the project and relied heavily on observed changes either in nurse understanding of informatics or unintended patient outcomes. In sum, the process of project monitoring and control was successful despite the need to incorporate varying techniques.
Appendix A: Project Monitoring and Controlling
Project Title: Establishing Quality Improvement Measures Through the Use of Informatics to Improve Nursing Admission Skin Assessment and Documentation Skills Within a 30-Bad In-Patient Hospital
| Project-Management Knowledge Area | Monitoring and Controlling | Frequency* | Detailed Description of F or E Ratings** | |
| Process | Outputs | |||
| Integration Management | Managing conflicts between different members and stakeholders | Corrective and preventive actions; change requests. | F | The disagreement between members would halt the progress of the project. Change requests were, therefore, necessary in cases where the members and stakeholders saw it fit. |
| Scope Management | Review of weekly activities relating to the management of PI | Update on the project management plan | E | More than five times, members would not finish the activities within a given time during the week, while some activities would be outside the scope. The activities that needed to be changed into the project plan were then updated. |
| Time Management | Earned Value Analysis | Update on the project management plan | O | |
| Cost Management | Budget monitoring | Update on the project management plan | F | Occasional fiscal receipts and invoices were assembled and compared against the project budget plan. CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II |
| Quality Management | Variance analysis; trend analysis | Work performance reports | O | |
| Human Resource Management | Expert judgment | Work performance reports | O | |
| Communication Management | Meetings | Corrective and preventive actions | O | |
| Risk Management | Decision making, risk and benefit analysis | Change request | O | |
| Procurement Management | Meetings | Corrective and preventive actions | O | |
Frequency Key: N = Never, O = Occasional (1–4 times), F = Frequent (5–10 times), E = Excessive (more than 10 times. CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II)
Summary
Integration management was successfully monitored and controlled. On average, there were 5-7 times when the integration between the members and stakeholders and training staff was not well planned. On most occasions, the nurse members underachieved on different aspects of the project, mostly on patient monitoring. However, this was mitigated by initiating corrective actions to the updates of the leading project plan. In general, monitoring resulted in occasional updates of the project scope and schedule, much to the successful integration of informatics in the management of PI.
CGE1 INFORMATICS NURSE SPECIALIST PRACTICUM II References
Baum, N., & Swig, B. (2017). Project Management for Healthcare Practices: Costs and Timing. The Journal of medical practice management: MPM, 32(4), 271–275.
Howarth, M., Probyn, J., Maz, J. (2017). Project management techniques to maximize success with research. British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 12(3), 2052-2207. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjca.2017.12.3.116
McCaskell, D., Molloy, A., Childerhose, L., Costigan, F., Reid, J., & McCaughan, M. et al. (2019). Project management lessons learned from the multicenter CYCLE pilot randomized controlled trial. Trials, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3634-7
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
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