IT Project Management, 2nd Edition

4.1. Budget Basics

You need a budget to control and document project expenses—before the project work begins. When you are creating a feasibility plan, you'll no doubt include facts on the cost of the project and any ROI for the project. Now, once the project has been approved, or approved based on the financial obligations, you have to do a touch more research. Any bean counter in your company wants to know what exactly your project will cost. As any project manager who has worked on IT implementations will tell you, "It's not as easy as it looks."

You also need a budget to get your arms around the scope of the project and what you can afford to include in your implementation. There will be instances when your budget won't be approved and you'll ...