Centralized Structure Budget Project
This is a two step process.
First write a one-page paper in which you use the highlighted included references:
- Outline the process you would use to move to a centralized structure.
- Go back to the Week 3 assignment, Organizing HR Projects, and consider the goal of the project.
- Conduct research on centralized and decentralized organizations and come up with three tasks that you would need to move to a centralized structure.
- Consider methods for assigning costs to tasks and come up with the process (not the actual budget) that you would use to determine a budget.
- Write a one-page paper outlining the process you would use. I have color coded all of the resources
- Create a WBS for the project and analyze each task using the Project Budget WBS Template [XLSX]. See attached
- Review, as needed, the following sites regarding cost estimation:
The Ultimate Guide to Project Cost Estimating.
Cost Estimation for Projects: How to Estimate Accurately.
Secondly, it is now important to consider your approach to leading and managing your HR project. Tightly structured projects tend to restrict cross-organizational communication. As such, objectives originate at the top of the project and are subdivided as they are passed down, resulting in little opportunity for creative contributions. Effective leadership and managing of the project can greatly improve communication and team contributions.
Write a 6–7 page paper in which you:
- Select two types of project management power that would be relevant to your current project, and explain your rationale.
Be specific.
- Identify and briefly discuss a minimum of four outcomes (possible issues) resulting from managing projects, and address how you might resolve the issues. Be clear with your rationale.
- Discuss two increased challenges a project manager may face when leading virtual or global project teams.
- Recommend three strategies to deal with the challenges.
- Identify and explain your overall plan for communication management during the project. The plan must be comprehensive and at a minimum address structure, purpose, method, and timing.
- Use four sources to support your writing
The Ultimate Guide to Project Cost Estimating.
Cost estimating is the practice of forecasting the cost of completing a project with a defined scope. It is the primary element of project cost management, a knowledge area that involves planning, monitoring, and controlling a project’s monetary costs. (Project cost management has been practiced since the 1950s.) The approximate total project cost, called the cost estimate, is used to authorize a project’s budget and manage its costs.
Professional estimators use defined techniques to create cost estimates that are used to assess the financial feasibility of projects, to budget for project costs, and to monitor project spending. An accurate cost estimate is critical for deciding whether to take on a project, for determining a project’s eventual scope, and for ensuring that projects remain financially feasible and avoid cost overruns.
Cost estimates are typically revised and updated as the project’s scope becomes more precise and as project risks are realized — as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) notes, cost estimating is an iterative process. A cost estimate may also be used to prepare a project cost baseline, which is the milestone-based point of comparison for assessing a project’s actual cost performance.
Key Components of a Cost Estimate
A cost estimate is a summation of all the costs involved in successfully finishing a project, from inception to completion (project duration). These project costs can be categorized in a number of ways and levels of detail, but the simplest classification divides costs into two main categories: direct costs and indirect costs.
Direct costs are broadly classified as those directly associated with a single area (such as a department or a project). In project management, direct costs are expenses billed exclusively to a specific project. They can include project team wages, the costs of resources to produce physical products, fuel for equipment, and money spent to address any project-specific risks.
Indirect costs, on the other hand, cannot be associated with a specific cost center and are instead incurred by a number of projects simultaneously, sometimes in varying amounts. In project management, quality control, security costs, and utilities are usually classified as indirect costs since they are shared across a number of projects and are not directly billable to any one project.
A cost estimate is more than a simple list of costs, however: it also outlines the assumptions underlying each cost. These assumptions (along with estimates of cost accuracy) are compiled into a report called the basis of estimate, which also details cost exclusions and inclusions. The basis of estimate report allows project stakeholders to interpret project costs and to understand how and where actual costs might differ from approximated costs.
Beyond the broad classifications of direct and indirect costs, project expenses fall into more specific categories. Common types of expenses include:
Labor: The cost of human effort expended towards project objectives.
Materials: The cost of resources needed to create products.
Equipment: The cost of buying and maintaining equipment used in project work.
Services: The cost of external work that a company seeks for any given project (vendors, contractors, etc.).
Software: Non-physical computer resources.
Hardware: Physical computer resources.
Facilities: The cost of renting or using specialized equipment, services, or locations.
Contingency costs: Costs added to the project budget to address specific risks.
Cost Estimation for Projects: How to Estimate Accurately.
Cost Estimation for Projects: How to Estimate Accurately
Good cost estimation is essential for keeping a project under budget. Many costs can appear over the life cycle of a project, and an accurate estimation method can be the difference between a successful plan and a failed one. Estimation, however, is easier said than done. Projects bring risks, and risks bring unexpected costs.
Cost estimation is the process that takes those factors into account, and calculates a budget that meets the financial commitment necessary for a successful project. Project cost estimation applies to everything from building a bridge to developing that new killer app. It all costs money, so the clearer you are on the amount required, the more likely you’ll achieve your objective.
Cost estimation is simplified with the help of project management software like ProjectManager. Add budgets for your projects, planned costs for specific tasks and include labor rates for your team. When you build your plan on our Gantt chart, your estimated costs will be calculated automatically. Plus, as the project unfolds, you can track your costs in real time on our automated dashboard.