Why Don’t They Just Give Us Money? Project Cost Estimating and Cost Reporting

Successful projects require an integrated approach to managing cost, schedule, and risk. This is especially true for complex, multi-year projects involving multiple organizations. To explore solutions and leverage valuable lessons learned, NASA’s Virtual Project Management Challenge will kick off a three-part series examining some of the challenges faced by project and program managers when it comes to managing these important elements. In this first session of the series, we will look at cost management, with an emphasis on the critical roles of cost estimating and cost reporting. By taking a proactive approach to both of these activities, project managers can better control life cycle costs, maintain stakeholder confidence, and protect other current and future projects in the organization’s portfolio. Panelists will be Doug Comstock, Director of NASA’s Cost Analysis Division, and Mary Beth Zimmerman, Branch Chief for NASA’s Portfolio Analysis Branch, Strategic Investments Division. Moderator Ramien Pierre is from NASA’s Academy for Program/Project and Engineering Leadership (APPEL).

Doug Comstock

11/17/2015 7:00:00 PM