Nonlinear Cost Estimates at Completion Adjusted with Risk Contingency

Authors

  • Alberto De Marco Politecnico di Torino - Dept. of Management and Production Engineering Italy
  • Marta Rosso Politecnico di Torino - Dept. of Management and Production Engineering Italy
  • Timur Narbaev Kazakh British Technical University Kazakhstan

Keywords:

Earned Value Management, Cost Estimate at Completion, Project Monitoring

Abstract

Forecasting the final cost with Earned Value Management (EVM) and managing contingency budgets during the project execution have been traditionally considered as two separate streams of project management research. In an attempt to combine the two areas for the purpose of reflecting the risk impact on the cost forecast, this paper presents a cost estimate at completion (CEAC) methodology adjusted with risk contingency. The proposed method is a refined Earned Schedule (ES) based nonlinear CEAC model modified with a new parameter representing the S-shaped contingency consumption as a portion of the project budget at completion. The model is validated on eight construction projects and its estimates’ accuracy and stability with a varying contingency parameter value in the early, middle, and late stages are evaluated. The cost–schedule-risk relationship represented in the model is a contribution to creating a stronger connection between EVM and contingency cost management theories through capturing the interconnected dynamics between a cost baseline and contingency accounts of ongoing projects. As a practical implication, the model is a tool for integrating the contingency consumption into nonlinear CEAC models for accurate and stable cost forecasting especially during the early and middle stages of project execution.

Author Biography

  • Alberto De Marco, Politecnico di Torino - Dept. of Management and Production Engineering Italy

    Alberto De Marco earned his Master of Science Degree and PhD in Building Engineering from Politecnico di Torino after attending part of his courses at the Grande Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées/ParisTech in Paris. He is an Associate Professor with the Dept. of Management and Production Engineering at Politecnico di Torino. He is appointed professor at the Tongji University of Shanghai and the Tashkent Polytechnic University. He has been an invited Visiting Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, USA). He worked as a professional consultant and was founder and executive manager of a start-up company developing own-patented IT solutions for the industry. He teaches Project Management, Project Financing, and Logistics at various other national and international institutions. He works as part of the Research Group for Engineering Systems and Logistics (http://www.reslog.polito.it). He acts as a researcher and consultant in the fields of supply chain management, sustainable logistics, urban freight distribution, intelligent mobility, and smart cities, integrating the experience in project financing and public-private partnerships to develop infrastructure and mobility services.

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Published

2022-05-20

How to Cite

Nonlinear Cost Estimates at Completion Adjusted with Risk Contingency. (2022). The Journal of Modern Project Management, 4(2). https://journalmodernpm.com/manuscript/index.php/jmpm/article/view/242

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