5.2: Plan of Attack

Objective of This Milestone

You are now building a financial model for your project. This milestone requires you to translate the execution plan from Milestone 3 into a detailed, structured, and defensible budget—one that could be presented to a sponsor, finance lead, or procurement authority.

The final submission must include:

• A breakdown of all anticipated project costs (labor and non-labor)
• Calculated labor cost estimates based on prior effort figures
• Transparent pricing for tools, licenses, vendors, or materials
• Justified contingency buffering
• A clear, professional summary of what the budget enables

What You Will Produce

Your final deliverable will consist of the following five core components:

Five Core Budget Model Components

Section	Description
1. Cost Inputs and Categories	A clear and comprehensive inventory of all cost-driving elements grouped by type
2. Labor Cost Estimation	A detailed calculation of effort × role × rate, linked to the WBS
3. Non-Labor Cost Estimation	Estimates for tools, subscriptions, training, travel, and other goods or services
4. Total Budget and Allocation Model	Roll-up of all costs with subtotals, grand total, and structure by phase or category
5. Contingency and Funding Narrative	A reasoned buffer based on risk, plus a summary that tells the “financial story” of your project

Step-by-Step Plan of Execution

Step 1: Identify All Cost Categories and Inputs

Start with your WBS, architectural model, and execution plan. Build a working list of anything that will require funds, including:

Labor

• Time spent by analysts, developers, PMs, testers, trainers
• Internal staff time billed to the project
• External consulting or contract staff

Non Labor (examples)

• Software licenses (e.g., per-seat tools, design software, PM systems)
• Cloud platform or hosting services
• Specialized equipment or configuration tools
• Third-party vendors (data cleansing, trainers, accessibility services)
• Stakeholder events (e.g., pilot launches, training sessions)
• Travel, room bookings, meals (if in-person support is needed)

Classification

• Direct vs Indirect: Is the cost tied directly to deliverables, or a shared overhead?
• Fixed vs Variable: Is the cost stable or usage-based?
• Recurring vs One-Time: Will this expense repeat monthly or occur once?

Deliverable: A categorized table of all cost inputs with basic tags for classification.

Example Cost Input Classification Table

Item	Type	Classification	Description
Developer labor	Labor	Direct, Variable	240 hours over 6 weeks
Training software	Non-labor	Fixed, Recurring	$25/user/month

Step 2: Estimate Labor Cost (Effort × Role Rate)

Take your task-level effort estimates from Milestone 3 and apply hourly rates based on:

• Internal rate card (e.g., C-Bay rates: PM = $110/hr, Dev = $95/hr, BA = $85/hr)
• Industry benchmarks (if rates not given—justify with source)
• Assumed team structure and availability (e.g., 50% allocation, 80% billable)

Example Calculation:

Task: Conduct stakeholder interviews
Effort: 16 hours
Role: Business Analyst
Rate: $85/hr
→ Total Labor Cost = 16 × 85 = $1,360

Break this down:

• By task
• By role
• By project phase (optional)

Deliverable: Labor Estimation Table

Example Labor Estimation Table

WBS ID	Task	Role	Effort (hrs)	Rate	Cost	Notes
1.2.1	Conduct interviews	BA	16	$85	$1,360	Assumes 4 interviews @ 4 hrs each

Step 3: Estimate Non-Labor Cost

Using your Cost Inputs list from Step 1, calculate:

• Unit Cost × Quantity × Duration

• Research pricing benchmarks if real quotes are unavailable

• Document all assumptions (e.g., “$25/license/month based on vendor website”)

Examples:

• 12-month license for PM software: $30/user/month × 5 users = $1,800

• 2 stakeholder training days @ $850/day = $1,700

• 20 data transformation hours from vendor @ $150/hr = $3,000

Deliverable: Non-Labor Cost Table

Example Non-Labor Cost Table

Item	Category	Quantity	Unit Cost	Duration	Total Cost	Source
Cloud subscription	SaaS	12 mo	$300	N/A	$3,600	Vendor X pricing sheet
Training session	Event	2	$850	N/A	$1,700	Industry avg training rate

Step 4: Build the Total Budget and Allocation Model

Create a consolidated view of:

• Labor cost total
• Non-labor cost total
• Contingency
• Grand total
• Optional: by phase, milestone, or deliverable

Use consistent structure. Clearly label rows and subtotals.

Deliverable: Budget Roll-Up Table

Example Budget Roll-Up Table

Phase	Labor	Non-Labor	Subtotal
Planning	$8,240	$1,800	$10,040
Design	$14,100	$3,400	$17,500
Implementation	$20,500	$5,200	$25,700
Total (Pre-Contingency)	$42,840	$10,400	$53,240

Then calculate your contingency (see Step 5) and append it:

Contingency Example

Contingency (7.5%)	$3,993
Grand Total	$57,233

Step 5: Add Contingency and Write a Funding Narrative

Contingency

• Base your buffer on:
  • Risk exposure
  • Estimate uncertainty
  • Task complexity
  • External dependencies

• Apply it per category (e.g., 10% on non-labor, 5% on labor), not just an overall “fudge factor”

Narrative

Write a 1-paragraph financial summary from the point of view of a project leader presenting to a sponsor.

Should answer:

• What is included?
• What is the basis of estimation?
• How does the budget account for risk?
• What value will this budget enable?

Example:

“This budget reflects the full execution plan approved in Week 6. Estimates are based on actual effort projections and market-standard rates. Contingency has been applied based on risk factors tied to stakeholder input availability and third-party tool integration. This funding will support configuration, training, testing, and deployment of the UCMS platform and prepare the system for live use by the beginning of Q2.”

Final Deliverables You Will Submit

1. Cost Categories and Input Summary
2. Labor Cost Estimation Table
3. Non-Labor Cost Estimation Table
4. Total Budget + Contingency Roll-Up
5. Funding Narrative (1 paragraph)