工程造价专业外文文献翻译中英文对照Word格式文档下载.docx
《工程造价专业外文文献翻译中英文对照Word格式文档下载.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《工程造价专业外文文献翻译中英文对照Word格式文档下载.docx(9页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
Footnote
IamindebtedtomyfriendQuentinFleming,theguruofEarnedValue,forcheckingandcorrectingmyworkonthistopic.
TheBusinessCaseandApplicationfor(execution)Funding
Itisimportanttonotethatprojectcostcontrolismosteffectivewhentheexecutivemanagementresponsiblehasagoodunderstandingofhowprojectsshouldunfoldthroughtheprojectlifespan.Thismeansthattheyexercisetheirresponsibilitiesatthekeydecisionpointsbetweenthemajorphases.Theymustalsorecognizetheimportanceofprojectriskmanagementforidentifyingandplanningtoheadoffatleastthemostobviouspotentialriskevents.
Intheproject'
sConceptPhase
•Everyprojectstartswithsomeoneidentifyinganopportunityorneed.Thatisusuallysomeoneofimportanceorinfluence,iftheprojectistoproceed,andthatpersonoftenbecomestheproject'
ssponsor.
•Todeterminethesuitabilityofthepotentialproject,mostorganizationscallforthepreparationofa"
BusinessCase"
andits"
OrderofMagnitude"
costtojustifythevalueoftheprojectsothatit
canbecomparedwithalltheothercompetingprojects.ThiseffortisconductedintheConceptPhaseoftheprojectandisdoneasapartoftheorganization'
smanagementoftheentireprojectportfolio.
•ThecostoftheworkofpreparingtheBusinessCaseisusuallycoveredbycorporatemanagementoverhead,butitmaybecarriedforwardasanaccountingcosttotheeventualproject.Nodoubtbecausethiswillprovideataxbenefittotheorganization.Theproblemis,howdoyouthenaccountforalltheprojectsthatarenotsocarriedforward?
•IftheBusinesscasehassufficientmerit,approvalwillbegiventoproceedtoaDevelopmentandDefinitionphase.
sDevelopmentorDefinitionPhase
•TheobjectiveoftheDevelopmentPhaseistoestablishagoodunderstandingoftheworkinvolvedtoproducetherequiredproduct,estimatethecostandseekcapitalfundingfortheactualexecutionoftheproject.
•Inaformalizedsetting,especiallywherebigprojectsareinvolved,thisapplicationforfundingisoftenreferredtoasaRequestfor(acapital)Appropriation(RFA)orCapitalAppropriationRequest(CAR).
•Thisrequiresthecollectionofmoredetailedrequirementsanddatatoestablishwhatworkneeds
tobedonetoproducetherequiredproductor"
deliverable"
.Fromthisinformation,aplanispreparedinsufficientdetailtogiveadequateconfidenceinadollarfiguretobeincludedintherequest.
•Inalessformalizedsetting,everyonejusttriestomuddlethrough.
WorkPackagesandtheWBS
TheProjectManagementPlan,ProjectBrieforProjectCharter
•Ifthedeliverableconsistsofanumberofdifferentelements,theseareidentifiedandassembledintoWorkPackages(WPs)andpresentedintheformofaWorkBreakdownStructure(WBS).
•EachWPinvolvesasetofactivities,the"
work"
thatisplannedandscheduledasapartoftheProjectManagementPlan.Note,however,thattheplanningwillstillbeatarelativelyhighlevel,
andmoredetailedplanningwillbenecessaryduringexecutioniftheprojectisgiventhegoahead.
•ThisProjectManagementPlan,bytheway,shouldbecomethe"
bible"
fortheexecutionphaseoftheprojectandissometimesreferredtoasthe"
ProjectBrief"
orthe"
ProjectCharter"
.
•ThecostofdoingthevariousactivitiesisthenestimatedandtheseestimatedcostsareaggregatedtodeterminetheestimatedcostoftheWP.Thisapproachisknownas"
detailedestimating"
or"
bottomupestimating"
.Thereareotherapproachestoestimatingthatwe'
llcometoinaminute.Eitherway,theresultisanestimatedcostofthetotalworkoftheproject.
Note:
thatprojectriskmanagementplanningisanimportantpartofthisexercise.Thisshouldexaminetheproject'
sassumptionsandenvironmentalconditionstoidentifyanyweaknessesintheplanthusfar,andidentifythosepotentialriskeventsthatwarrantattentionformitigation.Thismighttaketheformofspecificcontingencyplanning,and/orthesettingasideofprudentfundingreserves.
