Project Planning

Identify Costs and Benefits

To put an estimate on the project cost, and quantify the benefits that might come from the project.

Concept Paper
High Level Scope
Schedule
Resource Requirements

Using the schedule as a basis, estimate resource costs.
Estimate any other costs.
Discuss benefits with the Sponsor and gain commitment from individual Managers as to the benefits the project will deliver.
Complete the profitability analysis which will be used in the business case.

Estimate of costs
Estimate of benefits

The costs will be largely extrapolated from the work done in the schedule. Complete the calculations in the spreadsheet and identify any purchases. The spreadsheet is only for 6 months so you may need to extend the columns if the project goes for longer.

The benefit side of the equation will involve getting commitment from people as to what benefits the project will deliver. The information gathered will go into a Preliminary Business Case. At a later point the business case can be refined and benefits reviewed. Unless people can commit to benefits they should not be included in the project. The Benefit User Guide provides much more detailed information on benefit identification and quantification.

Once costs and benefits are completed, you can complete the profitability analysis which shows how long to break even, ROI etc.

Budget Calculation Worksheet	Sheet to calculate the budget and produce a project cash flow
Benefit Identification	Document to record benefits and the details of how they are calculated
Profitability Analysis	Sheet to combine costs and benefits to show figures to be used in the business case

Benefit Management User Guide	Guide as to how to identify and track benefits
Cost Management User Guide	Instructions on calculating the cost of a project
Creative Project Accounting	A white paper providing some innovative ways to manage the costs.
Project Budgets and Expenditure	How to go about setting up a project budget including a chart of accounts
Benefit Management User Guide	Instructions on how to gather and manage benefits
Identify Benefits	White paper on identifying benefits in a project.

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