COMPASS—New Paradigm for Project Cost Control Strategy and Planning

Abstract

The need to remain competitive while generating profit requires management to develop innovative cost management strategies that will allow them to distinguish and control early-on factors that might adversely impact the cost of a project. This paper describes a decision support system, COMPASS (Cost Management Planning Support System) for project cost control strategy and planning. Throughout the life cycle of a project, COMPASS methodology assists management in evaluating the potential degree of cost escalation. It also identifies attributes such as management errors, regulatory approval, and error/rework, that might be the cause for project cost escalation. Furthermore, COMPASS assists management in formulating a cost control strategy while utilizing their experience and past project performance data. The attributes identified by the cost control strategy, if controlled, would minimize the expected loss (i.e., project cost escalation).