I'm seeking advice on a Project which I will be initiating to create a kit for new starters within our team. I'm the team lead and have been asked to project manage this task. I recently attended a fundamental PM course which has given me a good overview of PMI Methodologies.
I'm in the process of drafting the requirements, forming a team and creating a project charter etc. Since it is a very small internal project, there will be probably one other member who will be part of the team. There isn't any money involved, and it is only the time we will be spending on tasks.
My query is, when it comes to estimating budget do you calculate the costs by hourly rate x time spent?
I'm sure this question has come up several times before, so please excuse my ignorance. I'm learning...
Thank you
hpk Saving Changes...
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Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
Hi. If there isn't any money involved, why are you calculating a budget? It might be better (i.e. easier and more relevant) if you just work out how much time it is going to take and track that instead.
What do other people think? Saving Changes...
supriya chopraOwner| AnalystSchoolPalatine, Il, United States
no of factors need to be considered for the cost calculation
1. rate* time
+ material cost ( for eg you have to have a server, disk, tapes, etc
+ admin cost ( like training , meeting lunches etc) Saving Changes...
There is no project budget but there is the man hourly rate, this can be calculated on the basis of the duration of this project and cost it out on your hourly rate or daily pay - do this for all your resources because everything we do has a cost whether a budget is set aside or not.. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Time is money, so budgeting would include both material and human resources. Even if human resource costs are not included in your project, you should still track them to see the real cost and value of this mini project. Saving Changes...
It makes me wonder sometimes why people decide to comment Anonymous! as far I see it is good advice so why hide profile! Saving Changes...
Imran ManirSenior Project ManagerBurton On Trent, United Kingdom
Although you don't have a budget defined, any time spent will have cost associated (hrs*rate by role). Also, since you're starting out, it would be helpful as part of your development to track your actual spend (i.e. actual time spent in monetary terms) against your planned spend i.e. your budget on perhaps a weekly basis and review the fore-casted effort for the remainder of the project at the end of every week?
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I agree with Vasoula, sometimes people post anonymously when they are offering excellent advice...
BUT>>>>I guess they don't want their bosses finding out that they are contributing to the success of others...especially in work time ;) On the other hand, what are those bosses doing looking here? and if they are, they should be proud of the fact that their employees are able to do their jobs and help others learn and develop at the same time. Besides, we may also be looking for advice or guidance and how long does it take to find that or even just to reply to a post? This is the 21st Century.
Oh, someone may also have a superinjunction - tee hee
I agree with Elizabeth, this is a small project do not use a sledge hammer to crack a nut. If the project is going to take only lets say 40 hours to complete you don't need to spend too much time in managing it. Consultants usually add between and 10-20% of project management to projects. So what can you do in this time?
Also ask what management expect you to report on. Are they interested in hours or dollars or not really interested at all?
For simple projects like this a basic Gantt may be all you need to provide and track progress in there.
Good luck. Saving Changes...
