

Often, projects are completed over a period of several years. There are limits to what is acceptable in regard to the price variation. Anyone preparing a ROM estimate should be sure to indicate that the accuracy of the estimate can vary greatly, especially if it is in the early stages of a project.Īlthough there is a more accepted variation with a ROM estimate, it is still vital that a project management professional complete the work to make the estimate as accurate as possible. The variation between estimated and actual costs with a ROM estimate can easily be plus or minus fifty percent. In general, when a company or business wants a ROM cost completed, they are looking for a ballpark number instead of an exact figure. Are you a professional who is aspiring to be a project manager? Try answering this PMP Practice Preparation Questions and assess yourself.Ī ROM estimate is generally completed in one of the first phases of a project. Let’s take a deeper look into these two techniques. Depending on the method used, a company will have more or less tolerance for variation from the estimate. The way the costs are estimated is different in both methods, and it is important for any project management professional to understand how both these estimations work. Another way to estimate the cost of a project is by using a definitive estimate. One of the most commonly used techniques is the ROM estimate or Rough Order of Magnitude estimate. There are essentially two ways to estimate the cost of a project.

Learn to deliver digital-age transformational projects and excel in the field of project management with Simplilearn’s project management training. Some project managers use historical data when calculating the cost of a project although this can work in certain situations, over the long term this will lead to higher variations in estimated and final costs. If you’re a project manager who’s been thrown in at the deep end and are struggling to come up with accurate, realistic estimates, it helps to fully understand two of the most important estimate metrics that you could start applying to your projects right away: ROM and Definitive.Ī project manager can help to prepare more accurate estimates to begin with, it is vital to get all of the inputs correct when calculating the cost. To be successful in the field of project management, the ability to estimate the cost of a project is vital.
