Project Budget
Introduction:
The last core element in the planning of a project (after confirming goals, selecting team members, and outlining the work) is to determine the budget. Costs may come from labor, material, equipment, facilities, subcontractors, and/or travel. Many projects also have a reserve or contingency amount entered for costs that are overlooked or where there is a high risk that the cost may be incurred.
Most budgets are developed in two formats: (1) a total budget cost (TBC) and (2) a time-based budget where the earned value (EV) of the costs is estimated per week or month. The earned value needs to be managed (EVM- Earned Value Management). The time-based budget is important so that you know when funds need to be available for that part of the project and also to track funds as they are spent.
Unit Learning Outcome(s) Reflected in assignment:
- Estimate and aggregate costs into a project budget. (CLO 3)
- Determine the earned value (EV) of work performed. (CLO 3)
Directions:
For the project plan you are developing, do an internet search for ‘project budget sample’ and/or ‘project budget template.’
- Develop a budget for your project that indicates the total costs of each element in your project (tip: the Work Breakdown Structure can help you see where costs may occur).
- Pick a 4 week span in your project and make an EVM table where you show the money that will be needed in each of those 4 weeks based on the amount of each budget item. For instance, if you are building a house over 16 weeks, each week would have a certain cost in materials and labor.
- For your project, make a table for 4 weeks of expenses that shows how much cash from the total budget you will need in those weeks.
Note1: Half of the assignment is the total project budget and half of the assignment is the week by week allotment of the budget over at least 4 weeks of the project time frame. The EVM Sample
may help you lay out the specific costs for a set period within your project.
Note2: if your project is using volunteers, please generate a value for the volunteer labor. This becomes a useful tool when reporting the plan’s success later, as you can say “Our volunteers provided $xxxx equivalence in free labor for this projec
