Is integrated task-based cost planning in MS project sufficient vs. for project cost controlling and earned value management?

Cost Management Earned Value Management

Svenja Merle Kassel, Germany

Hi all,

what are your experiences for large-scale projects? Is integrated task-based cost planning in MS project with e.g., defined milestones for payments sufficient for project cost controlling or do you apply additional tools? Are they interfaced or it is just a huge Excel without a link to the project schedule? How do you then do earned value management?

In my area we have decided to let the project managers choose the tool for detailed cost planning and monitoring. Actual costs come from SAP via interface to MS project for the web and Power BI Reporting.
Unfortunately, we are not happy with the quality of project cost management when it comes to planning accuracy, showing contingencies and performing earned value management. Therefore I am lloking forward to gathering your insights.

Posted: Apr 23, 2025 8:13 AM

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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada

Svenja -

A lot depends on how you define "large-scale". For projects up to a few million dollars or up to a few thousand tasks, MS Project might suffice, but when you get into much larger projects, the financial capabilities are inferior to those you'd find in a more robust solution such as Oracle Primavera.

One example of the limitations I've run into is handling multi-currencies gracefully.

Kiron

Posted: Apr 23, 2025 9:46 AM

Svenja Merle Kassel, Germany

Hi Kiron,
absolutely agreed!
For me the capital expense share in the project budgetis also an important indicator as to how and with which tools to manage your project costs.
The smaller the project the easier it is to do everything in MS project. I also see limitations when it comes to the rollout status of SAP for our different global production sites. The result is different data sources for actual costing that make it harder to do actual cost management.
another issue I see is integration of contingencies and risk related budget parts in MS project. It would require that I create tasks for my risks in addition to my risk management…

Posted: Apr 23, 2025 10:08 AM

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Is integrated task-based cost planning in MS project sufficient vs. for project cost controlling and earned value management?

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