Project managers need to make sure that a project’s scope, time and resources align with the project’s budget. One of PM Central R2.0™’s great new features is the ability for project managers to create budget cost and budget work and compare them with the actual cost and work for the project, providing enhanced project management.

Adding Budget Cost and Budget Work to a Project

1) Navigate to the project site’s Project Info section. Click the project to go to the Project Health List.

2) Click Edit Item. Enter the project’s Budget Cost and Budget Work. Click OK.

3) Add tasks to the project in the Tasks > All Tasks tab and assign resources with their standard rate. Read KB.12434: Using PM Central in 10 Steps for more information.

4) Go to the Tasks > Progress Management tab and click Update Project Cost & Schedule. This updates the Project Cost, Project Work and Project Duration based on the tasks in the project.

5) Return to the Project Health List and view the key performance indicator (KPI) statuses for Budget Cost and Budget Work. They are custom Bamboo KPI Columns used in PM Central.

About the Bamboo Budget Work Status Custom Column

The Budget Work Status Column compares the value of the Budget Work to the Project Work. If your planned values are on track with the budget, then the green status indicator is displayed. If the planned values are more than the budget but are within a certain threshold that you can tolerate, then the yellow status indicator is displayed. If the planned values are more than the threshold, then the red status indicator is displayed as an alert. Use these status indicators to decide if you can tolerate being over budget, or readjust the schedule and resources so that you can stay within budget.

• If Budget Work – Project Work is 0 or better, then the green KPI icon for Met Goal is displayed.
• If Budget Work – Project Work is -1,000, where the Project Work will be larger than 0 and less than 1,000 hours in comparison to the Budget Work, then the yellow KPI icon for Warning is displayed.
• If Budget Work – Project Work is more than 1,000 hours, then the red KPI icon for Over budget is displayed.

For example, if the budget work is 6,000 hours and the “planned” project work is 6,500 hours, then 6,000 – 6,500 = -500, meaning that the project work is 500 hours over budget. Because the value is between 0 and -1,000, the status is Warning.

These values can be configured to meet your organization’s needs navigating to the Project Health List’s list settings. Under Columns, click Budget Work Status. Make your modifications under Additional Column Settings and click OK.

About the Bamboo Budget Cost Status Custom Column

The Budget Cost Status Column compares the value of the Budget Cost to the Project Work. If your planned values are on track with the budget, then the green status indicator is displayed. If the planned values are more than the budget but are within a certain threshold that you can tolerate, then the yellow status indicator is displayed. If the planned values are more than the threshold, then the red status indicator is displayed as an alert. Use these status indicators to decide if you can tolerate being over budget, or readjust the schedule and resources so that you can stay within budget.

• If Budget Cost – Project Cost is 0 or better, then the green KPI icon for Met Goal is displayed.
• If Budget Cost – Project Work is -10,000, where the Project Cost will be larger than 0 and less than $10,000 in comparison to the Budget Cost, then the yellow KPI icon for Warning is displayed.
• If Budget Cost – Project Work is more than 10,000, then the red KPI icon for Over budget is displayed.

For example, if the budget cost is $50,000 and the “planned” project cost is $50,000, then $50,000 – $50,000 = 0. Because the value is 0 or better, the project is within budget, and the status is Met Goal.

However, if the budget cost is $50,000 and the “planned” project cost is $65,000, then $50,000 – $65,000 = -$15,000. Because the value is more than $10,000, the project is over budget, and the status is Over budget.

These values can be configured to meet your organization’s needs navigating to the Project Health List’s list settings. Under Columns, click Budget Cost Status. Make your modifications under Additional Column Settings and click OK.

Read other blog posts in the PM Central R2.0 use case series, and keep checking the Bamboo Team Blog for more use cases.

• How to Create and Track Data for a Department

The PM Central team is committed to making PM Central the most useful and beneficial project management and collaboration tool for SharePoint. We are open to your feedback, and we welcome your comments and questions in the PM Central forum.

Interested in PM Central R2.0? Get a free 30-day trial, or sign up for a free webinar.