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  • Parametric is the simplest to use bcoz it's does require much but just to know how much cost of the item u need then multiply the cost of one item to the total number of items you want

  • Parametric is the simplest to use bcoz it's does require much but just to know how much cost of the item u need then multiply the cost of one item to the total number of items you want

  • I believe that the parametric approach is the best as long as the exact unit prices are obtained. It involves working with facts of figures which can also make approximation of miscellaneous easy.

  • I think i will used bottom-up approach since individual who are going to utilizes the money in engage in it and can help produce realistic cost estimate.

  • I believe that you should use the bottom-up approach as it produces more realistic cost estimates

  • I think i will used bottom-up approach since individual who are going to utilizes the money in engage in it and can help produce realistic cost estimate.

  • the method i will use is the parametric method of cost estimation. the parametric saves a lot of money because it gives close approximation

  • I believe that the most effective approach is the top down approach since it saves time. The estimates should however be as realistic as possible.

  • I have learnt that when you are creating a based activity ,you need to assign an estimated cost to the activity you are planning to do.

  • I have learnt a lot about generating cost estimates

  • I believe that you should use the analytic estimate also called bottom-up approach whenever possible because it is one the best and most accurate though time consuming. It breaks down the project into smaller parts and then create most accurate cost estimates for the variables.

  • I have personally used all approach but in cases that permit, the parametric approach has constantly proven more easier to work with.

    T
    1 Reply
  • The Bottom-up approach is typically more reliable and preferred for estimating because it assesses each work package from the bottom, working up to a deliverable and phase. It is practical to use when project schedules and budget from previous similar projects are available for reference. However, I will start with top down and use bottom up to confirm my readings

  • For me with some adjustment, I prefer to use top-down approach because most of the time senior managers have more knowledge and experience than lower level managers. Further, they do have more detailed understanding about the project, therefore, they know which costs shall be included and excluded than other but still they must consult with their subordinate managers to make it more effective.

  • yes, it may help to get more accurate cost, however, some items may not have a parameter

  • I believe that the parametric is the most effective way to gauge costs for more consistent things such as materials but there needs to be other kinds of estimate techniques as well because prices can change

  • I believe you should use the bottom-up approach, because the person implementing a specific task knows how much she will be spending on that task, and the project is more likely to run smoothly. Despite having a few challenges like the staff over budgeting. I still think the advantages out weigh the disadvantages.

  • Parametric costs work best for my organisation as we have reliably estimated the cost for each activity per unit. And we adjust it every year for other exigencies.

  • the most appropriate that i preferred is parametric, however is not appropriate every cost of project but generating cost discussion is important to us because you can get easily more information in it. it is good to use top up approach some costs especially any cost that related to the previous projects. using bottom up approach is the best for using cost estimation.

  • okay. though for me parametric is not so inclusive and I would love to include every one during this stage, so i would go for Bottom-up

  • I believe in the combination of both bottom-up, Top- Down and parametric approache for sufficient cost estimation in the project during the planning because of the following mainly reasons

    • it helps to have sufficient current actual information by resources cost
    • it contributed to the timely and effectively decision making
  • I believe that you should use three approach whenever possible because when being effort to our needs or achievement for projects, we have some research, other managers to come up with cost estimate at times, for that, use top-down, and then to keep in touch with real cost, sometimes use bottom-up as well as parametric

  • I would prefer parametric approach because COST-PER- UNIT are readily available in most business set ups in my locality. Therefore, it is just important to know the quantities you require then do you maths.

  • From my review the parametric
    Approach is the best

  • Parametric and bottom up approach are the most effective approach for estimating cost

    Simply because it is can be realistic and avoids over budget expense. though parametric approach might not be applicable to all items but it is applicable to most commodities/services. As most of the items tend to be sold per unit cost. Hence knowing the unit cost of an item allows you to make real estimates and even gives advantage in case of discounts.

    While for bottom up approach would ensure that individuals who created the estimates, made real costs, the project manager would have least task to calculate as such individuals already calculated; he will instead be summing up.

    Thanks

  • i prefer parametric approach because it is accurate with the estimates

  • In my opinion, the best ways could be combining the three.

