project management glossary

estimate at completion

 Actual cost of work completed to date plus the predicted costs and schedule for finishing the remaining work.

 A value expressed in either dollars and/or hours, to represent the projected final costs of work when completed. The EAC is calculated as ETC + ACWP.

 The expected total cost of an activity, a group of activities, or of the project when the defined scope of work is completed. Most techniques for forecasting EAC include some adjustment of the original cost estimate based on project performance to date. Also shown as "estimated at completion." Often shown as EAC = Actuals-to-date + ETC.

 See also Earned Value and Estimate to Complete.

estimate class a

 An estimate based on complete contract documents and used as a control check on authorized expenditures prior to tendering.

 A detailed projection of time and costs for next planning horizon, having an expected precision variance of 10% or less; team involved in this estimate and willing to commit to it. Also called a Commitment Estimate.