Level: Basic
TCM Section(s)
11.2. People and Performance Management
7.3. Cost Estimating and Budgeting
Venue: 2024 AACE International Conference & Expo
Abstract: Project controls artifacts like capital cost estimates, schedules, and risk registers can have an outsize influence on public agency owners to start or stop a project.
The basis of estimate typically explains the estimator’s assumptions, reference documents and methodology. Existing standards, or procurement documents do not capture the cost estimator’s leadership traits. Neither are leadership traits rated prior to selecting them, nor are they referenced along with the capital project's estimated cost, planned duration, or risk-based contingency.
The cost estimator’s leadership traits can be rated by many factors like authenticity, empathy, influence, persuasion, psychological safety, vulnerability, trust, etc. They form a core part of their ability to debate, listen, analyze, include, and exclude while developing the project artifact, as an individual and in their teams. While these factors are intangible and difficult to quantify, they are a key input variable for planning-level comparison studies, iterative-design artifacts, order of magnitude deliverables, and machine learning applications.
In a 6-month leadership development program, the author examined his leadership journey as a cost estimator on a large capital construction program. The paper utilizes this experience and practitioner articles to suggest a narrow checklist to include with the basis of estimate document.
TCM Section(s)
11.2. People and Performance Management
7.3. Cost Estimating and Budgeting
Venue: 2024 AACE International Conference & Expo
Abstract: Project controls artifacts like capital cost estimates, schedules, and risk registers can have an outsize influence on public agency owners to start or stop a project.
The basis of estimate typically explains the estimator’s assumptions, reference documents and methodology. Existing standards, or procurement documents do not capture the cost estimator’s leadership traits. Neither are leadership traits rated prior to selecting them, nor are they referenced along with the capital project's estimated cost, planned duration, or risk-based contingency.
The cost estimator’s leadership traits can be rated by many factors like authenticity, empathy, influence, persuasion, psychological safety, vulnerability, trust, etc. They form a core part of their ability to debate, listen, analyze, include, and exclude while developing the project artifact, as an individual and in their teams. While these factors are intangible and difficult to quantify, they are a key input variable for planning-level comparison studies, iterative-design artifacts, order of magnitude deliverables, and machine learning applications.
In a 6-month leadership development program, the author examined his leadership journey as a cost estimator on a large capital construction program. The paper utilizes this experience and practitioner articles to suggest a narrow checklist to include with the basis of estimate document.