  • from my experience in leading complex civil engineer project, the more you have verifiable date, the parametric approach is the best 'cause you can verify the cost per unit of each cost

  • I think that it is difficult to choose one of the approaches, as each project is unique and might require more of one certain approach than another project. As often said in the discussion board, ideally all three approaches should be combined, but a project which wants to implement hygiene awareness in communities to stop the spread of Covid-19 might not require a lot of physical material, making the parametric approach harder to use. Therefore, I think there is no "one size fits all" solution, as each project must be regarded individually, making a decision on which approach should be used based on the project needs and resources.

  • I believe that you should use the parametric approach whenever possible because it gives close to exactly cost .

  • i would prefer parametric cost estimate to the others as it is real, and it gives a real average cost to be expected without bias

    S
    1 Reply
  • I think that the bottom-up is the most effective one as it is based on trust within the team. It helps the project coordinator to minimize the risks of going low during implementation. Now, knowing that it might be time-consuming, the project coordinator can allocate this tasks to many experts to go fast.

  • That's okay. But not everything can be estimated through that. I humbly would choose bottom-up as it helps me weigh the level of honesty of my peers

  • I think applying all the three approaches should be used to effectively plan a budget. However, parametric is the best approach but in some cases it becomes difficult to calculate per unit cost and supportive cost also has to be calculated for this top- down and bottom- up approach has to be used.

  • i shall be use the parametric approach because it can be calculated correctly by using software like microsoft excel

  • I believe that you should use the parametric approach whenever possible because I find it simpler to work with and the estimates are quite more accurate as compare to the other approaches.

  • A blend of all three approaches will help to create reliable project budget. People working on ground level can give realistic estimates of expenses from their experiences. From top-down, researchers can add their margins to these estimates using tools/analysis and building even more full-proof budget. By using parametric approach the rest of expenses can be included basis cost per unit which leaves very little room for error or going over budget.

  • I think top-down and bottom-up are equally important because there are some things whose cost cannot be estimated exactly.

  • Budge is a very important part of project, to get a budge we need to write a good project, plan all the activities, make a schedule, and also calculated the costs of the risks that could have.

  • well personally, i'd go with the mix of Top-down approach[this gives you a professional insight to the cost of an activity] and Bottom-up approach[while this gives you and operational insight to the cost of an activity].
    when fused together these 2 approaches are key to any form of budgetting.

  • On my team, which is small and close knit, the bottom-up method of cost estimation is best. We are talk to the specialists as well as do research to determine estimates. My program works within a grant that developed a very broad budget for our multi-year project, so we are budgeting within those years and for specific events. In that way, the budgeting process is probably more of a hybrid between top-down and bottom-up.

  • Apart from the issue of dishonesty on the part of some members of the team, i believe the most suitable approach is the Bottom-up approach because it checks overbudgeting and also promote inclusiveness and participation of all members of the project team.

  • I think the best option is to make the three approaches and compare them.

  • I think the best option is to make the three approaches and compare them.

  • I'm my own opinion I think the combination of all the approaches will strengthen the budget! Why I say so it's because all of the three approaches have weaknesses and applicability issues for example:
    1.The top down approach is weak because the cost of materials may be different as per estimation.
    2.Bottom up approach depends on experts on the ground who may either be dishonest or may do short cut means to impress the project manager by reducing costs while compromising quality.
    3.parametric approach is not applicable to every expense of cost for example issues to do with food or feeding or fuel for the Project. Workers may consume more or less than perceived and Fuel consumption of machinery may be high or low overall affecting the entire project.
    For me all approaches should be used and applied to make the Budget effective!

  • Of all 3 approaches to developing an activity-based budget, I strongly prefer the Parametric Approach. This is because it saves more time as the cost per unit is already known and overhead cost will be deduced simply by multiplying individual cost by the number of units required, reduces the stress of back and forth as may occur using the top-down or bottom-up approach and most importantly reduces greatly the possiblity of dishonesty as an already established and certified cost per unit is then used to calcite the overhead cost. Really a great approcah and will be a first option for me. May combine other approaches if need be or rely on other approaches if the cost per unit of goods and/or services cannot be accurately determined.

  • Parametric Form of budget is the best way of doing things I vote for it.

  • Top-bottom would be preferable as you achieve your aim within a short time while getting the cost-related information you want.

  • cost estimates its better on the parametric but its too extremely expensive on the contrary top-down also best but time consuming.

