Question 2
Wedding cost estimation: Given the following information, calculate the estimated costs for a wedding with 250 guests and a bridal party of six, using the methods indicated. Show your work.
Note that members of the bridal party are already counted as guests, you don’t need to add them twice.
Parametric estimate
Bottom-up estimate
Analogous cost estimate
You will probably notice some differences in the estimated values. Are these differences significant? What might cause the differences? If you were estimating a significant project in the future, which method(s) would you use and why?
Wedding Cost Estimates
Item
Dollars
Groom’s brother’s wedding, last year, 175 guests, similar venue and style
$20,300
Catering
$65 per person
Photographer
$1,500
Rental of hall
$500
Clothing, bride
$2,000
Clothing, groom
$750
Flowers
$800
Other décor items
$500
Cake
$500
Gifts for bridal party
$80 each
Wedding planner
$2,000
Wedding planner’s estimate of typical cost for this kind of wedding
$10,000 plus $75 per guest
Question 3
Cost reimbursable contract calculation.
A contract calls for a total payment of $800,000 with a guarantee. Essentially the contractor is guaranteed to make at least $200,000 above his costs. If the contractor can demonstrate his costs exceed $600,000, the project will pay the difference, with a $50,000 ceiling on the overage. The contractor demonstrates he spent $623,000. How much (gross) must the project remit to the contractor?
Another option for the same contract has the contractor guaranteed to be paid his costs plus 20%, for costs that exceed $600,000. With the same initial assumption—guarantee of $800,000 gross payment (no requirement to itemize costs), but if the contractor can show that costs exceed $600,000, the project will pay $800,000 plus the costs that exceed $600,000, plus 20% of those excess costs, with a ceiling of $900,000 gross. The contractor demonstrates he spent $623,000. How much (gross) must the project remit to the contractor?
Under option 3.2, at what dollar amount of total costs would the contractor be assuming all of the excess costs beyond that point?
In which option did the project assume more of the risk of a cost overrun? Explain.
