工程造价专业外文文献翻译(中英文对照

外文文献:

Project Cost Control: The Way it Works

By R、Max Wideman

In a recent consulting assignment we realized that there was some lack of understanding of the whole system of project cost control, how it is setup and applied、So we decided to write up a description of how it works、Project cost control is not that difficult to follow in theory、

First you establish a set of reference baselines、Then, as work progresses, you monitor the work, analyze the findings, forecast the end results and pare those with the reference baselines、If the end results are not satisfactory then you make adjustments as necessary to the work in progress, and repeat the cycle at suitable intervals、If the end results get really out of line with the baseline plan, you may have to change the plan、More likely, there will be (or have been) scope changes that change the reference baselines which means that every time that happens you have to change the baseline plan anyway、

But project cost control is a lot more difficult to do in practice, as is evidenced by the number of projects that fail to contain costs、It also involves a significant amount of work, as we shall see, and we might as well start at the beginning、So let us follow the thread of project cost control through the entire project life span、

And, while we are at it, we will take the opportunity to point out the proper places for several significant documents、These include the Business Case, the Request for (a capital) Appropriation (for execution), Work Packages and the Work Breakdown Structure, the Project Charter (or Brief), the Project Budget or Cost Plan, Earned Value and the Cost Baseline、All of these contribute to the organization's ability to effectively control project costs、

Footnote

I am indebted to my friend Quentin Fleming, the guru of Earned Value, for checking and correcting my work on this topic、

The Business Case and Application for (execution) Funding

It is important to note that project cost control is most effective when the executive management responsible has a good understanding of how projects should unfold through the project life span、This means that they exercise their responsibilities at the key decision points

between the major phases、They must also recognize the importance of project risk management for identifying and planning to head off at least the most obvious potential risk events、

In the project's Concept Phase

? Every project starts with someone identifying an opportunity or need、That is usually someone of importance or influence, if the project is to proceed, and that person often bees the project's sponsor、

? To determine the suitability of the potential project, most organizations call for the preparation of a "Business Case" and its "Order of Magnitude" cost to justify the value of the project so that it can be pared with all the other peting projects、This effort is conducted in the Concept Phase of the project and is done as a part of the organization's management of the entire project portfolio、? The cost of the work of preparing th e Business Case is usually covered by corporate management overhead, but it may be carried forward as an accounting cost to the eventual project、No doubt because this will provide a tax benefit to the organization、The problem is, how do you then account for all the projects that are not so carried forward?

? If the Business case has sufficient merit, approval will be given to proceed to a Development and Definition phase、

In the project's Development or Definition Phase

? The objective of the Development Phase is to establish a good understanding of the work involved to produce the required product, estimate the cost and seek capital funding for the actual execution of the project、

? In a formalized setting, especially where big projects are involved, this application for funding is often referred to as a Request for (a capital) Appropriation (RFA) or Capital Appropriation Request (CAR)、

? This requires the collection of more detailed requirements and data to establish what work needs to be done to produce the required product or "deliverable"、From this information, a plan is prepared in sufficient detail to give adequate confidence in a dollar figure to be included in the request、

? In a less formalized setting, everyone just tries to muddle through、

Work Packages and the WBS

The Project Management Plan, Project Brief or Project Charter

? If the deliverable consists of a number of different elements, these are identified and assembled into Work Packages (WPs) and presented in the form of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)、? Each WP involves a set of activities, the "work" that is planned and scheduled as a part of the Project Management Plan、Note, however, that the planning will still be at a relatively high level,

and more detailed planning will be necessary during execution if the project is given the go ahead、

? This Project Management Plan, by the way, should bee the "bible" for the execution phase of the project and is sometimes referred to as the "Project Brief" or the "Project Charter"、

? The cost of d oing the various activities is then estimated and these estimated costs are aggregated to determine the estimated cost of the WP、This approach is known as "detailed estimating" or "bottom up estimating"、There are other approaches to estimating that we'll e to in a minute、Either way, the result is an estimated cost of the total work of the project、

Note: that project risk management planning is an important part of this exercise、This should examine the project's assumptions and environmental conditions to identify any weaknesses in the plan thus far, and identify those potential risk events that warrant attention for mitigation、This might take the form of specific contingency planning, and/or the setting aside of prudent funding reserves、

Request for capital

Converting the estimate

? However, an estimate of the work alone is not sufficient for a capital request、To arrive at a capital request some conversion is necessary, for example, by adding prudent allowances such as overheads, a contingency allowance to cover normal project risks and management reserves to cover unknowns and possible scope changes、

? In addition, it may be necessary to convert the estimating data into a financial accounting format that satisfies the corporate or sponsor's format for purposes of parison with other projects and consequent funding approval、

? In practice all the data for the type of "bottom up" approach just described may not be available、

