项目成本控制：它的工作方式外文翻译资料

Project Cost Control: The Way it Works

In arecent consulting assignment we realized that there was some lack of understanding ofthe whole system of project cost control, how it is setup and applied. So we decided to write up adescription 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 thework, 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 thework in progress, and repeat the cycle at suitable intervals. If the end results get really out of linewith 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 youhave 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 weshall see, and we might as well start at the beginning. So let us follow the thread of project costcontrol 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 organizationamp;apos;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 executivemanagement responsible has a good understanding of how projects should unfold through theproject life span. This means that they exercise their responsibilitiethetkey decision points between the major phases. They must also recognize the importance of project risk managementfor identifying and planning to head off at least the most obvious potential risk events.
In the projectamp;apos;s Concept Phase

' Every project starts with someone identifying an opportunity or need. That is usually someoneof importance or influence, if the project is to proceed, and that person often becomes theprojectamp;apos;s sponsor.

' To determine the suitability of the potential project, most organizations call for the preparation of a'Business Case' and its 'Order of Magnitude' cost to justify the value of the project so that itcan be compared with all the other competing projects. This effort is conducted in the ConceptPhase of the project and is done as a part of the organizationamp;apos;s management of the entire project portfolio.

The cost of the work of preparing the Business Case is usually covered by corporate
management overhead, but it may be carried forward as an accounting cost to the eventual project.No doubt because this will provide a tax benefit to the organization. The problem is, how do youthen account for all the projects that are not so carried forward?

. If the Business case has sufficient merit, approval will be given to proceed to a Development and Definition phase.

In the projectamp;apos;s Development or Definition Phase

. The objective of the Development Phase is to establish a good understanding of the work involved to produce the required product, estimate the cost and seek capital funding for the actual execution of the project.

In a formalized setting, especially where big projects iavelved, this application for fundingis often referred to as a Request for (a capital) Appropriation (RFA) or Capital AppropriationRequest (CAR).

This requires the collection of more detailed requirements and data to establish what work needsto be done to produce the required product or 'deliverable'. From this information, a plan is prepared in sufficient detail to give adequate confidence in a dollar figure to be included in the request.

Ina less formalized setting, everyone just tries to mutidbegh.

Work Packages and the WBS

The Project Management Plan, Project Brief or Project Charter

. If the deliverable consists of a number of different elements, these are identified and assembledinto Work Packages (WPs) and presented in the form of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

. Each WP involves a set of activities, the 'work' that is planned and scheduled as a part of theProject Management Plan. Note, however, that the planning will still be at a relatively high level,and more detailed planning will be necessary during execution if the project is given the go ahead.

. This Project Management Plan, by the way, should become the 'bible' for the execution phase of the project and is sometimes referred to as the 'Project Brief' or the 'Project Charter'.

·The cost of doing the various activities is then estimated and these estimated costs are
aggregated to determine the estimated cost of the WP. This approach is known as 'detailed
estimating' or 'bottom up estimating'. There are other approaches to estimating that weamp;apos;ll come to in a minute. Either way, the result is an estimated cost of the total work of the project.Note: that project risk management planning is an importanptart of this exercise. Thihouldexamine the projectamp;apos;s assumptions and environmental conditions to identify any weaknesses inthe plan thus far,

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