9.5. Creating the Project Budget

With your WBS in hand, you can also develop a fairly detailed budget. The ideal situation is that the task owner will develop the task cost. For instance, a painter knows how long it will take to paint a room and he or she is also probably the best person to tell you how many gallons of paint it will take. The painter might also be well acquainted with the cost of paint and can give you a cost estimate that is fairly accurate.

There are some instances when someone in Finance or Accounting develops your project budget based on the data given. In those cases, you might be working with purchasers to purchase IT equipment or others outside your immediate IT project team. Some companies have Finance create the budget based on past experience and with limited input from the IT department. Clearly, there are pros and cons to each of these methods.