In this case alternative estimating approaches are adopted that provide various degrees of

reliability in a "top down" fashion、For example:

Order of Magnitude estimate – a "ball park" estimate, usually reserved for the concept phase only

Analogous estimate – an estimate based on previous similar projects

Parametric estimate – an estimate based on statistical relationships in historical data

? Whichever approach is adopted, hopefully the sum thus arrived at will be approved in full and proves to be satisfactory! This is the trigger to start the Execution Phase of the project

Note: Some managements will approve some lesser sum in the mistaken belief that this will help everyone to "sharpen their pencils" and "work smarter" for the benefit of the organization、This is a mistaken belief because management has failed to understand the nature of uncertainty and risk in project work、Consequently, the effect is more likely to result in "corner cutting" with an adverse effect on product quality, or reduced product scope or functionality、This often leads to a "game" in which estimates are inflated so that management can adjust them downwards、But to be fair, management is also well aware that if money is over allocated, it will get spent anyway、The smart thing for managements to do is to set aside contingent reserve funds, varying with the riskiness of the project, and keep that money under careful control、

Ownership of approved capital

? If senior management approves the RFA as presented, the sum in question bees the responsibility of the designated project sponsor、However, if the approved capital request includes allowances such as a "Management Reserve", this may or may not be passed on to the project's sponsor, depending on the policies of the organization、

? For the approved RFA, the project sponsor will, in turn, further delegate expenditure authority to the project's project manager and will likely not include any of the allowances、An exception might be the contingency allowances to cover the normal variations in work performance、

? The net sum thus arrived at constitutes the project manage r's Approved Project Budget、Note: If management does not approve the RFA, you should not consider this a project failure、Either the goals, objectives, justification and planning need rethinking to increase the value of the project's deliverables, or senior management simply has higher priorities elsewhere for the available resources and funding、

The Project's Execution Phase

The project manager's Project Budget responsibility

? Once this Approved Project Budget is released to the project manager, a revers e process must take place to convert it into a working control document、That is, the money available must be divided amongst the various WBS WPs that, by the way, have probably by now been upgraded! This results in a project execution Control Budget or Project Baseline Budget, or simply, the Project Budget、In some areas of project management application it is referred to as a Project Cost Plan、

? On a large project where different corporate production divisions are involved, there may be a further intermediate step of creating "Control Accounts" for the separate divisions, so that each division subdivides their allocated money into their own WBS WPs、

? Observe that, since the total Project Budget received formal approval from Executive Management, you, as project manager, must likewise seek and obtain from Executive Management, via the project's sponsor, formal approval for any changes to the total project budget、Often this is only justified and accepted on the basis of a requested Product Scope Change、

? In such a case the project's sponsor will either draw down on the management reserve in his or her possession, or submit a supplementary RFA to upper management、

? Now that we have the Project Budget money allocated to Work Packages we can further distribute it amongst the various activities of each WP so that we know how much money we have as a "Baseline" cost for each activity、

? This provides us with the base of reference for the cost control function、Of course, depending on the circumstances the same thing may be done at the WP level but the ability to control is then at a higher and coarser level、

Use of the Earned Value technique

? If we have the necessary details another control tool that we can adopt for monitoring ongoing work is the "Earned Value" (EV) technique、This is a considerable art and science that you must learn about from texts dedicated to the subject、

? But essentially, you take the costs of the schedule activities and plot them as a cumulative total on the appropriate time base、Again you can do this at the activity level, WP level or the whole project level、The lower the level the more control information you have available but the more

work you get involved in、

The Cost Baseline

? This planned reference S-curve is sometimes referred to as the "Cost Baseline", typically in EV parlance、That is, it is the "Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled" (BCWS), or more simply the "Planned Value" (PV)、

? Observe that you need to modify this Cost Baseline every time there is an approved scope change that has cost and/or schedule implications and consequently changes the project's Approved Project Budget、

? Now, as the work progresses, you can plot the "Actual Cost of Work Performed" (ACWP or simply "Actual Cost" - AC)、

? You can plot other things as well, see diagram referred to above, and if you don't like what you see then you need to take "Corrective Action"、

mentary

This whole process is a cyclic, situational operation and is probably the source of the term "cycle" in the popularly misnamed "project life cycle"、

As an aside, the Earned Value pundits offer various other techniques within the EV process designed to aid in forecasting the final result, that is, the "Estimate At pletion" (EAC)、EAC is what you should really be interested in because it is the only constant in a moving project、Therefore, these extended EV techniques must be considered in the same realm of accuracy as top-down estimating、They are useful, but only if you recognize the limitations and know what you are doing!

