Planning
Are You Planning to Fail?
By Ray Myers, Jr., PMP If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail – Author unknown Today’s business climate requires new and creative new business initiatives to capture market attention and to stay ahead of the competition. Senior managers often believe that these new business strategies are so important to corporate survival that they... »
Document Project Assumptions
By Ray Myers, Jr., PMP Early in the initiation or planning phases of a project, the project manger should document all project assumptions. Before we discuss documenting assumptions, we should be sure that we understand what they are. The American Heritage dictionary defines the word assumption to be: Something taken for granted or accepted as true... »
Three Point Estimates
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP The accuracy of an estimate can be improved by considering uncertainty and risk. PERT uses 3 estimates to define a range for an activity’s cost. This formula can be used for cost estimating and for scheduling. Most Likely – based on a realistic assessment Optimistic – estimated cost based on the best... »
4 Cost Estimating Techniques
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP There are 4 cost estimating techniques discussed in the PMBOK: Expert Judgment Influenced by variables such as labor rates, material costs, inflation, risk factors, etc. Guided by historical information and insights from prior similar projects May be used to determine whether to combine other estimating methods or reconcile differences between them Analogous or Top-Down Uses the... »
Cost Estimate Accuracy
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP The accuracy of project cost estimates varies depending on position in the project life cycle. Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Very early in the project ROM estimates are used for selection decisions Accuracy is usually plus/minus 50%, but could range from -25% to +75% Budgetary Early in the project Budgetary estimates are used for initial budget planning Accuracy... »
