Estimating time and costs

7
Estimating time and costs
Estimating is an essential part of planning. Before you can plan how to com-
plete tasks and activities you need to have some idea of how long each will
take and what resources will be needed to complete it. If you know that one
task has to be completed before another can be started you need to know how
long the first task will take before you can schedule when the second task can
start. When you have to consider contracting and paying staff to carry out
particular tasks, there can be substantial costs involved and considerable
waste if the estimates are inaccurate. To some extent, estimating is always a
guess. As in most guessing, your judgement can be improved by knowledge
and experience (whether this is your own or that of those you consult) and
by use of some of the tools and techniques that can support decision making.
ESTIMATING TIME
Many people find it very difficult to estimate how long a task or key stage in
a project will take to complete. There are a number of ways in which you
might approach the problem:
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consider the size and complexity of each task and how much time that
you would allow if it was part of a day-to-day workload;
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consult someone who is experienced in carrying out similar tasks;
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review previous projects where a similar task has been completed.
Another way would be to start from the amount of time that you want to
allow for the task and work out how many people would be needed to com-
plete it in the time available.
Where a project has a fixed end-date (for example, an event where a
celebrity will declare a new building open) there is a natural tendency to try
to compress the schedule to fit all of the key stages into the time available.
All too often it becomes clear later that the schedule is impossible. It is better

to be realistic at the outset and be clear about what can be delivered and what
cannot. Productive time may only amount to 3.5 to 4 days per week, and time
needs to be built in for meetings, communication, coordination and for line-
management arrangements. You will also need to allow some extra time for
contingencies such as unexpected interruptions and eventualities that cannot
be predicted.
The objectives will have identified what is to be achieved and when it
should be completed. The objective-setting process should also have tried to
ensure that each objective is manageable, measurable and achievable, or at
least considered the extent to which these conditions could be met. Each
objective can be broken down further to identify the steps that must be taken
to complete the objective and the tasks that will contribute to achieving the
outcome. As in all planning, this process is continuous. As new information
becomes available and as the project progresses, changes will need to be made
to aspects of the objectives and to the sequences of tasks that contribute to
achievement of the completed project.
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
As a starting point, it is usual to break the work of a project down into tasks
that enable you to identify project staff for each aspect of the work to be car-
ried out. A work breakdown structure enables you to divide the work of a
project into ‘packages’. These can be further subdivided into ‘elements’, and
then into individual tasks that provide a basis for estimating the time and
effort required.
The first stage in starting to draw up a work breakdown structure is to
break up the project into its main parts. These are quite high-level descrip-
tions of the work of the project. For example, if the project purpose is to
relocate a reprographics area the main areas to start the work breakdown
would probably be:
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Managing projects in human resources

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prepare for the move;
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carry out the move;
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re-establish normal use of the reprographics area.
The next step is to break each of these down into the main activities that will
contribute to achieving each outcome. For example, to prepare for the move
there would be an activity to make arrangements with reprographics service
users and anyone else who would be affected to temporarily suspend the
service, and an activity that was concerned with packing equipment and
materials. To continue the breakdown, each of these would be further
detailed until lists of distinct tasks had been identified.
The work breakdown structure identifies and defines each of the project
tasks in considerable detail. Once each task has been identified, consideration
can be given to planning how it will be completed. For each task there are a
number of questions to consider:
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What skills and experience are required to complete the task?
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What materials are required to complete the task?
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What equipment, conditions or information are required to complete the
task?
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How much time will be required to complete the task?
This information should be recorded so that if a problem arises that threatens
completion of any task, the project manager can consider how to address
the problem. For example, if the team member who was to complete the task
falls ill, the need for skills and experience can be reviewed and a suitable

substitute sought.
In a large project, the work breakdown structure might allow packages of
work to be allocated to teams or team members so that they can identify and
schedule the sub-tasks. It is usually advisable to involve the project team in
constructing the work breakdown structure, as it can be one of the initial
team-building tasks and can provide the first opportunity to develop an
understanding of the whole project. A full team discussion can help to min-
imize duplication of tasks. It is important to identify each deliverable in the
work breakdown structure so that all the activities can be seen to contribute
towards achieving the deliverables.
Estimating time and costs
87
Example 7.1
Work breakdown structure for a new appraisal system
The purpose of the project was to design and implement a new ap-
praisal system. Although there was an existing appraisal system it
was not consistently used, many line managers had no experience of
carrying out appraisals and the information about training needs was
not conveyed to the HR department.
The work had been broken down into two packages, design work
and preparation for implementation of the new system. A package of
work is a group of related activities and tasks that can conveniently
be considered together. It is not necessary for them to be grouped
under different team responsibilities, but this can be a useful method
for identifying the package of work for a team. This method can also
be used to identify costs related to each package of work, or drawn
up to identify the wider resource requirements. It is simply a way of
breaking down the whole project into manageable parts so that the
implications can be considered and progress planned.
Each package was broken down into a list of activities that would

have to be completed. Work breakdown structure does not include
scheduling, so there was no need at this stage to consider the sequence
of activities. Each activity was then broken into separate tasks (see
Table 7.1).
Table 7.1 shows the work breakdown structure as it looked when
tasks had been identified for the first three activities. This level of de-
tail then had to be completed to identify the tasks in all of the other
activities.
It is very useful to try to identify each activity and task in terms of the
outcome or deliverable for each item, as this will then provide an overall list
of deliverables. In some cases there will be several deliverables from one
activity. The work associated with achieving each deliverable is usually best
considered as a separate task.
As the work breakdown is considered, groups of activities might be iden-
tified that could be considered as mini projects in themselves. These can be
treated as such, and could offer useful staff development opportunities for
team leaders in appropriate areas of work. It can be attractive to the team
and sponsor to use the opportunity of a project to provide staff development,
but the purpose and deliverables of the project have to be considered
carefully so that there is no diversion from the purpose. If substantial staff
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Managing projects in human resources
development is intended, this should appear as an objective, and deliverables
should be identified so that the project is focused appropriately.
Table 7.1 Work breakdown structure for implementation of a new
appraisal system
Packages
Design work Preparation for
implementation
Activities 1. Review existing materials 1. Consult with potential users

2. Plan alterations 2. Identify training needs
3. Estimate design time
needed
3. Estimate training time needed
4. Identify design team 4. Identify system
implementation timescale
5. Design processes 5. Train line managers
6. Design training programme 6. Specify recording systems
Tasks Activity 1: review existing
materials
Identify any problems to
resolve
Identify anything to keep in
new materials
Report on recommended
changes
Activity 2: plan alterations
Implement recommended
changes
Draft additional new
materials
Consult and revise
Develop second draft
Pilot and review
Revise and create third draft
Activity 3: estimate design
time needed
Estimate time for review of
existing materials
Estimate schedule for

drafting, consulting and
piloting
Estimating time and costs
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