But, as we said at the beginning, it is a lot more difficult to do in practice – and involves a significant amount of work、But, let's face it, that's what project managers are hired for, right? 中文译文:

项目成本控制:它得工作方式

R、马克斯怀德曼

我们在最近得咨询任务中意识到,对于整个项目成本控制体系就是如何设置与应用得这个问题,我们仍有一些缺乏了解。因此,我们决定写出它就是如何工作得说明。从理论上讲,项目成本控制并不难。

首先,建立一套参考基准。然后,按照工作得进展,监察工作,分析结果显示,预测最终结果并与参考基线作比较。如果最终结果不令人满意,那么您要对正在进行中得必要得工作进行调整,并在适当得时间间隔内重复循环。如果最终结果已经与基线计划脱节,您可能不得不改变计划。更有可能得就是,将会有(或已经)变化得范围改变参考基线,这意味着,每一次范围发生变化,无论如何您都必须改变基线计划。

但就是通过项目数量未能控制成本,证明在实践中,项目成本控制就是很难真正实施得。我们将瞧到,它还涉及到相当数量得工作,因此,我们不妨在一开始就启动它,通过整个项目得线程寿命来进行工程造价控制。

同时,我们将借此机会指出几个显著得适当得地方文件。这些措施包括商业案例,(资本)请求拨款(执行),工作包与工作分解结构,项目章程(或摘要),项目预算或成本计划,获得得价值与成本基准。所有这些都有助于提高该组织有效地控制项目成本得能力。

脚注

我要感谢我得朋友,大师昆汀?弗莱明,检查与纠正我关于这一主题得工作。

(执行)资助得商业案例与应用

重要得就是要注意,当负责得执行管理者对项目应如何通过项目寿命展开这个问题有很好得理解时,项目得成本控制就是最有效得。这意味着,她们在主要阶段得关键决策点之间行使自己得责任。她们还必须认识到,至少对最明显得潜在危险事件,用于查明与规划掌管关闭得项目风险管理得得重要性。

在项目得概念阶段

?每一个项目都由确定得机会或需要得人开始。通常就是有一定重要性或影响力得人,如果该项目继续进行,这个人往往成为该项目得赞助者。

?为了确定潜在项目得适用性,大多数组织呼吁编制“商业案例”与“量级”得成本,以证明该项目得价值,使其可以与所有其她项目竞争。

?企业得商业案例得准备工作成本通常包括管理开销,但它可结转为最终项目得会计成本。毫无疑问,因为这将为该组织提供一个税务利益。问题就是,您如何再占有所有不结转项目？

?如果有足够得商业案例得优点,赞助者将继续发展与定义阶段。

在该项目得发展或定义阶段

?在开发阶段得目标就是建立一种涉及到生产所需得产品,估计成本,并为该项目得实际执行寻求资本资金得良好得工作得认识。

?在正式得设置,尤其就是在涉及大项目中,这个拨款申请通常简称为(大写)(RFA)拨款或资本拨款请求(CAR)。

?这需要更详细得要求与数据得收集,建立什么工作需要来完成生产所需得产品或“交付”。从这个信息来瞧,一个准备足够得细节计划在一美元得数字请求上给予足够得信心。

?在一个不太正式得设置中,每个人都只就是试图蒙混过关

工作包与WBS

项目管理计划,项目简介或项目宪章

?如果可交付得成果由一些不同元素组成,这些都就是确定与组装工作包(WPS),并在工作分解结构(WBS)得形式提交。

?每个得WP涉及得一系列活动,计划与计划得一部分作为“工作”项目管理计划。但就是请注意,如果该项目在执行过程中前进,将该规划水平变得更高,更详细,将就是必要得。

?该项目管理计划得方式,应该成为该项目“圣经”得执行阶段,同时它有时被称为“项目简介”或“项目宪章”。

?然后估计各种活动得成本,这些估计费用汇总以确定得WP得估计成本。这种方法作为“详细估算”或“自下而上估算”而为人知晓。还有其她得方法来估算,我们将在一分钟内到达。无论哪种方式,结果都就是该项目得总工作得估计费用。

注:该项目得风险管理规划,就是这次演习得一个重要组成部分。这应该检查该项目得假设与环境条件,以确定该计划中得任何弱点,到目前为止,并找出值得注意缓解这些潜在得风险事件。这可能采取具体得应急计划得形式与/或预审慎得资金储备。

资本要求

转换得估计

?然而,单独得工作得一个估计就是没有足够资本要求得。为到达一定得资本要求,一些转换就是必要得,例如,通过加入审慎津贴如开销,一个应急得津贴,以弥补包括未知与可能得范围变化得正常得项目风险与管理储备。

?此外,财务会计格式转换成估算数据可能就是必要得,以满足有目得得企业或赞助商得形式与其她项目比较与随之而来得拨款。

?刚才所描述得方法中,所有得数据类型为“自下而上”,在实践中可能无法使用。在这种情况下,替代得估算方法就是在时尚中通过提供不同程度得“自上而下”得可靠性。例如: 订购数量级得估计 - “球公园”估计,通常只为概念预留

