Project Cost Management - Assignment Example

Cost control in a project is significant in project management because it enables a project to be delivered within a cost expectation as laid down by the definition of a project. Like other forms of control process, cost control is not just about the collection and measurement of how much cost one has spent on a project and deciding from the budget’s overview that what is available can complete the project. Hereby, cost control comprises the measuring, comparing of a baseline, and taking necessary action. Taking the necessary action ensures retaining the control of project cost although there is no specific formula on the action to be taken. To ensure that one takes the right action, the cost expenditure in a project has to be measured consistently and accurately. The certainty of cost can be attained if all project activities are completed properly. There are a number of factors that can directly have an impact on a project’s final cost compared to the original budget plan on cost.

Project changes and involves unforeseen events, scope, execution method, and levels of specification. There is also a schedule whereby the sooner the completion of a project, the sooner a project does not incur costs. The foreseen events are another factor which means that although the original plan on cost where contingencies and risks are concerned, events can take place as foreseen although with a different impact on the affected cost elements.

Control project schedule

The control schedule enables a person to understand the variance nature and its cause, capturing of the current schedule, determining the variance from the baseline of the schedule, and responding by taking relevant measures. The control schedule helps to monitor and control a group by influencing what changes to be made before a project is affected. The control schedule keeps the expectations of a managing stakeholder through advice on the type of work, how it should be carried out,  which members to carry it out, and the duration of time it will take. The control schedule gives advice on when a project can be reviewed and when the authorized product to be complete.

 The control schedule comprises of four inputs;

Schedule baseline comprises the currently approved version of a project schedule and can be used to make a comparison of the planned progress and the actual progress.

A schedule management plan defines how a control schedule can be changed and managed. It articulates the variances of schedule performance thus defining the circumstances when schedule reserve can be used.

The project schedule is a major and obvious input to control the schedule since it consists of a daily schedule used to monitor and keep track of project work thus giving resources against results being managed as well as control.

Work performance information provides information on the performance of work, tasks that have started, those that have been carried out, and those that are in progress. It offers valuable information against schedule comparisons to be made, spots trends, and reacts where necessary.

Control project scope

The control project scope monitors the status of a project to find out if deliverables meet expected requirements and also manages changes in the baseline of project scope. Hereby, the control scope avoids requests of scope change from overwhelming a project thus ensuring that proper handling. If the control scope creeps, the project can lose control resulting in unofficial changes being made thus causing the project to lag behind schedule.