Lonsdale Institute PTY LTD

Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

Unit Code BSBPMG514

Unit Name Manage Project Cost

Assessment T1 Due Date See Training Schedule
Code
Student Name Gabriela Romero Student ID LON00008HC

Adamina LON00006XO
Carolina S. Ribeiro LON00008YO
Debora LON0000

Declaration of authenticity

I, the above-named student, confirm that by submitting, or causing the attached assignment
(and any additional attachment associated with it) to be submitted, to Lonsdale Institute
Pty Ltd, I have not plagiarised any other person’s work in this assignment and except
where appropriately acknowledged, this assignment is my own work, has been
expressed in my own words, and has not previously been submitted for assessment.
I do understand and accept the consequences of academic misconduct according to
Lonsdale’s Policies and Procedures.

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Lonsdale Institute PTY LTD
Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

ASSESSMENT TASK

This assessment task contains two sections.

Section 1 - develop a project cost plan for your project of choice.

Section 2 - answer a series of questions, related to your project, explaining project execution and
evaluation.

SECTION 1 - PROJECT COST PLAN

1.Cost Management Approach

Describe how the project cost plan has been developed.
You must:

1. Include the major inputs into the plan

2. Define the negotiated delegated authority for ongoing management of project finance

All points MUST be addressed.

The primary inputs into the estimation of project costs area:

• WBS
• scope baseline
• project schedule
• project human resources
• risk register
• published commercial information
• cost accounting policies and procedures

A manager alone cannot perform all the tasks assigned to him. In order to meet the targets, the manager
should delegate authority. Delegation of Authority means division of authority and powers downwards to
the subordinate. Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of your job. Delegation of
authority can be defined as subdivision and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to
achieve effective results.

Elements of Delegation

1. Authority - in context of a business organization, authority can be defined as the power and right
of a person to use and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so
as to achieve the organizational objectives. Authority must be well- defined. All people who have
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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

the authority should know what is the scope of their authority is and they shouldn’t misutilize it.
Authority is the right to give commands, orders and get the things done. The top level
management has greatest authority.
Authority always flows from top to bottom. It explains how a superior gets work done from his
subordinate by clearly explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it.
Authority should be accompanied with an equal amount of responsibility. Delegating the authority
to someone else doesn’t imply escaping from accountability. Accountability still rest with the
person having the utmost authority.

2. Responsibility - is the duty of the person to complete the task assigned to him. A person who is
given the responsibility should ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him. If the
tasks for which he was held responsible are not completed, then he should not give explanations
or excuses. Responsibility without adequate authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction
among the person. Responsibility flows from bottom to top. The middle level and lower level
management holds more responsibility. The person held responsible for a job is answerable for it.
If he performs the tasks assigned as expected, he is bound for praises. While if he doesn’t
accomplish tasks assigned as expected, then also he is answerable for that.

3. Accountability - means giving explanations for any variance in the actual performance from the
expectations set. Accountability can not be delegated. For example, if ’A’ is given a task with
sufficient authority, and ’A’ delegates this task to B and asks him to ensure that task is done well,
responsibility rest with ’B’, but accountability still rest with ’A’. The top level management is most
accountable. Being accountable means being innovative as the person will think beyond his
scope of job. Accountability, in short, means being answerable for the end result. Accountability
can’t be escaped. It arises from responsibility.

For achieving delegation, a manager has to work in a system and has to perform following steps : -

1. Assignment of tasks and duties

2. Granting of authority
3. Creating responsibility and accountability

Delegation of authority is the base of superior-subordinate relationship, it involves following steps:-

