Project Estimations: Theory vs. Reality

Wilson is a Digital Business Analyst in Melbourne, Australia.

  CRM   Estimating   Scope Management   Stakeholder Management  

I previously worked as a project manager in a commercial organization. The projects involved enhancements of existing software applications and the development of a brand new one—the users of which were either internal staff or external customers of my organization.

In project management, there are several knowledge areas. During any planning stage, we normally have to estimate the required cost, schedule and resources to complete the tasks and deliver the product(s) of the project. Then we have to seek the customer’s and sponsor’s approval on the estimated figures before we can actually implement the project accordingly.

I learned from a Project Management Professional (PMP^®) course that the estimates should be realistic. If that is not the case, the project manager should decide to not kick start the implementation of the project because it will have a high risk of failure. For example, the estimated schedule of the project is so short that it is not possible to complete the project in that time frame. However, this situation was exactly what I faced with the projects in my organization.

The required amount of cost, schedule and resources were estimated according to the requirement specifications of the project. The estimated figures were reviewed by the senior manager of my department before being submitted to the project customer and sponsor. …

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