Budget Development
Capital Project Delivery has developed a detailed template for CPD project managers to use when preparing the initial Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) project cost estimate during the Project Initiation phase. The Project Budget Template is compatible with the e-Builder project management software. Upon completion of the initial estimate, the template can be imported to e-Builder to establish the baseline project estimate. A work breakdown (WBS) should be developed by the CPD PM for any project that is not delivered lump sum, design-build, or CM-at-risk.
In addition to the detailed budget estimate worksheet, the template includes modules that summarize the detailed estimate in several different formats. These modules are to assist the project manager in reporting – at any time, the project manager can export the e-Builder project cost summary, and by pasting the data into the correct location of the template, it will generate a summary report to be used as a standard tool for reporting budgets to project stakeholders.
Forecasting and Contingency Management
CPD project managers have the ability to update their budget forecasts at any given time within the e-Builder cost summary. However, it is important that the project manager, CPD director, and Approval Group establish a shared understanding and expectation for what the project budget will be at given milestones. This Contingency Management Plan has proven to be an extremely useful tool in transparently managing and communicating both the current and expected future statuses of the total project budget and Owner’s Contingency. It allows project stakeholders to make informed decisions and avoid surprises that lead to dissension among project teams, which cause risk to the project budget and schedule.
During the design phases, the drawdown of project design contingency will be done collaboratively and according to the project’s governance structure. However, with the development of the Project Delivery Guide, CPD has now clarified that on both small and large projects, there shall be no significant scope changes generated by Approval, User, or Technical Groups after the completion of Construction Documents and approval of a GMP or Lump Sum contract. Should a stakeholder feel that a scope change is required based on new standards or new information, a request can be made to review the issue with the appropriate project oversight body to consider its merits and whether to request additional project funding.
The budget forecast should be created during the project initiation phase, and subsequently updated to reflect project progress and currently known issues at each project milestone, as well as periodically throughout the Construction phase of any project. This high level tool can be reported along with the summary level budget in accordance with reporting protocols defined in the Project Controls – Reporting section of the Guide. This tool can and should be used on all CPD projects, large and small.
Cash Flow Projections
CPD project managers work with the department of Finance and Business Services to prepare quarterly cash flow projections for all CPD projects, which are then communicated to University leadership. Cash Flow projections are to be prepared in e-Builder.