Projektkalkyl

Projektkalkyl, in project management, is the process of estimating the total cost of a project. It combines direct costs (labor, materials, subcontractors) with indirect costs (overheads, administration), risk allowances, and lifecycle costs to produce a financial baseline. The primary purposes are to support decision making, enable budgeting, and form the basis for bids and procurement.

Cost components include direct costs, indirect costs, contingency, financing costs, taxes, and lifecycle costs such as operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning. A projektkalkyl may also account for inflation and currency risk in long-running projects, as well as scenarios for different scopes or timelines.

Methods used to estimate include bottom-up (detail by work package) and top-down (based on analogy or parametric data). Other approaches are parametric estimation, vendor quotes, and expert judgment. Data sources include historical records, supplier quotations, and market indices. Risk and uncertainty are managed through contingencies and probabilistic modelling when appropriate.

Process steps typically include defining project scope, creating a work breakdown structure, collecting cost data, calculating estimates, and aggregating to a total cost. A cash-flow plan or funding schedule is often produced. The kalkyl is reviewed with stakeholders and used as a baseline for tendering, budgeting, and cost control, then updated as the project evolves.

Relation to broader practice: projektkalkyl is part of cost management and project controls. It is aligned with standard frameworks such as PMBOK or PRINCE2, and with lifecycle costing concepts in asset management. Limitations include estimation uncertainty in early project stages and the need for ongoing revision as assumptions change.