Legitimate or not, these costs are frequently approved. What’s another 5% to preserve the millions already invested? What becomes unjustifiable is when these budget increases become a recurring ritual, and project costs and timelines double or triple over original estimates. Even more shocking is that justifications are often based on “fuzzy math,” with elusive “man day” estimates and the like serving as justification.

Many executives and project managers have some vague idea of a project’s burn rate, which boils down to a calculation of the cost to run the project for a given period of time. What is lacking in this figure is usually a comprehensive analysis that provides burn rate information down to a granular level, providing the cost side of a cost-benefit analysis. It’s easy to take consulting costs for the last month, divide by working days and produce a burn rate, but to use burn rate as a legitimate project management tool requires a more complex model.

At a minimum, burn rate analysis should include the following:

• Consulting and contractor cost calculations on a per-team or functional area basis. Consulting costs can vary widely based on a particular skill set or area of expertise, so a “universal average” simply does not cut it. This figure should be based on the smallest unit of measure tracked in your project plan, generally a daily or weekly average. Be sure to include any additional costs that may be incurred through overtime work.
• Cost for salaried employees working on the project. All too often, these resources are considered “freebees” as the project does not write a check each month to an outside vendor. However, pulling fulltime resources onto a project incurs replacement costs to fill their former position which should be included in a burn rate calculation.
• Travel expenses for both contractors and fulltime employees may generally be calculated based on a project average. More sophisticated analysis can track these costs on a per-team basis, and include additional adjustments for working weekends or schedule changes t
  Dead End Job or Dead End Attitude
  "I won't get out of bed for less than $20 an hour" or why would I take a minimum wage job, they are a waste of time?"Are you guilty of saying this or have you heard someone else say this? That is a clear sign of a Dead End Attitude. The amazing thing about people who defiantly state they won't work for less than $30 an hour or they should be making at least $50 per hour is that they usually have NEVER earned that kind of money. I have had people tell
  s unjustifiable is when these budget increases become a recurring ritual, and project costs and timelines double or triple over original estimates. Even more shocking is that justifications are often based on “fuzzy math,” with elusive “man day” estimates and the like serving as justification.

  Many executives and project managers have some vague idea of a project’s burn rate, which boils down to a calculation of the cost to run the project for a given period of time. What is lacking in this figure is usually a comprehensive analysis that provides burn rate information down to a granular level, providing the cost side of a cost-benefit analysis. It’s easy to take consulting costs for the last month, divide by working days and produce a burn rate, but to use burn rate as a legitimate project management tool requires a more complex model.

  At a minimum, burn rate analysis should include the following:

  • Consulting and contractor cost calculations on a per-team or functional area basis. Consulting costs can vary widely based on a particular skill set or area of expertise, so a “universal average” simply does not cut it. This figure should be based on the smallest unit of measure tracked in your project plan, generally a daily or weekly average. Be sure to include any additional costs that may be incurred through overtime work.
  • Cost for salaried employees working on the project. All too often, these resources are considered “freebees” as the project does not write a check each month to an outside vendor. However, pulling fulltime resources onto a project incurs replacement costs to fill their former position which should be included in a burn rate calculation.
  • Travel expenses for both contractors and fulltime employees may generally be calculated based on a project average. More sophisticated analysis can track these costs on a per-team basis, and include additional adjustments for working weekends or schedule changes
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    this figure is usually a comprehensive analysis that provides burn rate information down to a granular level, providing the cost side of a cost-benefit analysis. It’s easy to take consulting costs for the last month, divide by working days and produce a burn rate, but to use burn rate as a legitimate project management tool requires a more complex model.

    At a minimum, burn rate analysis should include the following:

    • Consulting and contractor cost calculations on a per-team or functional area basis. Consulting costs can vary widely based on a particular skill set or area of expertise, so a “universal average” simply does not cut it. This figure should be based on the smallest unit of measure tracked in your project plan, generally a daily or weekly average. Be sure to include any additional costs that may be incurred through overtime work.
    • Cost for salaried employees working on the project. All too often, these resources are considered “freebees” as the project does not write a check each month to an outside vendor. However, pulling fulltime resources onto a project incurs replacement costs to fill their former position which should be included in a burn rate calculation.
    • Travel expenses for both contractors and fulltime employees may generally be calculated based on a project average. More sophisticated analysis can track these costs on a per-team basis, and include additional adjustments for working weekends or schedule changes
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      After ten minutes with Ed Tettemer in the offices of the agency he founded with partner, Steve Red, you begin to understand the agency's passion for excellence. After an hour with Ed, you begin to understand the intensity of his personal passion. You begin to understand it but I have a feeling that, even after days and days of exposure to him, you probably wouldn't get the whole picture."Passion," the word, may seem descriptive of a complicated set of
      unctional area basis. Consulting costs can vary widely based on a particular skill set or area of expertise, so a “universal average” simply does not cut it. This figure should be based on the smallest unit of measure tracked in your project plan, generally a daily or weekly average. Be sure to include any additional costs that may be incurred through overtime work.
    • Cost for salaried employees working on the project. All too often, these resources are considered “freebees” as the project does not write a check each month to an outside vendor. However, pulling fulltime resources onto a project incurs replacement costs to fill their former position which should be included in a burn rate calculation.
    • Travel expenses for both contractors and fulltime employees may generally be calculated based on a project average. More sophisticated analysis can track these costs on a per-team basis, and include additional adjustments for working weekends or schedule changes
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      If you want to make money you can start a vending machine business. Americans are known to feed vending machines money to the tune of $22 billion dollars every year; for coffee, sodas and other quick snacks that people eat often. This is a nice chunk of change. .When you start a vending machine business, it does not require a lot of effort and you can earn money easily. It also gives you an ideal way on how to ease into your own business. The maintena
      project does not write a check each month to an outside vendor. However, pulling fulltime resources onto a project incurs replacement costs to fill their former position which should be included in a burn rate calculation.
    • Travel expenses for both contractors and fulltime employees may generally be calculated based on a project average. More sophisticated analysis can track these costs on a per-team basis, and include additional adjustments for working weekends or schedule changes that might incur additional travel costs.
    • Facilities costs such as additional real-estate, workspace setup and technology requirements should be factored into the burn rate on a per-person basis. I’ve visited projects where spiraling resource requirements have necessitated renting modular office space, or constructing new facilities in old warehouses, etc. All significant costs not properly accounted for in burn rate analysis.

    After gathering the required information to cover the basic points above, a model can be built for the entire project, tying costs to headcount on a daily or weekly basis. With this model a new financial urgency can be injected into a project. If a key manager makes a decision that extends the project by one week, no longer is there some vague understanding of what that decision will cost. With a through burn rate analysis, an accurate price tag can be placed on any decision that will affect a project’s timeline. With accurate costs known in advance, executives and project managers can focus on determining what benefit will be derived from a scope or timeline decision with full knowledge of the financial repercussions of that decision.