The most accurate and time-consuming estimating method is to identify the cost of each item in each activity of the schedule, including labor and materials. If you view the project schedule as a hierarchy where the general descriptions of tasks are at the top and the lower levels become more detailed, finding the price of each item at the lowest level and then summing them to determine the cost of higher levels is called bottom-up estimating.
Bottom-Up Estimate for John’s Move
After evaluating the bids by the moving companies, John decides the savings are worth his time if he can get the packing done with the help of his friends. He decides to prepare a detailed estimate of costs for packing materials and use of a rental truck. He looks up the prices for packing materials and truck rental costs on company Web sites and prepares a detailed list of items, quantities, and costs, as shown in Figure 9.2.
The detail can be rolled up—subtotaled—to display less detail. This process is made easier using computer software. On projects with low complexity, the cost estimates can be done on spreadsheet software.
Rolling Up a Detailed Cost Estimate for John’s Move
For example, the subtotal feature could be used in Excel and collapsed to show the subtotals for the two categories of costs, as shown in Figure 9.3.
On larger projects, software that manages schedules can also manage costs and display costs by activity and by category.
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