The purpose of planning and control is to ensure work is planned and controlled, with corrective and preventative action being taken when needed, so that the objectives of the portfolio, programme or project can be achieved.

The planning and control practices should be defined to be mutually consistent as the outputs from one are often the inputs to another. Most planning and control practices provide information for controlling and reporting, the primary information flows for which are shown in Figure E.2. The primary relationships among the practices are also shown in Figure E.2. For example, a risk can become an issue if it materialises, and an issue can trigger a change request to keep the work viable. More detail on the interfaces among practices is included in each practice section. The planning and control practices apply throughout the life of a portfolio, programme or project and should work seamlessly with the solution delivery practices.
