(51c) What Does It Cost?

The first question a manager asks about a new project is: ?What does it cost?? Engineers are well schooled in answering questions about design and technical performance, but are often less well prepared to answer the ?How Much?? question.

This lecture deals with the complexities of capital approval, which is a technical, economic, and political process. The lecture reviews existing cost estimating techniques and discusses the level of effort required to generate a detailed +/-10% cost estimate.

It includes a discussion of the common mistakes engineers make in dealing with managers on cost and the importance of successfully navigating the ?What Does It Cost?? question.

Presented in an interesting, fast pace style, and illustrated with real life stories the talk is suitable for a general engineering audience.