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Course 106 · Work course 42

Track Project Costs and Explain Variances

A reconciled project cost sheet showing baseline, incurred costs, open commitments, forecast to finish, and a supported change recommendation.

Before you start

Use multiplication, subtraction and percentages; a calculator is permitted.

See everything you’ll need

Practice materials and a worked example · Free download. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A reconciled project cost sheet showing baseline, incurred costs, open commitments, forecast to finish, and a supported change recommendation.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesStart with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview

Watch an introduction.

This overview from Edspira introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.

Watch directly on YouTube
EdspiraStandard Costs and Variance AnalysisYouTube
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners age 14 and up; no employment or prior professional experience is required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use multiplication, subtraction and percentages; a calculator is permitted.
  • Use paper, a text editor, or any free document editor; a calculator is optional.
  • Download the fictional starter and annotated example, or use the same records within each lesson.
  • No employer, customer, interview participant, purchase, or outside cooperation is required.
  • Lesson time includes practice and checks; optional video viewing and initial setup are extra.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A reconciled project cost sheet showing baseline, incurred costs, open commitments, forecast to finish, and a supported change recommendation.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • An approved-scope baseline with checked quantities and costs.
  • A cost register with three non-overlapping categories.
  • A price-variance note with invoice and full-project effects.
  • A forecast-to-finish sheet and two-cause variance explanation.
  • A scope-change request separating incremental work and existing variance.
  • A final reconciled cost-control packet with versions, causes and next decision.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Every required section is present and traceable to the supplied case facts.
  • Decisions separate known facts, assumptions, and unresolved questions.
  • Records, calculations, and instructions agree with each other and the stated rules.
  • The final revision addresses a changed case and explains what someone should do next.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Compare the same scope

A cost difference needs a consistent quantity and time basis.

02

Count each cost once

Keep incurred, open committed and other remaining amounts separate.

03

Explain the cause

A useful variance note connects numbers, evidence and a decision.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Baseline
The approved reference plan for the agreed scope.
Incurred cost
A cost already generated by completed work or received goods.
Open commitment
An agreed future cost not yet included in incurred costs.
Forecast
The current estimate of the final result.
Variance
The difference between a result or forecast and its comparison plan.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Read the cost baseline

    Build a checked baseline for an approved quantity.

  2. 2
    18 min

    Classify incurred and remaining costs

    Separate costs that have happened from commitments still ahead.

  3. 3
    18 min

    Explain a unit-price change

    Trace a cost variance to a changed assumption.

  4. 4
    20 min

    Forecast the finish

    Explain why low spending to date can hide an overrun.

  5. 5
    18 min

    Separate scope change from overrun

    Prepare a change request without hiding an existing variance.

  6. 6
    18 min

    Publish the cost-control brief

    Reconcile an approved scope revision and preserve the remaining variance.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Track Project Costs and Explain Variances practice files

Start with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected March 2020 guide overview: scope, assumptions, documentation and updating estimates with actual costs. Public federal guidance; original small-project case is not an agency procedure.

Access: Public page inspected without an account.

Reuse: Reference link only. Course prose and practice data are original; no third-party text, figures, or templates are reproduced.

NASA documenting cost-estimate results
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected February 2015 Appendix H, especially basis of estimate, input assumptions, traceability and presentation of cost drivers.

Access: Public six-page agency PDF; no account.

Reuse: Reference link only. No text, charts, templates or third-party material reproduced.

NASA using performance information to adjust estimates
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected February 2015 Appendix I on using performance information to update estimates.

Access: Public agency PDF; no account.

Reuse: Reference link only. Course records and arithmetic are independently authored.

Standard Costs and Variance Analysis
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Search located the exact watch URL; YouTube oEmbed verified title and Edspira channel. Accounting instructor introduction to comparing actual and expected costs. Metadata and source were checked on 2026-09-12; full playback was not tested.

Access: Public YouTube metadata verified; viewing may depend on region/network. Optional; every activity works from written material.

Reuse: Link or embed only. No video download, transcription, or rehosting.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one