译文（字数 3496）：

项目成本控制：它的工作方式

我们在最近的咨询任务中意识到，对于整个项目成本控制体系是如何设置和应用的这个问题，我们仍有一些缺乏了解。因此，我们决定写出它是如何工作的说明。从理论上讲，项目成本控制并不难。

首先，建立一套参考基准。然后，按照工作的进展，监察工作，分析结果显示，预测最终结果并与参考基线作比较。如果最终结果不令人满意，那么你要对正在进行中的必要的工作进行调整，并在适当的时间间隔内重复循环。如果最终结果已经与基线计划脱节，你可能不得不改变计划。更有可能的是，将会有（或已经）变化的范围改变参考基线，这意味着，每一次范围发生变化，无论如何你都必须改变基线计划。

但是通过项目数量未能控制成本，证明在实践中，项目成本控制是很难真正实施的。我们将看到，它还涉及到相当数量的工作，因此，我们不妨在一开始就启动它，通过整个项目的线程寿命来进行工程造价控制。

同时，我们将借此机会指出几个显著的适当的地方文件。这些措施包括商业案例，（资本）请求拨款（执行），工作包和工作分解结构，项目章程（或摘要），项目预算或成本计划，获得的价值和成本基准。所有这些都有助于提高该组织有效地控制项目成本的能力。

我要感谢我的朋友，大师昆汀•弗莱明，检查和纠正我关于这一主题的工作。

外文原文（字符数 10798）：

外文出处 R. Max Wideman. Civil and Environmental Research  P36-42

Project Cost Control: The Way it Works

In a recent consulting assignment we realized that there was some lack of understanding of the whole system of project cost control, how it is setup and applied. So we decided to write up a description of how it works. Project cost control is not that difficult to follow in theory.

First you establish a set of reference baselines. Then, as work progresses, you monitor the work, analyze the findings, forecast the end results and compare those with the reference baselines. If the end results are not satisfactory then you make adjustments as necessary to the work in progress, and repeat the cycle at suitable intervals. If the end results get really out of line with the baseline plan, you may have to change the plan. More likely, there will be (or have been) scope changes that change the reference baselines which means that every time that happens you have to change the baseline plan anyway.

But project cost control is a lot more difficult to do in practice, as is evidenced by the number of projects that fail to contain costs. It also involves a significant amount of work, as we shall see, and we might as well start at the beginning. So let us follow the thread of project cost control through the entire project life span.