The project management term action of monitoring and controlling processes refers specifically to those particular processes that are implemented by the project team and/or the project team leader for the sole and explicit purposes of taking a careful and thorough measurement of and to complete a through monitoring of the team’s project execution to date. The purposes of the project team’s implementation of monitoring and controlling processes include a retrospective view in hopes of potentially implementing corrective action in the event that any action of this type is deemed necessary. This can be the case when any particular phase of the project has taken a wrong turn or has possibly fallen behind schedule in regards to the execution elements. The act of monitoring and controlling project processes is essential to maintaining an efficient and effective workflow throughout the project. At the onset of the project, the project team leader may assign one or more project team members to be responsible for this activity.
This term is defined in the 3rd and the 4th edition of the PMBOK.