  • Parametric estimates are more reliable because they take into consideration real cost on the market

  • I think you should use what you feel works for you.
    What makes your work effective the most.

  • For me, I believe that the combination of both top-down and bottom-up will be best to apply hence it will help you to compare and contrast. although the application of both maybe more time consuming. however, it will in my own opinion give one the best look into estimating the costs

    P
    1 Reply
  • I was planning to ask the same question when I get to the discussion too and it is here already, i think like the last clause stated, it is better to use the three, the experts maybe too detailed and forget to capture some risk, individuals in bottom up may want to extort and market prices may change for the parametric

  • Bottom-up method is the most appropriate one for smaller organisations, however, mostly Erasmus+ project managers in the first place consider the parametric method.

  • I completely agree with you. However, you need to consider that this can be only implemented for the stabilise economies. If the economy of x country is not stabile, that would cause the estimate the future prices too. Do you agree or disagree?

  • I will blend two approaches the bottom-up and the parametric approach, The individuals who will actually be spending the money will create cost estimates and instead of putting in their own estimated figures I urge them to use the parametric approach for the estimates. The cost-per-unit, that way prices can cross-checked and verified by someone or everyone to make sure that we don't have cases of dishonesty in expenses.

  • i think we should go through all the three approaches and we will get the clear idea after that than we can go for the final budget

  • I would have love to use the parametric method of estimating cost but because this method is not realistic, I think the top-down method is good, but the best is to combine the three as it has been recommended by the tutor.

  • estimating costs is one of the important aspect of a project the three approaches top-down, bottom-up, parametric
    the one to avoid is the top-down but for smoot project to go on parametric i prefer and a touch of the bottom-up.

  • I would use a combination of the 3 systems, Top down research practices are helpful and quick whereas the bottom-up system is to be used rather carefully. Although it provides a more realistic estimate it can take up too much time and is not always completely transparent. A mix of them all is more likely to give accurate estimates.

    P
    1 Reply
  • I believe that you should use parametric aproach whenever possible because, you have a cost per unit and you can calculate with your own hands.

  • I believe that you should use the Bottom to top estimate cost because it is more effective than the others. with this you can be at a saver end even when you have to make a research on ur own, it will still help you plan appropriately for gain rather than loss.

  • I believe they are all applicable methods but they also have their limitations and strengths depending on where they are used. But in a social project like the ones in out examples I will strongly suggest the bottom-up method because the people working with you may know better about how those things will cost. And it will save stress compare to the parametric.

  • I think the most effective approach is to use the the parametric if the cost per unit is known, but if not known, it is better to use a combination of all three approaches.

    P
    1 Reply
  • For me, combination of three should be the best. Each approach have positive and negative aspects as well. Depends on the project including timeframe allocation, etc. We need to adjust every time we start the projects.

  • I believe the best approach would be the parametric approach. After you've done your good grounds research. You can safely design a good budget estimate because the prices are real. However the cost-per-unit might increase before implementation of the activity and might cause you to overshoot your estimated budget.

  • I believe the best approach would be the parametric approach. After you've done your good grounds research. You can safely design a good budget estimate because the prices are real. However the cost-per-unit might increase before implementation of the activity and might cause you to overshoot your estimated budget.

  • Thanks for sharing

  • A combination of all three methods is perfect.

  • A combination of all three methods is perfect

  • each approach works best depending on the type of the project

  • I'm in the view that using parametric approach is the best, because is the situation where you have the actual money of what you planned and from there I'm sure one will have a smooth work done.Bur,in the other hand combining the all approaches maight be the best way.

  • I believe that combining the three approaches is the best way to estimate cost. This is because all project activities differ from one another. However, most of the projects I have worked for usually set up/estimate cost by the top-down approach. In some cases, the Project Lead may ask the team to validate the figure estimated, however, the final cost is subject to the Project Lead's discretion.

  • If you have quite a experience then you should consider bottom up approach and based on the received data analyse the appropriate inputs and use your experience for being close to the real figure.

  • I would use the Top-down Method

    It is the most advantageous and is quicker than the other two methods, plus it opens up your mind as it involves
    researching and putting of ideas together. To avoid loosing touch with the real costs, I'd contact suppliers directly to
    find out what the real costs are to help me do real estimates for the project.

