Project Management is a methodology originally developed for the construction industry for controlling schedules, costs, and specifications. Over a period of time, it was discovered that the same techniques tweaked a little actually apply to all industries starting from manufacturing to the high technology operations.

Project management is an art of setting up all the components of a project together to work in sync. A logical approach to bind the various components together with effective planning improves the chances for a successfully delivered project. A real estate project differs from any other domain in terms of the number of different components it involves.

Though there are various ways of cost estimation for real estate projects, the unit cost for the bill of quantities works best. The easiest way to estimate is to break down the project into tasks.

In a real estate project, construction cost is only a fraction of the total cost of the project. These include design costs, bid costs, approval costs and control costs.

Design of a real estate project includes initial design, master design, and detail design plans. Designing is a very critical component of a construction project which gives direction to the scope of work.

Though mathematically often cost estimates are based on physically measuring like the floor area, volume or length, it is observed that costs do not always vary linearly.

An allocation factor for cost bifurcation must be taken into account for accurate estimates.

Since construction costs are incurred over a period of 3-4 years, it is also necessary to determine the cash flows.

Once all estimates are put in place and the project starts, the next challenge for a project manager is to calculate the percentage of work completed. While it is assumed that the cost incurred should be directly proportional to the amount of work done, it does not hold true for construction projects.

The percentage of construction must be calculated taking into account the work completed till date and the total value of work to be completed. This ratio of the value of work is represented by an S-curve. This concept of calculating the value of work is termed as earned value management.

It is a systematic process used to find variances in projects based on a comparison of work performed and work planned.

This prevents scope creep and improves visibility by reducing risk and leading to accurate project forecasting.

Real estate projects are thus more likely to come in on time and on budget when effective project management techniques are followed. Strong project management methodologies give teams more flexibility, increasing the likelihood of success.

This also improves the maturity level of organizations in terms of project management and risk management methodologies.

Various tools are available for the construction industry for project management but they cannot replace a good project manager who has the expertise in the domain of project management for real estate.

Policy Analysis and Project Programming

• Situation analysis
• Project Planning
• Project Implementation
• Understand the disasters and how to avoid them
• Contracting and how to stay on the ethical path