Control Account
A control account is a management control point where scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.
Explanation
A control account is a point in the WBS, typically above the work package level, where the project integrates scope, schedule, and cost data for earned value management (EVM). It serves as the intersection of the WBS and the organizational breakdown structure (OBS), linking a defined body of work to a single responsible manager or organizational unit.
Each control account includes one or more work packages and possibly planning packages (for work not yet decomposed). It has its own budget, schedule, and assigned responsibility, allowing the project manager to track earned value performance at a meaningful management level without needing to measure every individual work package separately.
Control accounts are essential for large projects using earned value management. They provide the structure needed to aggregate performance data, identify variances, and take corrective action at the right organizational level. The sum of all control account budgets equals the performance measurement baseline.
Key Points
- •Management control point for integrating scope, budget, and schedule
- •Intersection of the WBS and organizational breakdown structure
- •Contains work packages and possibly planning packages
- •Used for earned value performance measurement
Exam Tip
Control accounts are where EVM performance measurement happens. Each control account is assigned to a single manager and integrates scope, schedule, and cost data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Work Package
A work package is the lowest level of the work breakdown structure, representing a deliverable or project work component that can be estimated, scheduled, monitored, and controlled.
Planning Package
A planning package is a WBS component below the control account with known work content but without detailed schedule activities, used as a placeholder for future planning.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
Scope Baseline
The scope baseline is the approved version of the project scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), and its associated WBS dictionary, used as a reference for measuring project scope performance.
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