The Project Cost Calculation Procedure

The Gantt chart timeline is the primary tool for monitoring and managing a project and its cost. This completed chart clearly defines the project's timeline, but its cost is not obvious without additional processing.

Before software, developing the cost of a project was tedious. A procedure using the Gantt chart for cost projection is attributed to Robert MacNamara, former analyst of the Ford Motor Company. MacNamara's procedure has been incorporated into project management software.

Because the Gantt chart depicts effort and other resource requirements, the budget can be created by applying rates to effort and unit costs to the resource units.

MacNamara's cost method is illustrated in the toy truck example ...

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