closemanagement

Close management is a management approach that emphasizes close oversight and tight control over tasks, resources, schedules, and outcomes. It prioritizes visibility into day-to-day work and frequent assessment of progress to detect deviations early. The aim is to ensure alignment with objectives and compliance with constraints such as budget, time, and quality.

In practice, close management is used in projects or operations with high risk, complex dependencies, or stringent regulatory requirements. It is common in industries such as construction, manufacturing, information technology, and government programs. It may accompany formal project controls, such as dashboards, milestone reviews, and frequent status reporting.

Common methods include daily or frequent stand-up meetings, regular status reports, earned value management, risk registers, change control processes, and gate reviews. Roles commonly involved include project managers, team leads, project controls specialists, and the PMO.

Benefits include improved predictability, early issue detection, accountability, and tighter alignment with constraints. Drawbacks can include increased administrative overhead, potential micromanagement or reduced team autonomy, and the risk of stifling creativity if over-applied.

See also: related concepts like project management, governance, risk management, performance management, and earned value management.