Requestforcapital
Convertingtheestimate
•However,anestimateoftheworkaloneisnotsufficientforacapitalrequest.Toarriveatacapitalrequestsomeconversionisnecessary,forexample,byaddingprudentallowancessuchas
overheads,acontingencyallowancetocovernormalprojectrisksandmanagementreservestocoverunknownsandpossiblescopechanges.
•Inaddition,itmaybenecessarytoconverttheestimatingdataintoafinancialaccountingformat
thatsatisfiesthecorporateorsponsor'
sformatforpurposesofcomparisonwithotherprojectsandconsequentfundingapproval.
•Inpracticeallthedataforthetypeof"
bottomup"
approachjustdescribedmaynotbeavailable.
Inthiscasealternativeestimatingapproachesareadoptedthatprovidevariousdegreesofreliabilityina"
topdown"
fashion.Forexample:
OrderofMagnitudeestimate–a"
ballpark"
estimate,usuallyreservedfortheconceptphaseonly
Analogousestimate–anestimatebasedonprevioussimilarprojects
Parametricestimate–anestimatebasedonstatisticalrelationshipsinhistoricaldata
•Whicheverapproachisadopted,hopefullythesumthusarrivedatwillbeapprovedinfullandprovestobesatisfactory!
ThisisthetriggertostarttheExecutionPhaseoftheproject
Somemanagementswillapprovesomelessersuminthemistakenbeliefthatthiswillhelpeveryoneto"
sharpentheirpencils"
and"
worksmarter"
forthebenefitoftheorganization.Thisisamistakenbeliefbecausemanagementhasfailedtounderstandthenatureofuncertaintyandriskinprojectwork.Consequently,theeffectismorelikelytoresultin"
cornercutting"
withanadverseeffectonproductquality,orreducedproductscopeorfunctionality.Thisoftenleadstoa"
game"
inwhichestimatesareinflatedsothatmanagementcanadjustthemdownwards.Buttobefair,managementisalsowellawarethatifmoneyisoverallocated,itwillgetspentanyway.Thesmartthingformanagementstodoistosetasidecontingentreservefunds,varyingwiththeriskinessoftheproject,andkeepthatmoneyundercarefulcontrol.
Ownershipofapprovedcapital
•IfseniormanagementapprovestheRFAaspresented,thesuminquestionbecomestheresponsibilityofthedesignatedprojectsponsor.However,iftheapprovedcapitalrequestincludesallowancessuchasa"
ManagementReserve"
thismayormaynotbepassedontotheproject'
ssponsor,dependingonthepoliciesoftheorganization.
•FortheapprovedRFA,theprojectsponsorwill,inturn,furtherdelegateexpenditureauthoritytotheproject'
sprojectmanagerandwilllikelynotincludeanyoftheallowances.Anexceptionmightbethecontingencyallowancestocoverthenormalvariationsinworkperformance.
•Thenetsumthusarrivedatconstitutestheprojectmanager'
sApprovedProjectBudget.
IfmanagementdoesnotapprovetheRFA,youshouldnotconsiderthisaprojectfailure.Eitherthegoals,objectives,justificationandplanningneedrethinkingtoincreasethevalueoftheproject'
sdeliverables,orseniormanagementsimplyhashigherprioritieselsewherefortheavailableresourcesandfunding.
TheProject'
sExecutionPhase
Theprojectmanager'
sProjectBudgetresponsibility
•OncethisApprovedProjectBudgetisreleasedtotheprojectmanager,areverseprocessmusttakeplacetoconvertitintoaworkingcontroldocument.Thatis,themoneyavailablemustbedividedamongstthevariousWBSWPsthat,bytheway,haveprobablybynowbeenupgraded!
ThisresultsinaprojectexecutionControlBudgetorProjectBaselineBudget,orsimply,theProjectBudget.InsomeareasofprojectmanagementapplicationitisreferredtoasaProjectCostPlan.
•Onalargeprojectwheredifferentcorporateproductiondivisionsareinvolved,theremaybeafurtherintermediatestepofcreating"
ControlAccounts"
fortheseparatedivisions,sothateachdivisionsubdividestheirallocatedmoneyintotheirownWBSWPs.
•Observethat,sincethetotalProjectBudgetreceivedf