Time and Cost Management – A 6 Point Checklist

A key to have projects run smoothly and addressing client’s expectations is good time and cost management. Here are six project time management steps for you to consider.

 

Define Activities - What actions need to be performed to deliver the project? By setting all of these steps out in a Work Breakdown Structure you’ll be able to identify all the different work packages and list the activities needed within each of these.  

 

Sequence Activities -  This is all about identifying and documenting the relationships among the project activities and logical sequencing. Starting some activities may depend on whether or not information by stakeholders has been initiated or completed, this might mean lag or lead time may need to be factored in.

 

Estimate Activity Resources – The planning of the materials handling, people, equipment or the supplies needed for each activity, factoring in costs/budgets. 

 

Estimate Activity Durations – The deliberation of how long each activity will take to complete, factoring in the estimated resources. This estimate will use information from the scopes of work as well as resource types and quantities. The result will often come from a combination of expert judgement and information from similar projects.  

 

Planning Schedule - The gathering of information turned into a project schedule using a scheduling tool, possibly a specialist computer software. The result is a schedule with planned dates for completing each activity, often illustrated in a graph or chart.

 

Control Schedule - This is all about monitoring and reporting during the course of the project so that any changes can be managed.

 

The module Blueprint CPD module Time and Cost Management counts towards your CPD points requirement for your builders license.

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