A Review and Mapping of Project Schedule Monitoring Methods

Schedule control is fundamental to project success, enabling proactive management of deviations from the baseline plan. While Earned Value Management (EVM) provides solid results for analyzing schedule performance, its limitations prompted the exploration of alternative methods. This study describes the drawbacks of EVM in schedule control. It then reviews and maps previous studies on schedule control and schedule risk analysis to describe, using a decision flowchart, how their findings relate to each other, and which method best fits the project characteristics and control priorities. The literature review was conducted using the PRISMA 2020 framework. The findings suggest adopting a top-down approach for serial networks and a bottom-up approach for parallel networks. Additional factors, such as the need for sensitivity analysis, uncertainty assessment, monitoring, or forecasting, further refine the selection of the optimal method. All above considerations were mapped in the decision flowchart provided which can be used by practitioners to identify the methods that best fit their case. This study provides insights into schedule control and clarifies the relationships between different methods, enabling empirical evidence-based decisions.