The evolving landscape of project management in industrial business has faced
significant transformation driven by the complexity of global production operations
and project delivery. In response, there is a need for a renewal in project
management and controlling practices. Project controlling process plays a pivotal
role in the overall project management providing key activities, including roles and
responsibilities, project estimation activities, risk and opportunity assessments and
project reporting practices.
The objective of this research was to establish a project controlling process for
industrial business case company, by defining roles and responsibilities of the key
stakeholders in the project controlling process. Furthermore, creating a process
description defining the main activities for project controlling linked to the project
delivery phases and reporting cycles.
The research results imply a shift in the respective responsibility of project manager
in the case company’s project controlling process. Based on the research results, the
allocation of project controlling tasks for project manager do not match the desired
state in the case company. Research suggests that the responsibility of project
financial control of individual projects will be transferred more to a project manager
and the project finance function will support project organization in project portfolio
management and in high-risk projects.
The findings of this research emphasize the need for well-defined roles,
responsibilities and ownership in project controlling, all within a well-defined
process management framework. The developed process description includes
essential activities required throughout the lifecycle of a delivery project, ensuring
efficient project controlling, estimation, risk and opportunity assessment and
management reporting. Moreover, the results recommend for a cultural shift within
the case company toward mentality of a proactive estimation instead of reactive. On
a broader sense, implications emphasize the necessity for effective stakeholder
management across various cross-functional business processes. These findings
extend beyond the case company, particularly in industries where project operations
are in the core of the business.
