Create a Project Budget in Open Plan

Use this procedure to create a project budget in Open Plan.

To create a project budget in Open Plan:

1. Create the project activities.
2. Create the relationships between the activities.
   This step is optional. While this step is frequently used, many project planners prefer to omit the project logic at this stage and plan a project using activity target dates.)
3. Decide how the project will be managed.
   For instance, are you going to use early, late, or scheduled dates?
4. Run time analysis to establish the project schedule.
5. Assign a resource file to the project.
   Depending on how you plan to manage budgets and costs, this resource file may have any combination of labor, material, other direct cost, and subcontract resources.
6. Assign resource requirements to the activities in the project.
7. If you plan to manage the project using scheduled dates, run resource scheduling.
   This step is not necessary if you will manage the project using either early or late dates.
8. Run cost calculations using the following settings:
   • Select Budget Cost.
   • Select the type of dates (early, late, or scheduled) on which the budget should be based.
   • Select Use Resource Cost Escalation.
     Note: This step is optional.
9. Display the Project Properties dialog box to view the calculated budget for the project.
10. If appropriate, make any needed changes.
    For example, if the resource budget is too high, you might consider using less expensive resources or changing the amount of the resource assignment.

Related Topic

• Using the Cost Calculations Dialog Box

Related Procedures

• Perform Time Analysis
• Create a Resource-Based Schedule
• Perform Resource Scheduling
• Calculate Budget Activity Costs