How can project tracking metrics and indicators help you stay on track?

I've seen that scope metrics, such as function points, story points, requirements volatility, and scope creep, are invaluable in measuring a project's size and complexity. For example, function points assess functionality, while story points gauge task effort based on complexity. By monitoring these metrics, you can manage changes, deviations, and unplanned work in the project. They provide valuable insights into project value, progress, and the sources of scope changes, allowing for more effective management of budget, schedule, and quality.

It could be overwhelming when there are so many metrics to keep track of. IMO, the following 4 helps me the most 1. Resource Utilization Metrics I efficiently allocate and manage project resources using metrics like utilization rates and allocation accuracy. 2. Stakeholder Involvement Metrics I gauge stakeholder satisfaction and involvement using metrics like feedback analysis and meeting attendance. 3. Adaptability Metrics I measure how effectively the project adapts to change with metrics like change implementation time and success rate. 4. Innovation Metrics I always encourage and measure innovation with metrics like innovative ideas generated and successful implementations.

Cost metrics are essential for monitoring a project's financial health and efficiency. Take, for example, comparing estimated versus actual costs for project phases. This shows how accurately you budget. Analyzing deviations from baseline budgets offers insights into where and why spending is off-track. Ratios like earned value to actual cost gauge execution efficiency. By using these metrics, you can keep a close eye on financial performance and promptly identify and manage issues causing cost overruns or underruns. This ensures better financial control and project success.

Quality metrics play a vital role in assessing project success. For instance, in software development, measuring defect density provides insight into code reliability. Defect resolution time reveals the efficiency of issue handling. Customer satisfaction, assessed through feedback and surveys, gauges overall project quality. These metrics not only help identify areas for improvement but also ensure project outcomes align with desired quality and stakeholder satisfaction.

I appreciate risk metrics because they assess the project by considering the tangible impact of actions rather than solely relying on planning. By continually understanding the risks involved, one can make informed decisions about which actions to take, whether it's avoidance, mitigation, and so on. Risk can be measured using various parameters, such as the most common probability multiplied by its impact.

Think about leading and lagging indicators for your overall project success. Leading indicators are continuously measured metrics that will lead the team to adjust for success before project completion. For example, if your team velocity is indicating that scope will not be completed, you have the ability to adjust for it. Lagging indicators will give insight into events that occurred in the past. For example, your project did something that caused the support tickets to decrease by 4%.