"On spec" is open loop control on value.
Project Controls are Management Actions, either preplanned to achieve the desired result, or taken as a corrective measure prompted by the monitoring process. Project controls are concerned with the metrics of the project – quantities, time, cost, and other resources and their measurable beneficial outcomes for the project. As well as project revenues, delivered customer value, and cash flow. These metrics start by focusing on the delivery of business or mission Value in exchange for the Cost of that Value.
In the Project Controls paradigm, Value is a measurable attribute of the project controls process - a Closed Loop Control measure.
The elements of Value delivered include the Cost to produce that Value and the Time over which that Cost is expended. The units of measures of Cost and Time are straightforward. They say their name. The units of measure of Value have several different names. Let's look at the measures for the Product or Service independently from its application in the business or fulfillment of the Mission.
Here are definitions from "Technical Measurement," INCOSE-TP-2005-020-10. These measures are the basis of project success from the technical point of view. Success from the business point of view is usually out of the control of the project management and development organizations. Value to the business can be defined using these measures. It is up to the business to put this Value to work to meet their business goals.
The technical measures are a set of attributes used to provide the supplier (developer) and the acquirer (customer) with insight into the progress of the definition and development of the technical solution, the ongoing assessment of the associated risks and issues, and the likelihood of meeting the critical objectives of the acquirer (customer). This insight helps project management make better decisions throughout the life cycle to increase the probability of delivering the technical solution that meets both the specified requirements and the mission needs (business Value). - INCOSE-TP-2005-020-10
- Measures of Effectiveness - are operational measures of success that are closely related to the achievements of the mission or operational objectives evaluated in the operational environment, under a specific set of conditions. The Measures of Effectiveness ...
- Are stated in units meaningful to the buyer,
- Focus on Capabilities independent of any technical implementation,
- Are connected to the success of the business or the success of the mission.
- Measures of Performance - are performance measures that characterize physical or functional attributes relating to the system operation, measured or estimated under specific conditions. Measures of Performance ...
- Are attributes that assure the system has the capability and capacity to perform,
- Are an assessment of the system to assure it meets the design requirements to satisfy the Measures of Effectiveness.
- Technical Performance Measures - are attributes that determine how well a system or system element is satisfying or expected to satisfy a technical requirement or goal. The Technical Performance Measures ...
- Assess design progress,
- Define compliance with performance requirements,
- Identify technical risk,
- Are limited to critical thresholds,
- Include projected performance.
- Key Performance Parameters - are measures that Represent the capabilities and characteristics so significant that failure to meet them can be cause for reevaluation, reassessing or termination of the program. Key Performance Parameters ...
- Have a threshold or objective value,
- Characterize the major drivers of performance,
- Are considered Critical to Customer (CTC).
These are the starting point for defining project success in our Software Intensive System of Systems (SISoS) domain and are the same measures they can be used in any project domain. Each of these measures participates in the Closed Loop Control Systems. Here's an example of a Closed Loop Control Chart for a Technical Performance Measure that contributes to the production of the Business Value of a project. Mean Time to Failure can be a critical business success factor and a required attribute for the business to consider the product or service to have Value.
When the Planned Value is not being met at a specific point in time on the project - corrective or preventative actions must be taken to restore the project's production of the Value to Plan. This is the basis of Closed Loop Control. The technical elements of the project that provide the Value to the customer must also be on plan for that Value to be achieved.
"On spec" is open loop control on value. is a Fallacy
Overview of the Project Control System
Without the desired delivery date, target budget, and expected capabilities, a control system is of little interest to those providing the money at the business level. There is no way to assure those needs – date, budget, capabilities – can be met with the current capacity for work, the efficacy of that work process, or budget absorption of that work. With a need date, target budget, and expected capability outcome, a Closed Loop control system is the basis of increasing the probability of success. These targets are the baseline to steer toward.
Without a steering target, the management of the project is Open Loop. With the need for a project control system, this post addresses the difference between two choices:
- Closed Loop Control – where the output signal has a direct impact on the control action.
- Open Loop Control – where the output signal has no direct impact on the control action.
The success of the business many times depends on the success of the project, but once the successful project is delivered the business can still have problems, this is a separate issue. Let's look quickly at a framework for Project Success. There are many definitions on the web of project success some of these definitions are made with the purpose of selling an idea. Instead, like we were taught in school, let's look at the literature and skip those anecdotal opinions.
- "Mapping the Dimensions of Project Success," Aaron Shenhar, Ofer Levy, and Dov Dvir, Professional Journal of the Project Management Institute, June 1997, Volume 28, Number 2.
- "In Search of Project Classification: A non-Universal Approach to Project Success Factors," Dov Dvir, S. Lipovetsky, Aaron Shenhar, and A. Tishler, Research Policy, 27, 1998, pp 915-935.
