Time-Phased Project Work and Projecft Cost Control
Time-phased project work is the basis for project cost control. Work package duration is used to develop the project network. Further, the time-phased budgets for work packages are timetabled to establish fiscal measures for each phase throughout the project. The time-phased budgets are to emulate the real cash needs of the budget, which will be used for project cost control. This information is useful to estimate cash outflows. The project manager's attention is on when the costs are to occur, when the budgeted cost is earned, and when the actual cost materializes. This information is made up to measure project schedule and cost variances (Gray & Larson, 2005). The following are typical types of costs found in a project:
Direct Costs
These costs are on account with a specific work package. Direct costs are attributed to efforts made by the project manager, project team, and folks executing the work package. These costs signify actual outflow and are compensated as the project evolves. Examples of direct costs are labor, equipment, materials, and other (Gray & Larson, 2005).
Direct Overhead Costs
Direct overhead rates represent which resources are being used in a project. Direct overhead costs relate to project deliverables. An example is the salary of the project manager or the rental of a project workspace. While overhead is not an immediate expense, it must be remunerated (Gray & Larson, 2005).
General and Administrative (G&A) Overhead Costs
These costs are not straightforwardly associated to a project. Examples include organization costs such as advertising or accounting. G&A costs are generally billed as a percent of total costs, or items such as labor, materials, or equipment. Using the sums of direct and overhead costs for work packages, it is possible to cumulate the costs for any deliverable for the entire project (Gray & Larson, 2005).
Figure 1. Primary Data Sets Used by the Team to Determine the Budget
Type Description Amount
Cost of the
Direct Costs
These costs are on account with a specific work package. Direct costs are attributed to efforts made by the project manager, project team, and folks executing the work package. These costs signify actual outflow and are compensated as the project evolves. Examples of direct costs are labor, equipment, materials, and other (Gray & Larson, 2005).
Direct Overhead Costs
Direct overhead rates represent which resources are being used in a project. Direct overhead costs relate to project deliverables. An example is the salary of the project manager or the rental of a project workspace. While overhead is not an immediate expense, it must be remunerated (Gray & Larson, 2005).
General and Administrative (G&A) Overhead Costs
These costs are not straightforwardly associated to a project. Examples include organization costs such as advertising or accounting. G&A costs are generally billed as a percent of total costs, or items such as labor, materials, or equipment. Using the sums of direct and overhead costs for work packages, it is possible to cumulate the costs for any deliverable for the entire project (Gray & Larson, 2005).
Figure 1. Primary Data Sets Used by the Team to Determine the Budget
Type Description Amount
Cost of the
References: Department of Justice Management Division Information Technology Investment Management Process. Introduction to Risk Management. http://www.rongarlow.com/ITIM/Risk/risk.htm Gray, C.F. & Larson, E.W. (2005). Project Management: The Managerial Process (3rd ed.). The McGraw-Hill Companies: New York. Leach, Larry P. Critical Chain Project Management Improves Project Performance. Advanced Projects, Inc. 1997-2004. http://www.advanced-projects.com/CCPM/Papers/PMJOURN_R8.PDF#search= 'constraints%20in%20project%20management '