1. Assignment of Duties - The delegator first tries to define the task and duties to the subordinate.
He also has to define the result expected from the subordinates. Clarity of duty as well as result
expected has to be the first step in delegation.
2. Granting of authority - Subdivision of authority takes place when a superior divides and shares
his authority with the subordinate. It is for this reason, every subordinate should be given enough
independence to carry the task given to him by his superiors. The managers at all levels delegate
authority and power which is attached to their job positions. The subdivision of powers is very
important to get effective results.
3. Creating Responsibility and Accountability - The delegation process does not end once
powers are granted to the subordinates. They at the same time have to be obligatory towards the
duties assigned to them. Responsibility is said to be the factor or obligation of an individual to
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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

carry out his duties in best of his ability as per the directions of superior. Responsibility is very
important. Therefore, it is that which gives effectiveness to authority. At the same time,
responsibility is absolute and cannot be shifted. Accountability, on the others hand, is the
obligation of the individual to carry out his duties as per the standards of performance. Therefore,
it is said that authority is delegated, responsibility is created and accountability is imposed.
Accountability arises out of responsibility and responsibility arises out of authority. Therefore, it
becomes important that with every authority position an equal and opposite responsibility should
be attached.

Therefore every manager,i.e.,the delegator has to follow a system to finish up the delegation process.
Equally important is the delegate's role which means his responsibility and accountability is attached with
the authority over to here.

info ref: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/delegation_of_authority.htm

2.Resource Requirements
Describe:

1. How resource requirements were identified for the project.

2. Resource requirements for individual tasks identified in the work breakdown structure, with inputs from
stakeholders

All points MUST be addressed.

A Resource Plan identifies the physical resources required to complete a project. It lists each of the
resource types (such as labor, equipment and materials) and how many of each you need. If you would
like to define a comprehensive Resource Plan for your project, take the following three steps.

First, identify the different types of resources needed to complete the project. You then need to quantify
the amount of each type of resource required. And finally, you need to schedule the consumption of each
resource within the project. Let’s describe each step in a little more detail.

Step 1: List the resource required

You should start by listing the resources required to complete the project.

● Labor. Identify all the roles involved in performing the project, including all full-time, part-time
and contracting roles.
● Equipment. Identify all of the equipment involved in performing the project. For instance, this
may include office equipment (e.g. PCs, photocopiers, and mobile phones),

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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

telecommunications equipment (e.g. cabling, switches) and machinery (e.g. heavy and light
machinery).
● Materials. Identify all of the non-consumable materials to complete project activities such as
materials required to build physical deliverables (e.g. wood, steel and concrete).
● Hardware/software. Identify if applicable.
● More…

Step 2: Estimate the number of resources required

The next step is to estimate the number of each resource.

● Labor, estimate how many hours you need per role

● Equipment, estimate how many pieces of equipment needed
● Materials, estimate how much material, in terms such as square meters, kilograms, number of
units, etc.

As much as possible, also indicate the date the resources are needed and the consumption rate per day,
week or month.

Step 3: Construct a resource schedule

You have now collated all the information required to build a detailed Resource Schedule. Create a
resource schedule which specifies the:

● Resources required to complete the project

● Timeframes for the consumption of each resource
● Quantity of each resource required per week/month
● Total quantity of resource consumed per week/month
● Assumptions and constraints identified

Project budget tracking

• Costs of invoices received for labour, goods and service
• Accruals for costs incurred
• Actual expenditure on activities
• Revise forecasts of expenditure

info ref: https://tenstep.com/use-these-three-steps-to-create-a-resource-plan/

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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

3.Cost Estimation
Describe:

1. How project expenses were estimated.

2. How the budget was determined and finalised
3. Include your project contingency approach which considers: project context, risk level and contingency
factors.

All points MUST be addressed

Estimating:

• Analogous cost estimating uses parameters such as scope, duration, complexity and similarity of
products – i.e. a similar past project to compare
• Bottom-up estimating involves estimating costs of activity and then working backwards– i.e. works off
WBS and small components to work out costs
• Parametric estimating uses historical data to estimate either cost or duration of an activity- i.e. uses
relationships between the components.

