Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ) Delivery, Monitoring and Control Syllabus

Delivery, Monitoring and Control syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Delivery, Monitoring and Control in Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Monitoring Progress and Reporting

   4 topics

   • Baselines and tracking against them
     • Performance baseline for scope, time and cost
   • Earned value management (EVM)
     • Planned value, earned value and actual cost
     • Cost and schedule variances (CV, SV)
     • Cost and schedule performance indices (CPI, SPI)
     • Forecasting estimate at completion
   • Progress reporting
     • Highlight reports and dashboards
     • Exception reporting and tolerances
   • Milestones and trend analysis
2. 2

   Information Management and Procurement

   4 topics

   • Information management
     • Collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination
     • Security, retention and the audit trail
   • Procurement and the procurement strategy
     • Make-or-buy decisions and supplier selection
   • Contract types and reimbursement
     • Fixed price, cost reimbursable and target cost
     • Allocation of risk between parties
   • Supplier and provider relationships
     • Single, integrated and extended supplier relationships
3. 3

   Closure, Handover and Benefits

   5 topics

   • Project closure activities
     • Confirming deliverables and acceptance
     • Disbanding the team and releasing resources
   • Handover and transition into operations
     • Transferring deliverables to the user/operator
     • Readiness for adoption and support
   • Reasons for early or premature closure
   • Post-project review and lessons learned
     • Capturing and sharing knowledge
   • Benefits realisation
     • Benefits realisation occurring after closure
     • Benefits reviews and ownership by the sponsor

Delivery, Monitoring and Control flashcards for Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ)

24 of 50 cards from the Delivery, Monitoring and Control deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a baseline in project management?

   A baseline is the reference levels against which performance is monitored and controlled. It is the approved version of the scope, schedule and cost (and quality) at a point in time, used to measure deviation and assess change.

2. Why must a baseline be formally approved and put under change control?

   So that any subsequent changes are managed through a formal change control process. Without configuration/change control, the baseline could drift, making progress measurement meaningless and removing accountability for variances.

3. What are the three baselines typically used for tracking a project?

   The scope baseline, the schedule baseline and the cost (budget) baseline. Performance is tracked by comparing actual scope, time and cost against these approved references.

4. What is the purpose of tracking actual progress against a baseline?

   To identify variances early, forecast outcomes, and take corrective action to bring the project back on track (or to re-baseline if the change is approved). It enables data-driven control rather than reactive management.

5. Define Earned Value Management (EVM).

   EVM is a technique for integrating scope, schedule and cost to assess project performance and progress objectively. It measures work actually completed in cost terms and compares it against planned work and actual cost to derive variances and forecasts.

6. In EVM, what is Planned Value (PV) / Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)?

   Planned Value is the budgeted cost of the work scheduled to be completed by a given date — i.e. how much of the budget should have been earned according to the plan at that point in time.

7. In EVM, what is Earned Value (EV) / Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)?

   Earned Value is the budgeted cost of the work actually completed by a given date — the value of work done, measured at budgeted rates.

8. In EVM, what is Actual Cost (AC) / Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP)?

   Actual Cost is the total cost actually incurred in completing the work performed by a given date.

9. State the EVM formula for Cost Variance (CV) and how to interpret it.

   $$CV = EV - AC$$ A positive CV means the project is under budget; a negative CV means over budget; zero means on budget.

10. State the EVM formula for Schedule Variance (SV) and how to interpret it.

    $$SV = EV - PV$$ A positive SV means ahead of schedule; a negative SV means behind schedule; zero means on schedule.

11. State the formula for the Cost Performance Index (CPI) and its meaning.

    $$CPI = \frac{EV}{AC}$$ $CPI > 1$ indicates work is costing less than budgeted (good efficiency); $CPI < 1$ indicates a cost overrun; $CPI = 1$ is exactly on budget.

12. State the formula for the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and its meaning.

    $$SPI = \frac{EV}{PV}$$ $SPI > 1$ indicates ahead of schedule; $SPI < 1$ indicates behind schedule; $SPI = 1$ is on schedule.

13. What does Budget at Completion (BAC) represent in EVM?

    BAC is the total budget allocated to the project — the sum of all planned values for the entire project, i.e. the original approved cost baseline total.

14. Give the standard formula for Estimate at Completion (EAC) assuming current cost performance continues.

    $$EAC = \frac{BAC}{CPI}$$ This forecasts the total cost at completion assuming the current CPI trend persists for the remaining work.

15. What is the formula for Estimate to Complete (ETC) based on EAC?

    $$ETC = EAC - AC$$ It represents the expected additional cost required to finish the remaining work.

16. What is the formula for Variance at Completion (VAC) and what does it show?

    $$VAC = BAC - EAC$$ A positive VAC forecasts an under-spend against budget; a negative VAC forecasts an over-spend at completion.

17. State the formula for the To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) to meet the original BAC.

    $$TCPI = \frac{BAC - EV}{BAC - AC}$$ It is the cost efficiency that must be achieved on remaining work to finish within the original budget.

18. If a project has PV = £100k, EV = £80k and AC = £90k, calculate CV, SV, CPI and SPI.

    $CV = EV - AC = 80 - 90 = -£10k$ (over budget). $SV = EV - PV = 80 - 100 = -£20k$ (behind schedule). $CPI = \frac{80}{90} \approx 0.89$. $SPI = \frac{80}{100} = 0.80$. The project is over budget and behind schedule.

19. What is the main benefit of EVM over simply comparing actual cost to budget?

    EVM relates cost to the value of work actually delivered, so it reveals whether spend reflects genuine progress. Comparing AC to budget alone can hide that you have spent on plan but completed far less work than planned.

20. What is the purpose of progress reporting in a project?

    To communicate the current status of the project (against time, cost, scope, quality and risk) to stakeholders, support decision-making, provide an audit trail, and trigger corrective action where performance deviates from plan.

21. What is an exception report and when is it used?

    An exception report is produced when a tolerance (on time, cost, scope, quality, etc.) is forecast to be exceeded. It alerts the appropriate level of management so a decision can be made, escalating the issue beyond the manager's delegated authority.

22. What is a milestone in a project plan?

    A milestone is a key event or significant point in the schedule that marks the completion of a major deliverable or phase. It has zero duration and is used to monitor progress and signal decision/control points.

23. What is a milestone chart (milestone schedule) used for?

    It is a high-level summary that shows planned versus actual achievement of key milestones over time. It gives senior stakeholders a simple, uncluttered view of schedule progress without task-level detail.

24. What is a slip chart (milestone trend / slip line) and what does it reveal?

    A slip chart plots planned milestone dates against forecast/actual dates over successive reporting periods. The slope and direction of the trend lines reveal whether milestones are slipping (getting later) or being recovered, helping predict future schedule performance.

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