Importance of Project Management Information System

Right from the initiation stage to the closing stage, there’s a lot of data being collected, analyzed and transformed. With the implementation of various processes in the project life cycle, this unique data is collected and shared with other team members. The amount of data collected is analyzed and later converted into project information through various processes. The acquired information is communicated verbally to the team members or stored and distributed in multiple formats as reports.

The project management process information plays a crucial role, and it is divided into three methods, and they are:

1. Work performance data

   This method is with regards to the observations and measurements made towards all the work carried out by the project manager and his/her team. The work performance data includes information about the project activities like defining the percentage of work completed physically, technical and quality performance measurement of the project, and providing updates on the scheduled work/activities (start and finish date). It also includes the total number of change requests that have occurred during the execution of the project, and the number of defects detected in the project. The work performance data also includes information about the actual cost of the project, the exact time taken to complete a scheduled task so on and so forth. All the details mentioned above are usually recorded in a ‘Project Management Information System’ – (PMIS) and project documents.

2. Work performance information

   Project Management plan should include a routine collection of work performance information. The gathered information is essential and serves as a guidance tool for conducting quality control measures and programs. Work performance information helps in measuring the project deliverables status, ensuring that the required corrective actions are carried out, and assists in creating performance reports. Analyzing the work performance information is crucial for the project management plan, and it should be considered as a priority at all times. This method contributes to the efficient use of allocated resources, helps in identifying potential risks, and acts as a useful project management tool.

3. Work performance reports

   Work performance reports are the result of Monitor and Control project work process, and acts as an input to various managing and controlling processes. As the name itself suggests, performance reports include different information and data about the project’s parameters and updates on the progress of the project. The work performance report organizes and summarizes the information gathered through the work performance data and work performance information methods and presents it to the project’s stakeholders in a way that they can understand the direction or progress of the project. These reports show the stakeholders the current status of the project and its performance against the planned baseline. In certain circumstances where the stakeholders notice that the project is not progressing according to the plan, they will take corrective measures to ensure that the project is completed within the prescribed budget and time.

The Project Information processes help in generalizing the methods used to collect relevant and accurate data that is further used to determine the scope and the progress of the project. All the necessary steps and practices are carried out using this crucial information. Its the project manager ’s decision to make as to which inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs are to be used to ensure the project completion. It’s not mandatory to use all the processes as they are not the same for every project. These inputs, tools and techniques and outputs are considered to be more of an aspiration to the project managers, and one should try and follow them as and when possible within the project’s constraints, environment and industry.