Estimating resources
Read the introduction and the section Estimating the Resources in the prescribed textbook (Web | PDF), Chapter 11 (the whole of page 85 in the PDF version).
This section covers the five tools and techniques for estimating activity resources.
- Expert: for example, a quantity surveyor could be brought in for a building project.
- Alternative analysis: perhaps there is a choice of assigning the job to your own staff, subcontracting, or a combination. Perhaps there are alternative materials, or there is a choice between buying in pre-assembled components rather than resourcing the assembly of components. All of the alternatives will have different resource requirements.
- Published estimating data: There may be publications that have developed estimation guides for specific industries.
- Project management software: There are now many options for software that can help you estimate the resources you require. Microsoft Project is extensively used, but there are many alternatives. See the course guide for a range of options.
- Bottom-up estimating: This is breaking the activities down into their most basic components and allocating the resources at that small level, then adding them all together. It can give high levels of accuracy but is time consuming.
Reading
Read the introduction and the section Estimating the Resources in the prescribed textbook (Web | PDF), Chapter 11 (the whole of page 85 in the PDF version).
This section covers the five tools and techniques for estimating activity resources.
Quiz
For each of the scenarios below, what type of estimation is being used?
WEnote post
Briefly describe your use of one of these estimation tools or techniques in a project. Post your comment below and then look on the course feed page to see what others have posted.
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