Data Analysis Techniques

Data analysis techniques:

** Alternatives analysis.
Alternatives analysis is used to select the corrective actions or a combination of corrective and preventive actions to implement when a deviation occurs.

Used to compare various levels of resource capability or skills; scheduling compression techniques; different tools (manual versus automated); and make, rent, or buy decisions regarding the resources. This allows the team to weigh resource, cost, and duration variables to determine an optimal approach for accomplishing project work.


** Cost-benefit analysis. Cost-benefit analysis helps to determine the best corrective action in terms of cost in case of project deviations.

** Earned value analysis. Earned value provides an integrated perspective on scope, schedule, and cost performance.

** Root cause analysis. Described in Section 8.2.2.2. Root cause analysis focuses on identifying the main reasons of a problem. It can be used to identify the reasons for a deviation and the areas the project manager should focus on in order to achieve the objectives of the project.



** Trend analysis. Trend analysis is used to forecast future performance based on past results. It looks ahead in the project for expected slippages and warns the project manager ahead of time that there may be problems later in the schedule if established trends persist. This information is made available early enough in the project timeline to give the project team time to analyze and correct any anomalies. The results of trend analysis can be used to recommend preventive actions if necessary.

** Variance analysis. Variance analysis reviews the differences (or variance) between planned and actual performance. This can include duration estimates, cost estimates, resources utilization, resources rates, technical performance, and other metrics.
Variance analysis may be conducted in each Knowledge Area based on its particular variables. In Monitor and Control Project Work, the variance analysis reviews the variances from an integrated perspective considering cost, time, technical, and resource variances in relation to each other to get an overall view of variance on the project. This allows for the appropriate preventive or corrective actions to be initiated.

** Document analysis. Described in Section 5.2.2.3. Assessing available documentation will allow identifying lessons learned and knowledge sharing for future projects and organizational assets improvement.

** Regression analysis. This technique analyzes the interrelationships between different project variables that contributed to the project outcomes to improve performance on future projects.
Regression analysis is a reliable method of identifying which variables have impact on a topic of interest. The process of performing a regression allows you to confidently determine which factors matter most, which factors can be ignored, and how these factors influence each other.

**Reserve analysis. Reserve analysis is used to determine the amount of contingency and management reserve needed for the project. Duration estimates may include contingency reserves, sometimes referred to as schedule reserves, to account for schedule uncertainty.
Contingency reserves are the estimated duration within the schedule baseline, which is allocated for identified risks that are accepted. Contingency reserves are associated with the known-unknowns, which may be estimated to account for this unknown amount of rework. The contingency reserve may be a percentage of the estimated activity duration or a fixed number of work periods. Contingency reserves may be separated from the individual activities and aggregated. As more precise information about the project becomes available, the contingency reserve may be used, reduced, or eliminated. Contingency should be clearly identified in the schedule documentation.
Estimates may also be produced for the amount of management reserve of schedule for the project. Management reserves are a specified amount of the project budget withheld for management control purposes and are reserved for unforeseen work that is within scope of the project. Management reserves are intended to address the unknown-unknowns that can affect a project. Management reserve is not included in the schedule baseline, but it is part of the overall project duration requirements. Depending on contract terms, use of management reserves may require a change to the schedule baseline.

**What-if scenario analysis. What-if scenario analysis is the process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect, positive or negative, on project objectives. This is an analysis of the question, “What if the situation represented by scenario X happens?” A schedule network analysis is performed using the schedule to compute the different scenarios, such as delaying a major component delivery, extending specific engineering durations, or introducing external factors, such as a strike or a change in the permit process. The outcome of the what-if scenario analysis can be used to assess the feasibility of the project schedule under different conditions, and in preparing schedule reserves and response plans to address the impact of unexpected situations.

** Simulation. Simulation models the combined effects of individual project risks and other sources of uncertainty to evaluate their potential impact on achieving project objectives. The most common simulation technique is Monte Carlo analysis (see Section 11.4.2.5), in which risks and other sources of uncertainty are used to calculate possible schedule outcomes for the total project. Simulation involves calculating multiple work package duration's with different sets of activity assumptions, constraints, risks, issues, or scenarios using probability distributions and other representations of uncertainty.

** Cost-benefit analysis. A cost-benefit analysis is a financial analysis tool used to estimate the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives in order to determine the best alternative in terms of benefits provided. A cost benefit analysis will help the project manager determine if the planned quality activities are cost effective. The primary benefits of meeting quality requirements include less rework, higher productivity, lower costs, increased stakeholder satisfaction, and increased profitability. A cost-benefit analysis for each quality activity compares the cost of the quality step to the expected benefit.

**Cost of quality. The cost of quality (COQ) associated with a project consists of one or more of the following costs
Prevention costs. Costs related to the prevention of poor quality in the products, deliverables, or services of the specific project.
Appraisal costs. Costs related to evaluating, measuring, auditing, and testing the products, deliverables, or services of the specific project.
Failure costs (internal/external). Costs related to non-conformance of the products, deliverables, or services to the needs or expectations of the stakeholders.


**SWOT analysis


** There are several others also.....