A forecast that can be relied upon
Effective controls tell leadership what is about to happen, early enough to act — and produce a programme and cost position that will hold up when either is examined.
The gap between reporting and reality
A forecast that lags the project by a quarter is not a forecast, and a programme that no longer reflects how the works are being executed will not support a position when one is needed.
Controls exist to close that distance — and, where a position is later contested, to provide the evidentiary basis on which it can be established.
How we approach it
Programme development and management
We build programmes with defensible logic, realistic sequencing and resource loading that reflects what the works require, integrating construction, procurement, design and approvals into a single view rather than as separate schedules meeting only at milestones. Programmes are maintained so that they represent the works as executed — which serves delivery, and is also the precondition for any credible time-related claim.
Programme review and baseline integrity
Independent assessment of logic, float ownership, critical path and achievability. Where a programme is being relied upon commercially — by a client accepting it or a contractor submitting it — we test whether it will support that reliance. It is often the fastest way to establish whether a project is where it is reported to be.
Progress measurement, quantities and productivity
Measurement built on quantities installed rather than time elapsed or percentage estimated. We establish quantity tracking against the take-off — physical progress recorded by activity, area and discipline, and reconciled to the quantities the works were priced and programmed against. Productivity is measured against planned rates, so that under-performance is identified while there is still programme available to respond to it, and recorded in a form capable of supporting a disruption claim should one become necessary. Earned value management integrates cost and schedule performance so that divergence between the two is visible early.
Cost control, budgets and forecasting
Budget development and baseline control, and maintenance of the cost position against it through delivery. Cost at completion forecasting, and estimate at completion and estimate to complete processes reflecting committed cost, work done, known change and anticipated exposure. Work breakdown and cost breakdown structures developed and deployed so that cost and progress are captured against a common framework and can be interrogated by package, discipline, activity and cost type rather than only in aggregate.
Risk and opportunity management
Identification, assessment and quantification of risk and opportunity, and the maintenance of registers that connect each item to its cost and programme consequence. Contingency established against a quantified risk profile rather than a percentage, and drawdown reported against the events it was held for. Opportunity is managed with the same discipline as risk, since a project that tracks only its exposure will not capture the upside available to it.
Change and variation management systems
The registers and workflows through which change is captured, assessed and reconciled across the commercial, design and programme functions — so that a design decision is priced, a variation is programmed, and both appear in the forecast.
Forensic delay analysis
Windows analysis, time impact analysis, and as-planned versus as-built, applied to establish causation rather than correlation. Establishing that a delay occurred is straightforward; establishing what caused it, who owns it and whether it affected the critical path is the work.
Reporting and dashboards
Board, joint venture board and executive reporting built around the decisions it must support. Power BI dashboards integrating cost, programme, change and risk into a single current view, available continuously rather than reconstructed monthly.
Who we act for
Principals and delivery partners requiring an independent view of where a project stands. Contractors and joint ventures establishing or strengthening a controls function. Any party whose programme or forecast is about to be tested.
Discuss an engagement
An initial conversation carries no obligation. Where StratMonk is not the appropriate fit, we will say so.
Start a conversation
Describe the circumstances and we will advise on the appropriate approach.