Struggling with Cost Estimation? Check This Out.

by Josh

Once upon a time, I was searching for some solid guidelines on cost estimation to improve the way my contract was doing it.

I found a few great resources, and one of them was the US GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide.  It contains a wealth of knowledge and guidelines for major government projects, and also a lot of lessons that non-government and small projects can use.

Here is a link to the guide, and a video below where I introduce it for you.

I record in HD so you can watch the HD version and read everything clearly on my screen (hit the full-screen button in the lower-right)

Click the maximize button to watch in full screen HD

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Dr_PDG June 3, 2010 at 2:21 pm

Are you aware the GAO is working on an ADDENDUM to reflect scheduling best practices?

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Josh Nankivel June 3, 2010 at 5:54 pm

I didn't know that Paul….so do they have a draft out yet?

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Wim Lockefeer June 4, 2010 at 8:52 am

hey Josh –
This is really quite a resource ! i've only skimmed it just yet, but I think that even for the very small projects that make up 60 % of my time (20K or less), I believe there are some very handy references here. Thanks a lot !

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pmStudent June 4, 2010 at 11:30 am

You're welcome Wim, glad you find it useful!

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Rizwan July 17, 2011 at 2:26 am

hey…..
hw can calculate the estimated cost completion for a project
and also hw can i update overall budget???

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Josh July 18, 2011 at 3:14 pm

It’s a matter of adding up the smaller more detailed estimates. With a proper Work Breakdown Structure you will estimate effort and cost at the lower elements and sum them up for a total cost estimate, adding reserve for contingency and the overall budget.

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