actual cost
The actual amount of money the project has spent to date.
analogous estimating
Relies on historical information to predict the cost of the current project. Also known as top-down estimating, and is the least reliable.
bottom up estimating
Starts from 0 and accounts for each component of the WBS to arrive at a sum for the project. Most reliable method of estimating.
contingency reserve
Allowance ("savings account") for overruns in costs.
cost aggregation
Costs are parallel to each WBS work package and its control account, then aggregated to the sum of the project costs.
cost baseline
Time-lapse exposure of when project $$ are to be spent in relation to cumulative values of the work completed.
cost of poor quality
Money spent to recover from not adhering to the expected level of quality, for example re-work, defect repair, etc.
cost performance index (CPI)
Measures the project based on financial performance. CPI=EV/AC
cost variance
Difference between earned value and cumulative actual costs of the project. CV=EV-AC
definitive estimate
Used with WBS late in planning with bottom-up estimating. Range of variance can be -5% to + 10%.
direct costs
Attributed directly to project and can't be shared with other projects.
earned value (EV)
Physical work completed to date and authorized budget for that work. It is the % of the BAC that represents the actual work completed for the project.
estimate at completion (EAC)
Predict the likely completed costs based upon current scenarios within the project.
estimate to complete (ETC)
Predicts how much $$ the project will require to be completed.
fixed costs
Costs that remain constant throughout the life of the project (such as rental equipment, consultant costs, etc.)
indirect costs
Represent more than one project, such as utilities, software licenses, etc.
oligopoly
Market is so tight that the actions of one vendor will affect all other vendors.
parametric estimating
Costs needed based upon variables. Example: cost per hour and cost per unit
planned value (PV)
Work scheduled and budget authorized to accomplish the work. Represents % of BAC that reflects where the project should be at this point in time.
project variance
VAR=BAC-AC
rough order of magnitude
Initiating and top down estimating; -25% to +75%
schedule performance index (SPI)
Measures project based on schedule performance. SPI=EV/PV
schedule variance
Difference between earned value and planned value. SV=EV-PV
to-complete performance index (TCPI)
Forecasts likelihood of a project to achieve its goals.
variable costs
Costs that change based upon conditions in the project (such as the number of meeting participants, supply and demand for materials, etc.)
variance at completion (VAC)
Predicts how much variance a project might have based upon current conditions. VAC=BAC-EAC