閲嶅簡澶у姣曚笟璁捐澶栨枃鏂囩尞鍙婅瘧鏂?/p>
1
澶栨枃鏂囩尞锛?/p>
Project Cost Control: The Way it Works
By R. Max Wideman
In a recent consulting assignment we realized that there was some lack of understanding of
the whole system of project cost control, how it is setup and applied. So we decided to write up a
description of how it works. Project cost control is not that difficult to follow in theory.
First you establish a set of reference baselines. Then, as work progresses, you monitor the
work,
analyze
the
findings,
forecast
the
end
results
and
compare
those
with
the
reference
baselines.
If the end results are not satisfactory then you make adjustments as necessary to the
work in progress, and repeat the cycle at suitable intervals. If the end results get really out of line
with the baseline plan, you may have to change the plan. More likely, there will be (or have been)
scope changes that change the reference baselines which means that every time that happens you
have to change the baseline plan anyway.
But
project
cost
control
is
a
lot
more
difficult
to
do
in
practice,
as
is
evidenced
by
the
number of projects that fail to contain costs. It also involves a significant amount of work, as we
shall see, and we might as well start at the beginning. So let us follow the thread of project cost
control through the entire project life span.
And,
while
we
are
at
it,
we
will
take
the
opportunity
to
point
out
the
proper
places
for
several
significant
documents.
These
include
the
Business
Case,
the
Request
for
(a
capital)
Appropriation (for
execution),
Work Packages
and the Work Breakdown Structure, the Project
Charter (or Brief), the Project Budget or Cost Plan, Earned Value and the Cost Baseline. All of
these contribute to the organization's ability to effectively control project costs.
Footnote
I am indebted to my friend Quentin Fleming, the guru of Earned Value, for checking and
correcting my work on this topic.
The Business Case and Application for (execution) Funding
It
is
important
to
note
that
project
cost
control
is
most
effective
when
the
executive
management
responsible
has
a
good
understanding
of
how
projects
should
unfold
through
the
project
life span. This means that they exercise their responsibilities at
the key decision points