(I believe I have answers for all the possible DQs. I will list the DQ in red and my response in black. You may notice questions at the ends of the DQ responses; my instructor required us to end our responses with questions to facilitate participation.)
1. What are the processes and key outputs of cost management?
Three processes of cost management have their own key outputs. According to Marchewka (2009), those processes are:
"Cost estimating - Based upon the activities, their time estimates, and resource requirements, an estimate can be developed.
Cost Budgeting - Once the time and cost of each activity is estimated, an overall cost estimate for the entire project can be made. Once approved, this estimate becomes the project budget.
Cost control - Ensuring that proper processes and procedures are in place to control changes to the project budget" (p. 181).
Cost estimating involves the Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS), resource requirements (activities need to complete a process), and resource rates (cost of assigning resources to each activity), to name a few. Some of the outputs associated are activity cost estimates (value of probable cost of resources), supporting detail (explanation of each cost estimate), and cost management plan (details how cost variances will be managed).
Cost budgeting involves cost estimates, WBS, and project schedule (expected start and completion date for the project plan). The output is cost performance baseline; which is what the project is expected to cost based on a measurement of performance throughout the Project Life Cycle (PLC).
Cost control outputs involve cost performance baseline updates, cost estimate updates, performance measurements, and requested changes.
According to the PMP Exam, there are eight cost control outputs. I have mentioned four, but what are the other four cost control outputs?
Marchewka, J.T. (2009). Information Technology Project Management (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley