Project Cost Management

Harold Johnson is worried about the cost, so he has asked you to review the existing cost estimate to get a solid cost baseline to evaluate performance. Recall that your budget goal is $500,000 for the six-month project. Also remember from previous projects that even though Code Corp. is a very reliable company, you need to work closely with them to ensure all requirements are being integrated into the software and that the project is kept on track. You need to work with Code Corp to define and test mobile devices to ensure the application will be compatible.

What you need to do:

Summarize your responses to the following tasks in one word document or PDF and upload it to Canvas. Parts that are prepared with other software applications such Excel or MS Project should be copied and pasted into the word document (take a screen capture or use a snipping tool as necessary).

Tasks

Prepare and print a one-page cost estimate for the project, similar to the one provided in Figure 7-2 in Chapter 7. Use the WBS you created earlier, modified, if needed, to make sure you are including outsourced services and labor costs. Be sure to document assumptions you make in preparing the cost estimate. Assume a labor rate of $60/hour for the project manager and $50/hour for other project team members. Assume twice those numbers for outsourced labor.

Using the cost estimate you created above, prepare a cost baseline by allocating the costs by WBS for each month of the project.

Assume you have completed three months of the project. The BAC was $500,000 for this six-month project. Also assume the following:

PV= $250,000

EV= $230,000

AC= $300,000

Using this information, answers the following questions:

a - What is the cost variance, schedule variance, cost performance index (CPI), and schedule performance index (SPI) for the project?

b - Use the CPI to calculate the estimate at completion (EAC) for this project. Use the SPI to estimate how long it will take to finish this project. Sketch an earned value chart using the above information, including the EAC point. See Figure 7-5 as a guide. Write a paragraph explaining what this chart shows.

c - How is the project doing? Is it ahead of schedule or behind schedule? Is it under budget or over budget? Is it way off track or not? Should you alert your senior management and ask for assistance? Should you talk to your sponsor before the meeting to discuss this data?