Track project lifecycle

Tracking the project lifecycle helps ensure that resources are used judiciously, aligning expenditures with business objectives. By measuring and auditing the phases of projects, teams, and environments, organizations can identify wasteful practices and optimize resource usage to drive cost efficiency.

Best Practices

Implementing Project Lifecycle Tracking

• Establish clear project lifecycle stages (initiation, planning, execution, closure) to ensure comprehensive tracking.
• Utilize AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets to monitor spending at each stage of the project, allowing for real-time insights into cost management.
• Automate resource tagging with naming conventions to easily associate costs with specific projects and environments.
• Conduct regular audits of resource usage against project needs to identify and eliminate unnecessary spending.
• Establish communication channels between teams to report and address any discrepancies in usage or budgeting promptly.

Questions to ask your team

• What metrics are in place to measure the usage of resources across projects?
• How often do you review project lifecycles to identify cost-saving opportunities?
• Are there automated tools in use to track and audit the lifecycle of projects and environments?
• How do you ensure that team members are aware of the policies governing resource usage?
• What processes exist to regularly evaluate and remove unnecessary resources from active projects?

Who should be doing this?

Project Manager

• Oversee project lifecycles to ensure adherence to budget.
• Coordinate between teams to track resource usage and costs.
• Implement policies for resource allocation and usage reporting.

Financial Analyst

• Analyze project expenditures and verify adherence to budgetary constraints.
• Develop financial reports that summarize resource usage across projects.
• Recommend cost-saving measures based on usage patterns.

Cloud Architect

• Design cloud infrastructure that optimizes cost-efficiency.
• Monitor resource provisioning to avoid over-provisioning and wastage.
• Advise teams on best practices for resource management.

DevOps Engineer

• Implement automation scripts for tracking resource usage in environments.
• Monitor system performance to identify opportunities for cost optimization.
• Collaborate with development teams to enforce resource management policies.

Compliance Officer

• Establish guidelines for financial governance in project management.
• Conduct audits to ensure compliance with cost governance policies.
• Review reports and provide insights on policy effectiveness.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Project Lifecycle Tracking Template: A structured template to track and document the lifecycle of projects, including stages like initiation, planning, execution, and closure, along with associated costs and resource utilization.
• Cost Optimization Audit Report: A periodic report detailing the audits conducted on project lifecycles, highlighting areas of overspending and resource wastage, and providing actionable insights for optimization.
• Cost Control Policy: A policy document establishing guidelines for cost management throughout project lifecycles, including budget approvals, expense monitoring, and the roles of team members in cost governance.
• Budget Tracking Dashboard: An interactive dashboard that visualizes project budgets against actual expenditures, allowing teams to monitor costs in real time and make informed decisions.
• Project Resource Utilization Checklist: A checklist to ensure all resources allocated to a project are necessary and justified, helping teams avoid unnecessary costs by assessing each resource’s relevance to project goals.
• Cost Management Strategy Guide: A comprehensive guide outlining strategies for effective cost management, including lifecycle tracking methods, tools for monitoring, and techniques for reducing waste during project execution.

Cloud Services

AWS

• AWS Cost Explorer: Enables you to visualize, understand, and manage your AWS costs and usage over time.
• AWS Budgets: Allows you to set custom cost and usage budgets that alert you when you exceed your thresholds.
• AWS CloudTrail: Provides visibility into user activity by recording API calls made on your account, allowing you to monitor resource usage.

Azure

• Azure Cost Management and Billing: Provides features for tracking and controlling cloud spending in Azure to ensure resources are used efficiently.
• Azure Monitor: Collects and analyzes telemetry data from your resources to help you understand performance and usage metrics.
• Azure Policy: Allows you to define and enforce policies for your Azure resources, helping to ensure compliance and cost control.

Google Cloud Platform

• Google Cloud Billing: Provides insights into your spending patterns and allows you to set budgets and alerts to manage costs effectively.
• Google Cloud Monitoring: Provides visibility into the performance of your applications to help manage resources effectively.
• Google Cloud IAM: Helps manage access control to resources, ensuring that only authorized users can provision and use resources.

Question: How do you govern usage?
Pillar: Cost Optimization (Code: COST)