THE PM CONTROL CHECKLIST

What This Checklist Is

The PM Control Checklist is a practical, field-tested control tool built around how projects actually fail. Not how they’re supposed to run on paper.

It is designed to help PMs:

• Slow down decision-making without stalling progress

• Identify risk before it becomes urgent

• Separate noise from real exposure

• Re-anchor judgment when pressure is high

• Make deliberate decisions when authority lags behind accountability

This checklist does not teach theory.
It reinforces how to think when things start to drift.

What This Checklist Is Not

This checklist is not:

• A task list

• A performance scorecard

• A compliance document

• A substitute for experience

It is meant to be used in real time, during moments of uncertainty, pressure, or misalignment, when projects are most vulnerable.

How to Use This Checklist

The PM Control Checklist is not meant to be filled out once and filed away.

It should be used:

• At the start of a project

• Before major decisions

• When assumptions are being made

• When pressure is escalating

• When the field and office feel out of sync

• When something “doesn’t feel right,” but you can’t yet articulate why

Use it to pause, verify, and realign — not to justify past decisions.

Who This Resource Is For

This checklist is built for:

• Project Managers early in their role who feel the weight before the confidence

• Experienced PMs managing complex, high-pressure work

• PMs responsible for outcomes without full authority

• PMs who want fewer surprises, calmer decisions, and tighter control

It is especially valuable for PMs who are technically capable but want stronger judgment under pressure.

What This Checklist Helps You Control

The checklist is structured around the areas where control is most often lost:

• Scope clarity before it becomes rework

• Risk visibility before it becomes cost

• Decision timing before it becomes delay

• Alignment before it becomes conflict

• Judgment before it becomes reaction

It helps PMs recognize early signals, not late symptoms.