• Best, likely and worst case estimating considers contributory factors, including risk and degree of
uncertainty

Realistic Project Budget:

• Verify all activity time and cost estimates

• Estimate activity costs and durations
• Estimate both variable and fixed costs
• Ensure activities associated with production deliverable identified
• Estimate that cost and time units are identical
• Compensate for estimating biases of team members
• Contingency provisions clearly identified
• Use parametric techniques to verify cost estimates
• Make adjustments when using analogous estimating techniques
• Review project cost accounting policies and procedures

Contingency approach/Development of contingency:

1. Bottom up based on requirements and uncertainty

2. Allowances for major risks may occur and negativity impacts the project
3. Allowances for major planning assumptions
4. Developed project on whole based factors
5. Developed project on whole based percentage allocation

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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

4.Cost Monitoring and Control Process

Describe:

1. How project costs will be monitored and what cost-analysis methods will be employed to identify cost variations
2. How response to cost variances will be managed, approved and implemented (mention cost-analysis methods
and tools in use)
3. How financial reports will be developed and provided to key stakeholders.
4. How you will delegate authority to ensure ongoing management of project finances

All points MUST be addressed

When managing processes and their inputs and outputs, you can develop an effective system to
ensure that your resource costs remain within the approved budget, project cost management is
the process of communicating budget limits to designers and people who are implementing
them the project, collecting real cost data and comparing actual costs to the original budget, you
must take corrective action as needed.
Project cost management is not just about numbers; it's also about managing the scope of the
project and dealing with people. Learn to be firm and recognize what changes are really
needed.
Performance measurement analysis is all about numbers. You assess the significance of
deviations from the budget baseline, as well as the cause and necessary corrective action. The
value-added technique (EVT) is widely used and effective. The financial reports will be
developed through the schedule and cost estimate initially defined, if there is any necessary
change that is valid for the project, the reports will be issued and sent via email and with
documentation that prove the need for this change.
Each sector will have its own manager and he will be responsible for informing the project
manager of everything that happens.

5.Project Budget
Attach the budget for your project here or in a separate file with your submission.

Note: As a minimum, your budget should include:

1. Category of expense and description with a specification of units/hours as applicable.
2. Reference to your work breakdown structure (you can decide to include your WBS in this document for
reference purposes in appendix).
3. Total Cost/Category and % within your total budget.
4. Relevant comments on possible cost variance and strategy to mitigate cost variance if applicable.
5. Total Budget.

E.g.: Construction Project

WBS Item Unit/hrs Cost/unit/hr Subtotal WBS Level 1 % of total

($) ($) Total ($)
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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

1.Project Management 185,950 16

Project Manager 500 200 100,000
Project Team 720 100 72,000
Software License 310 45 13,950
2. Human Force 9,700 1
Administrative 90 50 4,500
Designers and engineers 80 50 4,000
Construction staff 40 30 1,200
3. Construction 718,400 60
Materials 1,200 370 444,000
Equipment and 980 280 274,400
machinery
4. Reserves (30%) 274,215 274,215 23
Total Project Cost 1,188,265 100
Estimate

WBS Construction Project

Construction
Project

Initiation Planning Execution Control Closeout

Propose / Project Budget

WBS Escavation Inspection
Chater management

Sponsor Approval Plan Project Foundation Quality Control Review

Council Approval HR Structure Time management Lesson Learning

Electrical /
Procurement Budget Scope Control Sponsor Approval
Plumbing

Resources Paint / Carpet HR Management

jCommunication
Risks and Changes Outside
management

Risk and Change

Management

SECTION 2 – PROJECT COST EXECUTION AND EVALUATION

Refer to your project cost plan, address each section and cover all points.
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 Lonsdale Institute PTY LTD
Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

Explain what you would do if the following happened at execution phase.

Your budget is cut by 20% half way through the project.

1. Refer to your project plan and discuss the following:

(ALL points MUST be discussed):

a. Analyse the impact of the issue on your project progress. Consider risks, resource
requirements, interdependencies, cost, quality and so forth.

Use the table below to record your analysis.

