Cost Management Plan Templates

The purpose of this Cost Management Plan is to establish a framework for estimating, budgeting, and controlling the costs of the project. It ensures that project costs remain within the approved budget and provides guidelines for monitoring financial performance throughout the project lifecycle. This plan will guide the project manager and stakeholders in managing the financial resources allocated to this project efficiently and transparently.

Each section in the template contains explanatory writing guidelines and sample text to help you get started.

Table of Contents

The MS Word Cost Management Plan Template contains the following sections:

1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of this Document
1.2 Scope
1.3 Audience
1.4 Background
1.5 Rationale/Justification
1.6 Assumptions
1.7 Roles and Responsibilities
1.8 Contacts
1.9 System Identification

2. Cost Categories
2.1 Labor Costs
2.2 Materials Costs
2.3 Equipment Costs
2.4 Software Licenses
2.5 Consulting/Contractor Fees
2.6 Overhead Costs
2.7 Travel and Miscellaneous Costs
2.8 Contingency Reserve

3. Cost Estimation Techniques
3.1 Analogous Estimating
3.2 Bottom-Up Estimating
3.3 Three-Point Estimating
3.4 Parametric Estimating
3.5 Expert Judgment
3.6 Contingency Planning
3.7 Reserve Analysis

4. Cost Management Techniques
4.1 Earned Value Management (EVM)
4.2 Variance Analysis
4.3 Cost Performance Index (CPI)
4.4 Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
4.5 Critical Path Method (CPM)
4.6 Contingency Planning
4.7 Change Control Process
4.8 Cost-Benefit Analysis

5. Budget Control and Variances
5.1 Monitoring Costs
5.2 Variance Tracking
5.3 Corrective Actions
5.4 Escalation Process
5.5 Reporting Variances
5.6 Forecasting Future Costs
5.7 Sample Variance Table

6. Approval Process for Cost Changes
6.1 Cost Change Requests (CCR)
6.2 Approval Authority
6.3 Cost Change Review Process
6.4 Documentation and Record-Keeping
6.5 Communicating Cost Changes to Stakeholders
6.6 Tracking and Updating the Budget

7. Reporting and Frequency
7.1 Reporting Frequency
7.2 Types of Reports
7.3 Report Contents
7.4 Distribution of Reports
7.5 Dashboard and Visual Reporting
7.6 Meetings for Cost Review

8. Assumptions and Constraints
8.1 Assumptions
8.2 Constraints
8.3 Assumption and Constraint Monitoring

9. Appendix A: Reference Documents
10. Appendix B: Glossary of Terms

Cost Estimating Formulas – Explainer Guide

The Explainer Guide is a step-by-step guide that explains how to setup the cost calculation formulas in Excel to support your Cost Management Plan.

Each chapter includes sections on:

• Define Historical Projects
• Define Current Project Characteristics
• Excel Calculation
• Sample Data to Import into Excel
• Explanation of Sample Data
• Formula Breakdown in Excel
• How to Use the Table in Excel
• Downloadable Excel Setup
• Sample Interpretation

Contents

MS Word

• Cost Management Plan: 41 pages
• Explainer Guide: 15 pages

MS Excel spreadsheets

• Analogous Estimating
• Bottom-Up Estimating
• Parametric Estimating
• Three-Point Estimating