Preface

Many of the currently available books on estimating cover project estimating in a discipline-specific mode, such as construction estimating, software development estimating, and process plant estimating. Although there is a great deal of commonality in estimating techniques among all industries, distilling the nondiscipline-specific topics is sometimes difficult because they tend to get masked by the details of the discipline that is the subject of the project.

Project Estimating and Cost Management covers the fundamentals of estimating projects in a discipline-independent context. It covers the essentials of project estimating, progress monitoring, and cost management, and is intended for project professionals who need a quick overview of the process of estimating the cost of projects. Special attention is focused on estimate accuracy and the issues surrounding cost and schedule overruns.

Chapter 1 deals with the inception of the project as it relates to organizational strategies. Project selection and prioritization using indices and models are also presented. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the development of work breakdown structures (WBS) and resource breakdown structures (RBS), with detailed discussions of the elements and bases of division for these structures. These chapters guide the reader through the steps involved in constructing WBS and RBS. The reader is then introduced to the concept of bottom-up estimating and the steps involved in creating a detailed estimate baseline.

Chapter 4 discusses the various models that estimators use to arrive at rough estimates of projects during the early stages of project conception. The issues of estimate accuracy and baseline volatility are discussed, recognizing both the need to provide estimates in order to make judgments on project authorization and the scarcity of detailed data (at the time these estimates are developed).

Chapters 5 and 6 focus on the processes and techniques involved in monitoring project expenditures during the implementation phase. Data collected by the monitoring activities will form the knowledge base that the project manager will need to deal with the inevitable changes that occur during project implementation. The causes of these changes to the project environment and the procedures involved in formulating resolutions for these unexpected changes are also discussed.

Chapter 7 deals with estimating and cost management issues related to external projects. The topics of bidding, specifications, indirect costs, and overhead are discussed, specifically relating to contractor performance and its impact on the client-contractor relationship.

Parviz F. Rad