A procedure can refer to a respected professional publication and still leave the estimating team unsure what to do differently on Monday morning.
Implementation needs a smaller, more concrete conversation. Which record will change? Who prepares it? When is it reviewed? What evidence shows that the review has happened?
AACE’s basis-of-estimate and estimate-classification publications provide useful reference points. Their application needs attention to the industry and purpose of the estimate. In particular, RP 18R-97 addresses process-industry EPC work; its context should not be ignored when discussing another type of project.
| Principle | Evidence in the estimate |
|---|---|
| Document the basis | Scope, assumptions and sources |
| Describe definition maturity | Known information and unresolved decisions |
| Review uncertainty | Method and risk assumptions |
| Control revisions | Item-level reconciliation |
| Assign responsibility | Named review actions and closure |
An original implementation checklist. Consult the applicable AACE publication for its full guidance and industry context.
Make one review step work properly
Start with a live estimate and inspect its basis. Can a reviewer identify the scope boundary, price date and major assumptions? Can the team distinguish missing information from decisions that have already been made?
Then check the revision record. If the total moved, can the estimator explain the movement at item level? If an uncertainty allowance changed, is the method and reason available?
These checks do not require a large new reporting system. They require a consistent place to record the evidence and enough time in the programme for someone to review it.
The test of implementation is whether the next estimate is easier to challenge and use. A citation in the procedure is a reference. A documented decision in the estimate is evidence that the team has applied it.