AREAS ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT ON PROJECT

Cost Cost It will be reduced 20%
Time Time Some of the activities are going to need rescheduling or cancellation
depending on the costs and after the teams decides whether it is a
priority or not.
Quality Quality We will need to replace some of the stands for the event in order to
reduce the cost, some of them will have to be cheaper providers and
quality might be affected but not decreased in a high impact.
Risk Risk Some of the outcomes might not end up being as planned in the first
place and with the first goals, but the cost will not affect on the risks.
HR HR Needs on the team will have to be reconsider and redistribution of tasks
should be discussed so we can arrange multiple tasks to one single
teammate and be able to let go some members with less priority.

Resources Prioritizing resources will be needed to determine which ones are not
needed to keep going with the project or if we can go on without them
and saving that cost.
Other (Specify)

b. Determine what changes/actions will be necessary in your project to maintain key

project objectives. Explain how they will be implemented.
Record your answer in the table below:

Change/Action Implementation
Reduce stands Discuss with the owners of the stands the situation and
adjust the quantity of stands needed for the event.

Rearrange activities Gather the team for a meeting and distribute the tasks
and activities with the manager of each team in order to
let go some of the staff that are not carrying to much
load on the project.

Update staff Let go the team members that are not carrying that
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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

much activities or arrange them on a different

department where they can be fully needed.

Communicate the sponsor Held a meeting with sponsors to make sure they
approve all the changes the cost reduction imply.

c. Research project financial report templates and draft a report, based on your
estimated budget and the change/variations implemented in your budget to send
to your project sponsor.
d. Attach your report in a separate file with your submission or include it below.

2. You have incorrectly estimated the cost of one of the items in your budget and now its
cost is up 10%. Discuss the following:

a. Identify what item in your budget you have chosen to discuss:

The company in charge of the food and wine stands will not be able to stock enough tents for the day of
the event. That is, we will have to rent the missing ones with another company.
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BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

b. Indicate what cost-analysis method and tools you have used to identify the cost
variation.

Suppose that we have completed 25 percent of the project, counting that the first company would provide
us all the necessary tents for the event. As per the schedule you are on track. However, after completing
50 percent of the project, we realize that they are not able to do that, in other words the project is delayed.
By using forecasting formulae you can determine the degree of delay. This will also enable us to
investigate the cause of delay and the corrective action, such as Crashing, required to get the project
back on track. In addition, to the schedule delay you can use EVM Forecasting formulae to determine the
actual cost of the project on completion and take measures to rectify any anomaly before it is too late.

Monitoring and controlling the project. (2020). From:

https://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/57317-tools-used-to-monitor-and-control-costs-in-
projects/

c. Analyse the impact of the cost variation on the project. List below what impact the
cost variation will have on the project:

- Hiring in another company without the anticipated time can generate a high price in the tents
- As the tents need to be armed for two days before the event, they will surely have to pay overtime
to the collaborators who help in the workforce of that work
- Finally, more than an economic cost, it would be a reputational cost, since in the case that you
have stayed with the food and wine-makers, they organize their stands on a certain day and the
tents are not ready, there could be a great dislike of their part.

d. Indicate any actions that are required to maintain financial objectives.

1. Figure out what matters to you. Put everything, from the practical and pressing to the
whimsical and distant, on the table for inspection and weighing.
2. Sort out what’s within reach, what will take a bit of time, and which must be part of a long-
term strategy.
3. Apply a SMART- goal strategy. That is, make certain your ambitions are Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. SMART.
4. Create a realistic budget. Get a strong handle on what’s coming in and what’s going out,
then work it to address your goals. Use your budget to plug leaks in your financial ship.
5. With any luck, your tough, realistic, water-tight budget will show at least a handful of leftover
dollars. Whatever that amount is, have it automatically directed into a separate account
designed to address the first couple of things on your list of priorities.
6. Monitor your progress.

InCharged: Debt Solutions. How to set financial goals: 6 Simple Steps. From:
https://www.incharge.org/financial-literacy/budgeting-saving/how-to-set-financial-goals/

3. Refer to your project, your project cost planning document and reflect on the issues
addressed in the previous questions (assume that the scenarios in question 1, 2

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Assessment Task
BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

happened during the execution phase of your project and address the following
questions. (ALL points MUST be discussed):

a) In relation to your project and considering your project cost planning documentation,
describe the activities that would be conducted to signify financial completion?

