Comprehensive Guide to Project Management Schedule and Cost Control, A: Methods and Models for Managing the Project Lifecycle, 1st edition

Published by Pearson FT Press (March 21, 2014) © 2014

  • Randal Wilson
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This is the most complete guide to all the principles and techniques you need to successfully schedule projects and control their costs. Not a broad project management guide, it offers focused coverage of every essential aspect of scheduling and cost control — including key issues ignored by typical PM guides.

Expert project manager and long-time instructor Randal Wilson makes scheduling and cost control intuitive through the extensive use of graphs, charts, and case studies, and provides all the formulas and worked examples you need to succeed. Writing for both newcomers and working project managers, Wilson covers all this, and more: 

  • Project structures, including differences between projects and programs, and how those differences affect costing and scheduling
  • Initiation: how projects start, how to develop project charters and stakeholder registers, and how to manage stakeholders
  • Planning, in depth: what costs must be addressed, and what schedule constraints must be considered
  • Project schedule analysis: activity definition, WBS, and work packages;  activity sequencing and diagramming; proven methodologies for estimating resources and activity durations; and schedule development
  • Project cost analysis: gathering and estimating all project costs, including labor, materials, vendor bids, subcontractors, contracts, equipment, facilities, and direct/indirect costs.
  • Budgeting via top-down, bottom-up, and activity-based methods
Project monitoring and control: earned value, tracking Gantt, S-Curves, performance reviews, milestone analysis, change control systems, estimate at completion, forecasting, and much more.

Dedication    v

About the Author    x

Introduction    1

Schedule and Cost of Projects    1

Project Balance    2

What Is Control?    3

Organizational Influences    4

Solutions to Schedule and Cost Control    9

Part 1  Project Development    11

Chapter 1  Basic Project Structure    13

Introduction    13

Projects, Programs, and Portfolios    14

Project Management Versus Program and Portfolio Management    17

Project Life Cycle    23

Review Questions    25

Chapter 2  Initiating Process    27

Introduction    27

Project Origination    28

Project Stakeholders    31

Project Selection    34

Project Charter    52

Review Questions    55

Chapter 3  Planning Process    57

Introduction    57

Develop Project Management Plan    58

Collect Requirements    63

Define Scope    66

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)    70

Review Questions    75

Part 2  Project Schedule Analysis    77

Chapter 4  Activity Definition    79

Introduction    79

Activity Analysis    80

Responsibility Assignment    88

Work Authorization    91

Review Questions    95

Applications Exercise for Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8    95

Case Study Exercise for Chapter 4    96

Chapter 5  Activity Sequencing    97

Introduction    97

Information for Sequencing    98

Defining Dependencies    102

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)    104

Review Questions    116

Applications Exercise    116

Chapter 6  Resource Estimating    117

Introduction    117

Types of Resources    119

Resource Constraints    122

Resource Requirements    126

Resource-Estimating Methods    128

Review Questions    136

Applications Exercise    137

Chapter 7  Activity Duration Estimating    139

Introduction    139

Duration Estimating Methods    141

Duration Estimating with Constraints    146

Scheduling Conclusions    151

Review Questions    155

Applications Exercise    156

Chapter 8  Schedule Development    157

Introduction    157

Schedule Requirements    158

Schedule Structuring Techniques    162

Schedule Analysis    171

Schedule Documentation    180

Review Questions    182

Applications Exercise    182

Part 3  Project Cost Analysis    183

Chapter 9  Cost Estimating    185

Introduction    185

Collecting Cost Data    186

Cost Constraints    191

Estimating Tools and Techniques    192

Review Questions    198

Applications Exercise for Chapters 9 and 10    198

Chapter 10  Budget Development    201

Introduction    201

Functions of a Budget    202

Budget Development Methods    205

Budget Constraints    208

Cost of Quality    210

Review Questions    212

Applications Exercise    213

Part 4  Project Monitoring and Control    215

Chapter 11  Schedule and Cost Monitoring    217

Introduction    217

Integrated Monitoring    218

Monitoring and Analysis Tools    221

Troubleshooting Tools    233

Monitoring Results    235

Review Questions    239

Applications Exercise    239

Case Study Exercise for Chapter 11    240

Chapter 12  Schedule and Cost Control    241

Introduction    241

Change Control    242

Control Tools and Techniques    247

Control Results    260

Review Questions    263

Applications Exercise    263

Bibliography    265

Index    267

 

 

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