Want to Unlock? Type 'Time' and 'Estimation'

Be in time. Execute everything within your time limit. Most of us are familiar with these words since from our childhood. Timeliness is the key word to success. Whatever you do it must me within the stipulated time frame.

To perform everything within the given time is completely dependent on time management. This article we will give you a detailed picture of time management and its importance nowadays especially in the multi million software industry when everything is time bound and to an extent one’s efficiency in project estimation too.

On the basis of your project estimation you will fix your time. The meticulous calculations pertaining to your project estimation will help you to frame the time whatsoever.

First of all let us give a glimpse what exactly time management is?

Definition of Time Management

According to Wekipidia "Time Management includes tools or techniques for planning and scheduling time, usually with the aim to increase the effectiveness and/or efficiency of personal and corporate time use"

They further define "Time Management for personal use is a type of self management. In a corporate environment, time management software can satisfy the need to control employees, make it easier to coordinate work and increases accountability of individual employees"

Various Time Management Tools

To execute time management properly there are some important time management tools are there:

1.Manage Time
2.Finding out how employees really spend their time
3.Small scale planning
4.Tackling the right task on the basis of priority
5.Deciding what the personal priorities of the project manager
6.Planning to make the best use of time

Project Time Management

Now let us start dealing the most important part of Time Management namely "Project Time Management" as today everything is project centric.

Project Time Management is nothing but planning, designing and drawing various processes to complete a project on time. In every project timeliness is utmost essential.

Project Schedules

Fix project target date with immediate milestones, prepare project schedule and distribute to team members; obtain team buying on project schedule goals;

Prepare top level schedule and sub-team for back up especially dealing with emergency situations, identify major and intermediate milestones, scrutinize dependencies, maintain baseline stability between major milestones and formal replans;

Publish schedules and latest developments of projects from time to time, keep updates visible, maintain schedule baseline discipline and traceability, report and track schedule variances and performance indexes;

Use of comprehensive automated scheduling system, document procedures for schedule baseline management and data collection.

Schedule Estimating

Estimate schedule durations based on judgment, staff months, and duration analogies to previous work. Furthermore schedule estimates have to be documented on the basis of historical data and estimates of work and staffing.

Another important part is document schedule assumptions and estimating methodology, evaluate and elevate schedule uncertainties.

Schedule Tracking

In this part update project schedules to show actual progress and revisions compared to baseline plan. Besides collection of data for percent completions and planning revisions periodically are also essential.

In the first part of this article we have already stated that the project estimation is one of the most essential part on which time framing for a project is dependent to a large extent.

Before we go for this project estimation we have to know at least a basic idea about project cost management.

Project Cost Management

Project Cost Management is nothing but the various processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting and above all controlling of costs by which the project can be completed within the budget and on time.

There are many factors are involved in this project cost management vis-à-vis project estimation. Broadly we can categorize these:

Cost Estimating

1.This is nothing but applying management wisdom to estimate and justify costs, base cost authorization on staffing commitments.
2.Preparation of written cost estimate
3.Documentation of data sources and estimating assumptions
4.Preparation of formal cost estimation along with documented assumptions
5.Using consistent methodology by using historical data
6.Preparation of cost estimation at the work package level
7.Sensitivity analysis and identification of cost risks
8.Obtaining independent cost assessment
9.Preparing auditable backup package
10.Approved by experienced and expert estimator

Budgeting

1.Establishing ball-park estimates of time phased budget goals
2.Tracking staff usage against plan to assess project spending
3.Distribute budgets by groups within the project
4.Establishing project related spend plan and report actual
5.Preparation of multiple spend plans, groups tracking and report spending
6.Collection of data at the work package level
7.Establishing time phased budget baseline at the cost account level
8.And finally approved by an expert and experienced cost account manager

Cost Analysis

1.Preparing cost estimates informally
2.Justifying project approval on rough assessment of cost reasonableness, affordability and benefits
3.Preparation of written cost estimates using available data, judgment and analogy
4.Applying ball-park estimates to project changes and decision points
5.Identifying cost drivers
6.Preparation of documented cost estimates for changes
7.Maintaining auditable files of backup assumptions, data and methodologies

Cost and Schedule Control System

1.Preparation of periodic guesstimates of percent accomplished and percent spent compared to progress and spending plans
2.Maintaining traceable planning baselines to facilitate cost and schedule tracking
3.Documentation of systems and procedures for cost and schedule control
4.Applying earned value "implementation guide criteria" to determine system adequacy

Apart from these, while the project is undergoing there are some other costs which play a crucial part, and their estimation is also essential to evaluate the overall cost ultimately involved in the project. They are: Fixed Cost, Variable Cost, Direct Cost, Indirect Cost, Opportunity Cost, Sunk Cost etc.

Fixed Cost

Even the production changes in between this cost never changes. That’s why it is called fixed cost. Example: cet up cost, rental or hiring of an equipment or machinery.
Variable Cost

A variable cost is such a cost that changes with the amount of production or the amount of work. Example: cost of materials, power, water and wages.

Direct Cost

Costs which are directly associated to the work on the project. Example: travel expenses of the team, team wages, recognition, and costs of materials used on the project.

Indirect Cost

Overhead items or costs incurred for the benefit of more than one project are indirect costs. Example: Corporate Tax, Fringe Benefit Tax, and House keeping Services including security services.

Opportunity Cost

The Opportunity visible and feasible by choosing a choice of project over another project is an opportunity cost. For example, if there is a need to select one of the following two projects:

-Project X with an NPV $80,000
-project Y with an NPV $70,000
therefore, the opportunity cost of selecting Project X is $70,000.

Sunk Cost

Sunk cost is such a cost that is already incurred and cannot be recovered regardless of future events. If we relate this with project then it means for a project it has already being incurred in the project, and if the project is further revived this cost will never be considered once more.

Above all we can say that the project time management is to a large extent dependent on project estimation vis-à-vis project cost management. Notwithstanding the fact both are indispensable and correlated with each other, how you will frame the time of a project is depending upon your project cost management skills.

Two key words and passwords are essential to unlock the lock of a successful project – timeliness and project estimation, and if you have forgotten these passwords please mail to us, we will send you the passwords once more. Happy reading…………