Project Cost Control

The third important part of cost management is project cost control, which typically falls under the larger umbrella of project evaluation and control. This chapter provides an examination of the various aspects and approaches to evaluating and controlling project costs, including S-curve analysis of time–cost relationships. A project evaluation and control system measures project progress and performance against a project plan to ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of the customer. Gantt charts, control charts, and milestones are tools that are often used to monitor project performance. However, these tools track progress only in the dimension of time. The chapter focuses on earned value management, a mechanism that can determine how much work was accomplished for the money spent. The two key elements involved in developing an earned value analysis are: the work breakdown structure and a time-phased budget for each work package.