Project Cost Management (PCM) is the dimension of
project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
which aims to ensure that a project is completed within its approved budget.
[Project Management Institute]
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
''PMI Standards Committee'', 1996 edition, archived 1 January 2020, accessed 31 August 2023 It encompasses several specific project management activities including
estimating, job controls, field
data collection
Data collection or data gathering is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes. Data collection is a research com ...
,
scheduling
A schedule (, ) or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things ...
,
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
and design, and uses technology to measure cost and
productivity
Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...
through the full life-cycle of enterprise level projects.
According to the ''
Project Management Body of Knowledge
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a set of standard terminology and guidelines (a body of knowledge) for project management. The body of knowledge evolves over time and is presented in ''A Guide to the Project Management Body ...
'' (PMBOK), PCM's primary concern is the cost of the resources needed to complete the project. However, PMBOK also notes that PCM should also consider the impact of project management decisions on customers' wider or
life-cycle cost
Whole-life cost is the total cost of ownership over the life of an asset. The concept is also known as life-cycle cost (LCC) or lifetime cost, and is commonly referred to as "cradle to grave" or "womb to tomb" costs. Costs considered include the ...
s such as the use of the building or IT system generated by the project.
Beginning with estimating, a vital tool in PCM, actual historical data is used to accurately plan all aspects of the project. As the project continues, job control uses data from the estimate with the information reported from the field to measure the cost and production in the project. From project initiation to completion, project cost management has an objective to simplify and cheapen the project experience.
This technological approach has been a big challenger to the mainstream estimating software and project management industries.
References
{{Project cost estimation methods
*