Define Cost Breakdown Structure

Explanation

You can design the cost breakdown structure according to your preference using this activity. The structure consists of nodes and cost/revenue elements. A structure is company specific.

Prerequisites

• The Cost/Revenue elements that make up the structure must have been entered in the Project Cost/Revenue Elements window.

System Effects

• The cost breakdown structure once created can be connected to a project within the same company. It can then be used for budgeting and forecasting for the project.

Window

Project Cost Breakdown Structure

Related Window Descriptions

Project Cost Breakdown Structure

Procedure

1. Open the Project Cost Breakdown Structure window.
2. Add a new record and enter a Structure ID and a Description.
3. Save the changes.
4. Right-click on the Level ID on the navigator and select the New Structure Node option to create a new node for the structure.
5. Enter a Node ID and Node Description and click OK.
6. To change the Parent Node, right-click on the third level node in your structure and select Change Parent Node. You can also drag it to the node where it is required.
7. Right-click and select the Create New Top Node option if you want to create a new node for the top level.
   Note: Once the top level node has been created it cannot be deleted.
8. Right-click and select Set Level ID and Description. The level ID is automatically defined sequentially for the subsequent levels but you can change the description and ID type as required.
9. Drag a Cost/Revenue element from the Unassigned Cost/Revenue Elements list to the required node level in the navigator. Alternatively, right-click and then select Multi Insert to open the Insert Values window. Here you can insert multiple Cost/Revenue elements. (Similarly, you can right-click and select Multi Remove to remove existing Cost/Revenue elements)
10. If the structure is supposed to be used as a template, select the Template check box on the structure header.
11. The structure can be made project specific when you enter the relevant project in the Project ID field or used by several projects if you select the Multiple Projects check box. If you leave these fields blank the structure can be connected at a later time
12. Right click on the structure header and select the Notes option to add notes about the structure.
13. Right-click and select one of the three options given to change the status of the structure. Set Status to In-Progress is when then structure is being created and Set Status to Active will activate the structure while Set Status to Obsolete is when it is no longer in use. The default status will be set to In Progress.