According to the PMBOK® Guide, the Control Schedule process is the process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project schedule and managing changes to the schedule baseline.
Schedule Forecasts: These are estimates or predictions of conditions and events in the project ' s future based on information and knowledge available at the time of the forecast. As the project progresses, the schedule is updated based on work performance data, and the Schedule Forecasts (such as the predicted finish date) are updated and communicated to stakeholders.
Calculation: These forecasts are often derived from Earned Value Management (EVM) metrics. For example, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Schedule Variance (SV) are used to predict if the project will finish on time or if corrective actions are required to meet the baseline.
Context within Outputs: Other key outputs of this process include Work Performance Information (WPI), Change Requests, and updates to the Project Management Plan and Project Documents.
Comparison with other options:
A. A project schedule network diagram: This is a schematic display of the logical relationships (dependencies) among the project schedule activities. It is a primary output of the Sequence Activities process, not Control Schedule.
B. A schedule management plan: This is a component of the project management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. It is the output of the Plan Schedule Management process.
C. Schedule data: This is a collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule, such as schedule milestones, schedule activities, and activity attributes. It is primarily an output of the Develop Schedule process. While it may be updated during Control Schedule, " Schedule Forecasts " is the definitive, specific output related to the controlling and predictive nature of this process.
