Negotiating the Numbers You Need: Politics and the Project Estimate

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Negotiating the Numbers You Need: Politics and the Project Estimate

Mark Mullaly, PMP

February 19, 2008




There is probably nothing quite so political about projects as the estimates we create. If you ask your typical project manager--or executive sponsor--for their definition of project success, you are likely to hear some paraphrasing of “on time, on budget and to specification.” But who actually determines what “on time” or “on budget” should be? In other words, how do we know what the “right” schedule or budget for a project should actually be?
 
An estimate is the product of an exercise in which someone is convinced at the outset of a project that the appropriate cost and timeline is what has been proposed. Once approved, however, these numbers takes on magical, immutable properties--change them at your peril.

The challenge for project managers, therefore, is two-fold. The first challenge is actually determining a reasonable estimate for the project. The second and equally significant challenge is getting someone to actually accept the estimate.



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