1. Identify the industry economic characteristics.

First, determine a value chain analysis for the industry—the chain of activities involved in the creation,
manufacture and distribution of the firm’s products and/or services. Techniques such as Porter’s Five
Forces or analysis of economic attributes are typically used in this step.

2. Identify company strategies.

Next, look at the nature of the product/service being offered by the firm, including the uniqueness of
product, level of profit margins, creation of brand loyalty and control of costs. Additionally, factors such as
supply chain integration, geographic diversification and industry diversification should be considered.

3. Assess the quality of the firm’s financial statements.

Review the key financial statements within the context of the relevant accounting standards. In examining
balance sheet accounts, issues such as recognition, valuation and classification are keys to proper
evaluation. The main question should be whether this balance sheet is a complete representation of the
firm’s economic position. When evaluating the income statement, the main point is to properly assess the
quality of earnings as a complete representation of the firm’s economic performance. Evaluation of the
statement of cash flows helps in understanding the impact of the firm’s liquidity position from its
operations, investments and financial activities over the period—in essence, where funds came from,
where they went, and how the overall liquidity of the firm was affected.

4. Analyze current profitability and risk.

This is the step where financial professionals can really add value in the evaluation of the firm and its
financial statements. The most common analysis tools are key financial statement ratios relating to
liquidity, asset management, profitability, debt management/coverage and risk/market valuation. With
respect to profitability, there are two broad questions to be asked: how profitable are the operations of the
firm relative to its assets—independent of how the firm finances those assets—and how profitable is the
firm from the perspective of the equity shareholders. It is also important to learn how to disaggregate
return measures into primary impact factors. Lastly, it is critical to analyze any financial statement ratios in
a comparative manner, looking at the current ratios in relation to those from earlier periods or relative to
other firms or industry averages.

5. Prepare forecasted financial statements.

Although often challenging, financial professionals must make reasonable assumptions about the future
of the firm (and its industry) and determine how these assumptions will impact both the cash flows and
the funding. This often takes the form of pro-forma financial statements, based on techniques such as the
percent of sales approach.

6. Value the firm.

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BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

While there are many valuation approaches, the most common is a type of discounted cash flow
methodology. These cash flows could be in the form of projected dividends, or more detailed techniques
such as free cash flows to either the equity holders or on enterprise basis. Other approaches may include
using relative valuation or accounting-based measures such as economic value added.

b) Consider that you have now completed your project and you are preparing your
project review report.
Write an evaluation report addressed to your client on the cost plan (include the
lessons learned and recommendations for future projects). (Minimum 100 words).

Dear Client,

Our team prepare and developed the Winetime Events it is inaugural Food & Wine Festival this year.
Winetime Events have never run a festival before.

After having concluded this great event, I would like to share with you the cost plan management that
were given throughout the project so you can understand what techniques we used and also let you know
the effectiveness of each one of them.

First of all and one of our most important techniques was the event material available to everyone. First
we tried to determine the actual cost of the project from the date the project began until the end of the
project. Then we started to measure the difference between the cost of the project and the baseline that
we have set at the beginning of the project. And finally, we calculate the return on Investment which is the
profitability of the project. It can be either positive or negative, depending on whether the project’s benefits
were greater than its costs.

Our cost plan allowed each of our managers to be aware of their how many budget how much budget
they had and what their spending range was depending on that. That is to say, in the best of cases each
one of them can have their budget and allocate a part responsibly to each activity, understanding that
there are processes that need not be so expensive but effective.

It was clear that problems and inconveniences were going to arise since humanly it is almost impossible
to control everything but those errors were handled with great discretion and agility.

In short, the project had an exceptional cost plan because the activities were very well defines as a
priority trying to maintain the best possible order.

Thanks,

Regards

Gabriela Domenica Romero Garcia

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BSB51415 Diploma of Project Management
BSBPMG514 Manage cost

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