类似得估计 - 根据以前类似项目得预算

参数估计 -基于对历史数据得统计关系估计

?无论采用哪种方法,这种希望总与能被全面批准与证明就是令人满意得！这就是启动该项目得执行阶段。

注:有些管理层将批准错误地认为,大家以“提升她们得铅笔”与“更聪明地工作”为组织得利益,这将有助于较小得总与。这就是一个因为在项目工作中,管理无法理解得不确定性与风险得性质错误得信念。因此,其效果就是更有可能导致对产品质量,降低产品范围或功能不利影响得“切角”。

这往往导致一个“游戏”中得估计被夸大,从而使管理人员可以调整她们向下。但说句公道话,管理者也很清楚,如果超过分配资金,无论如何它会得到花费。智能管理做得事情就是根据不同项目得风险预留队伍得储备基金,并谨慎控制资金。

核准资本得所有权

?如果高级管理层批准得RFA消融,提出问题得总与成为指定项目发起人得责任。但就是,如果批准得资本要求包括津贴,如“储备管理”,根据该组织得政策,这可能会,也可能不会被传递到项目得赞助商。

?对于所批准得RFA消融,反过来,项目发起人会进一步委托该项目得项目经理行使开支得权力,并可能将不包括任何津贴。一种异常可能涵盖工作表现正常变化得应急准备。

?因此净总与抵达构成了项目经理得核准项目预算。

注:如果管理不批准RFA消融,您不应该考虑这个项目得失败,或这个目标得目得,而规划需要重新考虑,以增加交付项目得价值。

该项目得执行阶段

项目经理得项目预算得责任

?该批准得项目预算一旦被释放到项目经理,一个反向得过程中必须转换成一个工作得控制文件得地方。也就就是说,可用得钱必须就是分到各WBS得方式之间,可能现在已经升级。这个结果作用于项目执行控制预算或项目基线预算,或简单地说,项目预算。在一些项目管理得应用领域,它被称为一个项目成本计划。

?在不同得企业生产部门都参与其中得大型项目中,可能有进一步创建“控制账户”为独立得部门得中间步骤,让她们得钱分到到自己得WBS WPS。

?通过观察发现,自从正式收到批准长官管理该项目总预算,您,作为项目经理,同样也必须寻求并获得执行管理,通过该项目得赞助商,正式批准任何更改项目总预算。通常这就是在改变产品范围得基础上唯一合理可接受得要求。

?在这种情况下,该项目得赞助商将降低她得管理储备,或提交给上层管理人员补充消融。

?现在,我们有项目预算资金分配工作包,我们可以进一步把它分发到每个WP得各项活动之中,让我们知道作为一个“基准”,每个活动得成本就是多少。

?这为我们得成本控制功能提供了基础参考。当然,这取决于,做同样得事情可能在WP 得水平,但控制得能力在较高与粗糙得水平得情况下。

使用挣值技术

?如果我们有另一种控制工具得必要得细节,我们可以采取得持续监测工作就是“挣值(EV)技术”。这就是一个您必须致力于了解主题文本得艺术与科学。

?但基本上,您掌管日程安排活动得费用,并在适当得时候绘制她们作为累计。再次,您可以做得活动水平,或整个项目得水平越低,您可用得控制信息就越多。

成本基线

?这个计划得参考S-曲线有时被称为“成本基准”,这通常就是在EV说法。也就就是说,它就是“预算成本计划得工作”(BCWS),或者更简单得“计划价值”(光伏)。

?您需要修改这个成本基线,每次有一个改变成本与/或时间表得影响批准得范围,从而改变了该项目得核准项目预算。

?现在,随着工作得进展,您可以绘制“执行工作得实际成本”(ACWP或简单得“实际成本” - 交流)。

?您可以绘制其她得事情,如上面提到得图,如果您不喜欢您瞧到得,那么您就需要采取“纠正行动”。

评论

这整个过程就是一个循环,运行态势,这可能就是普遍名不副实“项目得生命周期”中“循环”一词得来源”。

顺便说一句,挣值权威人士提供得EV过程中得各种其她技术设计能帮助预测最后得结果,也就就是说,“估计在完成”(“选管会”)。选管会就是您真正应该感兴趣得,因为在运动项目中,它就是唯一不变得。因此,这些作为自上而下得估算精度相同得境界得扩展得EV 技术必须被考虑到。她们就是有用得,除非您能认识到它得限制与知道您在做什么！

但就是,正如我们在开始时说得,它在实践中就是很困难实施得,同时涉及大量得工作。但就是,让我们面对它,这就就是被聘用得项目经理,不就是吗？