Cost and Schedule Performance

Definition

The AMA Handbook of Project ManagemeRnt defines cost & schedule performance measurement as, “the methods and procedures to be used to assess schedule status and how much work has been accomplished over the life of the project,” (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2014).

We learn further in our other textbook, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (2013) that the type and quantity of resources and the amount of time which those resources are applied to complete the work of the project are significant factors in determining the project cost. Schedule activity resources and their respective durations are used as critical inputs to this process.

Summary

From the Journal of Engineering, we discover that more than half of the projects and the constructions encounter a series of delays which usually result from the fact that the industry has tarnished its reputation (Journal of Engineering, 2018). It is therefore essential for the institution to identify the project costs, schedule and the factors of performance.

The article on the impact of Real-time Project Control on Capital Project Cost and Schedule Performance assesses the combined influence which information integration has on the automated data analytics and the project performance (Grau, 2015). The level of information integration and automated analytics are used to effectively surrogate the real-time project controls for the sake of statistical returns.

Discussion

Tolerance limits are so much useful in deciding the cost of the schedules. Both the three types of tolerance ranging from static, analytical and statistical are necessary. The planned understanding helps to evaluate the appropriate means to spend the funds that are disbursed for the project. The most significant concern, however, is the future possibilities. The benefit is that it indicates the qualifications of the decisions reached to spend some particular funds on a project. The resources should be used appropriately and for the right purpose which is the project and nothing else (Grau, 2015). This process also affects how the remaining amount can be spent in the future.

Some good time is needed by the construction engineers to procure the construction requirements and make strategies on how to prevent the possible delays of the projects. The leading causes of delays are cost overruns and the procurement in the initial stages and price fluctuations of the construction materials. The other factors which affect these processes and can be solved through proper planning are poor economic conditions, shortages of labor and delays of timing by the owners of the construction process. A series of phase strategies are therefore necessary to curb these challenges. The potential confusion in the industry can be addressed by proper and appropriate phase planning (Project Management Institute, 2013). The preventive measures of such problems can also be outlined accordingly for future performance.

Regardless of the advancements which are in the construction industry, the strategies in the construction management and proper performance of the capital projects are still issues at stake. The construction industry is more susceptible to the risks of uncertainty, complexity, dynamism and inherent defragmentation and thus the industry requires a lot of planning and cost allocation beforehand to avoid these significant hiccups. The construction experts correctly understand that the instantaneous or least appropriate project control can be a very fundamental improvement which results in substantial project benefits and performance. A potential solution to this stalemate could be to properly make use of the advanced technologies in the project control processes and make such efforts more timely and instantaneous (Grau, 2015). However, the incorporation of the technologies in the major projects has proven to be slower in this industry, and therefore other techniques can be sought out for. Technology can be used to adequately address this issue and find the best solution to it.

References

Cabanis-Brewin, J., & Dinsmore, P. C. (2014). The AMA Handbook of Project Management. AMACOM.

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute.

Grau, D., & Abbaszadegan, A. (2015). Impact of real-time project control on capital project cost and schedule performance. Organization, Technology & Management in Construction: An International Journal, 7(2), 1289-1294. doi:10.5592/otmcj.2015.2.3

Engineering – construction engineering; investigators from university of texas report new data on construction engineering (phase-based analysis of key cost and schedule performance causes and preventive strategies: Research trends and implications). (2018, ). Journal of Engineering