Cost To Complete ( CTC ) for a project 2

[Sirius]

I have to estimate the cost (mainly man hours) of a project which is nearly nearly completed but has many many small problems.

The expectation I feel is that I present a WBS with work packages and associated costs.

But I think that it is not the right way to do, because it suggests that with standard everyday program management tasks the project could be well terminated.

And so I decided to have the following tenor for my presentation.

" ......

How to estimate the effort necessary for a 'nearly' completed project with many 'small' problems?

Forget (project history and experience) ==> Done
Estimate (a 'healthy' project) ==> Done
Cure (the project) ==> To Be Done

....."

In my presentation I give a rational for my Estimation
and a starting point to begin the Cure (unfortunately I have not the complete cure in mind, but I think that is not too bad because such a presentation serves also to define actions with other more experienced people, ... the bosses for instance...)

Now my question, how would you present the Cost To Complete for a nearly nearly completed project with many many small problems?

Looking forward to your answer

Best Regards
Sirius

 

[puentes56]

Sirius:

Probably, 20% of the "many many small problems" will give you about 80% of the scope of your problem.
Too much detail gives you the illusion of control.

Hope this could help you. I´m not a expert.

 

[RDK]

I have always maintained that the two hardest tasks on a (construction) project are :

1) Getting started

2) Getting finished.

Everything in between is actually quite easy.

To get a project started is like pushing a large round rock. You have to get many people together and decide on not only pushing the rock, but in what direction, how far and then coordinating everyone in the pushing. Once the rock gets going the middle part is easy. Once you get near your destination, people start looking for other rocks to push and they leave. The final adjustments to push the rock into the final position will involve bringing back a lot of the people who are now pushing other rocks and otherwise moved on. They may have been paid out on your project or you may not have enough holdback to make it worth their while to return.

The return mobilization costs can be significant especially when compared to the last bit of money remaining. I know they will have a contract that will oblige them to return, but that route will only make lawyers richer and not help you complete your original aim of getting the work done. The remaining items may not even be in the scope f the existing contracts.

To bring this back to the original question of how to estimate the cost to complete when a lot of minor items are outstanding, think of each issue as a separate project. Be generous in the estimate of costs since the return mobilization costs will be significant. You will most likely have to hire a different contractor to finish up the work since the original contractors may not be available. (The remaining work will be too small to bring them back, therefore you may have to use smaller less sophisticated and efficient contractors.)

Make as complete a listing of outstanding work as you possible can. Don’t leave out any minor insignificant items. Present all the items with an estimate of both time and money to complete.

Suggest the method for achieving the completion i.e. use the original contractor, bring in an additional contractor, put the work on to the maintenance staff who will be operating the facility (this can be politically dangerous as they expect a perfectly completed project) or some combination to achieve the completed project.

Don’t spend a lot of time on explaining how you got into this situation. There will be a time for review and lessons learned later (and for taking or passing the blame if necessary) your objective is to complete the work and deliver a completed project as soon as possible. (You might however want to start compiling the documentation to CYA if necessary. However the CYA documentation should be an ongoing process).

The blame passing portion of this process will be especially acute if the “small” problems result in the project being over budget in time and or money. Its always the last dollar spent that results in the project being over budget, never the money wasted at the start of the job or the fact that the work was under estimated in the first place.

Hope this helps
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

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