- "Toward a NASA Specific Project Management Framework," Dov Dvir, Dragan Milosevic, Jerry Mulenburg, et al, Engineering Management Journal, Dec 2005, 17, 4
- "Project Succes: A Multidimensional Strategic Concept," Aaron Shenhar, Dov Dvir, Ofer Levy, and Alan Maltz, Long Range Planning, 34, 2001, pp. 699-725.
- Reinventing Project Management, Aaron Shenhar and Dov Dvir, Harvard Business Press, 2007.
Several voices in the #NoEstimates community confuse Open Loop Control and Closed Loop Control. Let's look at the differences.
An open loop control system acts completely on the basis of input and the output has no effect on the control action.
A closed loop control system considers the current output and alters it to the desired condition. The control action in these systems is based on the output.To conjecture that measuring compliance with project specification (technical and operational effectiveness, performance) required to produce the needed Business or Mission Value is Open Loop Control is a fallacy.
Closed Loop Control System
- A Closed-loop Control System, is a feedback control system which uses the concept of an open loop system as its forward path but has one or more feedback loops between its output and its input.
- The reference to “feedback,” means some portion of the output is returned “back” to the input to form part of the systems excitation.
- Closed-loop systems are designed to automatically achieve and maintain the desired output condition by comparing it with the actual condition.
- It does this by generating an error signal which is the difference between the output and the reference input.
- A “closed-loop system” is a fully automatic control system in which its control action being dependent on the output in some way.
Here's a simple example of an Closed Loop Control System - A Clothes Dryer with a moisture sensing system to assess the dryness of the clothes.
- The desired dryness is set by the user, usually by setting the type of clothes.
- The dryer turns on the heat and starts drying the clothes.
- A sensor measures the dryness of the cloths and determines if it is necessary to keep drying or not.
- When the clothes reach the desired dryness the dryer stops.
Here's the system elements of a Closed Loop Control System. This is the type of system needed for Program Controls. It's designed to get the needed Value (dry clothes) out the door for the needed Cost (energy), at the needed Time with the needed Features (Don't ruin the clothes with too much or too little heat).
Open Loop Control System
- An Open-Loop system, is a non-feedback system, where the output – the desired state – has no influence or effect on the control action of the input signal.
- In an Open-Loop control system the output – the desired state– is neither measured nor “fed back” for comparison with the input.
- An Open-Loop system is expected to faithfully follow its input command or set point regardless of the final result.
- An Open-Loop system has no knowledge of the output condition – the difference between desired state and actual state – so cannot self-correct any errors it could make when the preset value drifts, even if this results in large deviations from the preset value.
Here's a simple example of an Open Loop Control System - A Clothes Dryer with a simple timer.
- We set the controller (the timer) on the dryer to run for a specific duration.
- The dryer creates heat (output) and runs until the timer says stop.
- When the elapsed time is complete the dryer stops.
- The clothes may or may not be dry depending on the allotted time, the temperature of the dryer, and the moisture in the clothes.
The system of Open Loop Control drys the clothes but has no means of knowing when they are dry, how much temperature is the right temperature for the specific clothes and several other attributes needed for the Value of the dryer.
Closed Loop Control is needed to Produce an On Specification result to provide the Needed Business Value
It is a Fallacy that an On Budget, On Schedule, On Specification product or service can be produced with Open Loop Control. And it is an equal fallacy that On Specification is open loop control on Value.
So let's tell a good story to wrap up today's fallacy †
- The Setting – we work in an enterprise IT environment, a product development company, or on a mission-critical software project.
- The Protagonist – Those providing the money need information to make decisions.
- The Imbalance – it’s not clear how to make decisions in the absence of information about, the cost, schedule, and technical outcomes from those decisions needed to take preventative or corrective actions to show up on time, on budget, with the needed technical capabilities to produce the needed Business or Mission Value
- Restoring the Balance – when a decision is made, it needs to based on the principles of microeconomics, at least in a governance based organization. The decision
- Recommended Solution – start with a baseline estimate of the cost, schedule, and technical performance. Execute work and measure the productivity of that work.
- Using these measures to calculate the variance between planned and actual.
- Take management action to adjust the productivity, the end date, the budget – using all variables produce a new Estimate To Complete to manage toward.
This is the principle of a closed loop control system
The successful manasgement of the production of business and mission Value requires closed loop control
The claim "On spec" is open loop control on value - is a Fallacy
† This approach is guided by Cliff Atkinson’s Beyond Bullet Points, where telling the story is the basis of successful capabilities-based planning, process improvement, writing a winning proposal, and or a credible white paper.