Project Cost Management

Project Cost Management covers the financial strategies and cost management best practices for successful projects with an emphasis on estimating, budgeting, and cost control. Concepts and tools are studied and applied in practical course work, including group projects. Topics include the role of cost management in project initiation, project cost management planning, project budget development, project cost control, and project financing. The course culminates with an examination of case studies of real projects demonstrating a variety of cost management principles.

During this course, participants will learn to:

• Develop an overall understanding of project cost management.
• Analyze project goals and select appropriate estimation approaches for a point of time in a project.
• Prepare a cost estimate for all project costs, including contingency and management reserves.
• Evaluate types of project costs necessary to draw up a complete cost estimate, and determine the accounting category of each, such as direct, indirect, and capital costs.
• Use project cost estimates and other information to construct a necessary project budget.
• Apply best practices for project cost control and recommend project corrective actions to ensure project cost objectives are met.
• Apply basic Earned Value Management techniques to assess the project progress with respect to scope, cost, and schedule.
• Apply basic Earned Value Management techniques to forecast revised costs.
• Develop a basic understanding of project financing and cash flow management.