Reflective Journal (Jeganathan Nivethan 100075707)

It is the week 5 of our course. We had an online learning session with our lecturer, where we
discussed about how we are going to carry out our assessments and the due dates for it. We were
told about our project topic and the type of report which we must submit. The learning material
for the week was based on cost control and be able to estimate a project. The few steps which
needs to be followed for a project estimation is to define the scope of the project, which then
helps to determine the time required which basically helps in scheduling the project and then
finally once the two are sorted then estimating the cost can be done. Cost estimation is basically
the amount of money required to complete the project. Once the project estimation is calculated
it will help the stake holders who will approve the project and that will finally become the budget
of the project.
The aim was to identify methods in cost management for projects, study issues that affect project
cost and then to develop a practical cost management plan for the project. The process of cost
management flows in the order of knowledge area following with initiating process groups then
after planning the process group, execute the process group, follow-on monitoring controlling
process group and finally closing process group. The main objectives of cost management
processes are plan cost management, estimate costs, determine budget, and finally control costs
accordingly. The cost management plan fundamentally explains the methodology for monitoring
and control of project costs throughout the project lifecycle.
Further understanding from the lecture slides was about the types of estimations and the tools
and techniques used such as Analogue, parametric, bottom-up estimation, three-point estimation,
and reserve analysis. I also learned about Earned Value Formulas and how the interpretation of
the results is discussed. Using the equations, I did one question which was there in the worksheet
which was a good practice. Reading through the article “cost overrun in the Malaysian
construction industry projects: A deeper insight” gave me the knowledge that the construction
industry plays a major role in the economic development in Malaysia but then some projects face
situations such as cost overrun and which leads to cost variance. These results in an economic
loss as the projects might sometimes be abandoned. Analysing the articles thought me the
importance of cost control.
Working on the worksheet helped me to revise my notes which we studied till now. It included
question based on all five chapters. I also started working on my project report which is
“Transformation of project Management in Industry 4.0”. I read few peer reviewed journals
which was related to the topic and got a basic idea of what the topic is. In the coming few weeks
I will start up on it and have a discussion with my lecturer.