Costing and estimating professions

When it comes to project management, attention is usually focused on the project manager, perceived as the "one-man band" capable of solving everything with his "Swiss Army knife". In small projects, the project manager is often the only person assigned to running the project, and is expected to carry out all project management tasks. However, this is a simplistic view of the reality of most projects, and helps to mask the technical nature and role of the other members of the project team.

This fact sheet explains the role of the two players involved in controlling project costs: the estimator and the cost estimator.