    M
    1 Reply
  •  COMBINE top down and bottom up and occasionally use the parametric. Because , the parametric is easy to calculate but does not give a realistic  result.
  • I feel the parametric approach should be used where necessary because it doesn't give room for insincerity by employees. Once the cost per unit has been stated and multiplied by the quantity needed.no additional cost can be added.

  • I don't belivee there is a one-size-fits-it-all cost estimate type, the best approach will be to combine each type of cost estimate so that they can complement one another and cover up their individual weakness.

  • Good day.
    Suppliers too can be dishonest, as a matter of fact, there is a higher chnace the supplier (as opposed to your workers) will be dishonest.

  • I personally prefer the parametric approach as it makes your estimate and the actual amount spent clear. With that, there is no room for assumptions.

  • I believe that you should use the parametric because it gives you the exact estimate on each item needed for the project.
    It also provides reliable cost-per-unit estimates that have been properly calculated.
    There's also Little to no room for errors.

  • The Parametric Approach is the best way to analyze the approximate cost of a project , while preparing schedule in Primavera p6 I loaded the cost against each activity and finally at the end of project we reached at projected cost . it was under budget

  • In project management and project implementation, costs is very important.

    As a project manager, one should understand the various costs implication in program activities delivery. For example, A project manager should lined the costs of the project in define d and specific categories. For example; is the cost activity related? or the cost is associated with the operations of the the project. Moreover, is it human resources, or administrative?

    All these costs should be fully planned and organized , as well as categorized in the successful execution of the project.

  • The best approach for me is the bottom- up approach. i would give an example from my organization where estimating transport for motorcycles has always been difficult depending on areas. in this case we asked the people to send us their amounts and afterwards we verified. this approach shares the reality on the ground but must be conducted strategically to control the disadvantage of over-estimation.

    P
    1 Reply
  • I believe that you should use the top-down approach whenever possible because firstly it is quick and easy to use. Also with the help of experts, researches and input from other managers it becomes easy to figure out the resources needed for a particular project especially if its a new project. the different experiences shared by will most likely make it easier for the project manager o come up with a more feasible cost estimate.

  • To me the pragmatic approach would be best one because it gives the better understanding of the product coast and how much you may need to spend and see if it could be within your budgets or not

  • Prametric rather, sorry for auto typo

  • I think a combination of the three methods is fine, starting with the bottom-up method, top-down method to remove excesses from dishonest budgets and the parametric method for expenses it can be applied to

    P
    1 Reply
  • In my opinion I think the bottom up approach is the best. This is because it allows the project manager make consultation with those who will be executing the project thereby producing more accurate budget

  • talking on estimate activity cost budgeting, i think that, i will go for bottom -top , that is if i am given enough time to draft by budget for the project, but how ever, top-bottom is good when the project comes as an emergency. regarding the parametric , it is good but for some one who is more focus on health project , think will prefer top-bottom and bottom-top approach more often for my projects. i can recommend parametric for those involve in building and construction given that most of their prices are standards and this approach is best for such projects.

  • yeah that is very true, it gives the project manager that latitude to work and consult with colleagues. but how ever it is not the best when it comes to emergencies in my opinion, here i think top-bottom is good.

  • it is good no doubt but how does an expert in your opinion tells me what i constantly face in the field while carrying out a particularly activity. they would either over estimate or underestimate the cost of the said activity. on this note i stand with bottom - top.

  • i agree with your view entirely, but with the knowledge that every project planning most be flexible and adjustable.

  • I think using the bottom up approach because it is more likely to produce realistic estimates

  • All the three approaches are good depending on the situation and setting. However combining the three approaches would be most effective in the sense that all factors will be captured for instance using the top down approach, the project manager will have input from other key positions which can be compared with the technical people on the ground by using bottom up approach. To estimate the exact costs the parametric approach can be used by costing the activities per item.

  • parametric is the best to use in any situation for me because of the fact that it's simple and factual based.

  • Use parametric approach

  • In my opinion, the bottom-up approach will give more realistic estimates. The persons from the field for example are more likely to provide more accurate expenses estimates. It is then the project manager's responsibility to check the information provided.

  • For me, i prefer a hybrid of the three approaches; top-down, bottom-up, and parametric to maximize accuracy and minimize bias likely to be caused by using any one approach in isolation.

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