Encyclopedia category

Cost

10 entries in Cost.

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Letter B · Updated 2026-06-22

Budget Control

The disciplined monitoring of project spend against the approved budget through commitments, accruals, and variance reporting.

Letter B · Updated 2026-07-01

Burn Rate

The speed at which a project consumes budget or capacity per unit of time — the single fastest indicator that cost or effort is drifting off plan.

Letter C · Updated 2026-06-22

Contingency Reserve

A controlled allocation of budget or schedule set aside to address identified risks that may materialise during execution, owned by the project manager and drawn down via a documented process.

Letter C · Updated 2026-06-22

Cost Control

The integrated discipline of estimating, baselining, monitoring, forecasting, and reporting project cost to drive corrective action and protect outcomes.

Letter C · Updated 2026-06-22

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

An earned value efficiency metric defined as Earned Value divided by Actual Cost, indicating how much value the project has earned for every dollar actually spent.

Letter E · Updated 2026-06-22

Estimate at Completion (EAC)

A forward-looking forecast of the total cost (or duration) of a project at completion, derived from current performance data and assumptions about future performance.

Letter M · Updated 2026-06-26

Management Reserve

A budget or time allowance held by senior leadership, outside the project baseline, to absorb unknown-unknown risks that cannot be quantified during planning.

Letter R · Updated 2026-06-29

Retainage

A percentage of progress payments withheld from contractors until defined performance milestones — usually substantial completion and final acceptance — are met.

Letter T · Updated 2026-06-29

Trend Program

A structured forward-looking process to identify, value, and act on potential cost or schedule changes before they are formal change orders — the early-warning radar of capital projects.

Letter V · Updated 2026-06-22

Value Engineering

A systematic, function-focused review process that reduces life-cycle cost without sacrificing required performance, quality, or function.

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