Development of a Construction Cost Forecasting and Budget Management Platform for Public Sector Projects

Public sector construction project managers face significant difficulties in accurately forecasting project budgets over multi-year durations. Variations in material and labor costs, governed by monthly index updates, complicate expense estimation. Additionally, decentralized data management via spreadsheets leads to errors and inefficiencies, hindering real-time monitoring and collaboration among stakeholders. This results in unpredictable costs and potential project delays or overspending.

A government agency or a large public sector organization managing long-term construction projects, requiring precise cost forecasting, expense tracking, and stakeholder collaboration tools.

• Develop a software platform enabling accurate expense forecasting for multi-year construction projects by simulating cost variations based on government index data.
• Automate the integration of official government indexes to provide real-time updates on pricing trends, enhancing forecast accuracy.
• Implement detailed expense categorization and tagging to allow granular cost tracking across different project components (e.g., electrical, plumbing, structural).
• Create intuitive tools for scenario analysis with adjustable parameters like expense timing and spending patterns to facilitate proactive budget planning.
• Ensure secure, role-based access for multiple stakeholders, including contractors and project managers, promoting transparent communication and collaboration.
• Replace manual spreadsheet processes with a centralized, reliable digital platform to reduce errors and improve data consistency.

• Task entry interface for inputting project components with associated costs.
• Scenario simulation engine with adjustable parameters for expense timing, structure, and variations.
• Automated API integration with government index data sources to update cost factors dynamically.
• Expense tagging system to categorize costs by type and project segment.
• Real-time comparison of forecasted vs. actual costs through invoice-like tracking.
• Role-based access controls to facilitate multi-party collaboration with relevant permissions.
• User-friendly dashboards for monitoring expenses, forecasts, and variances across multiple projects.

• Government index data APIs for real-time price variation updates.
• Existing accounting or invoicing systems for expense reconciliation.
• Stakeholder communication platforms to facilitate collaboration.

• High reliability and uptime (99.9%) to support continuous project monitoring.
• Scalability to accommodate multiple large-scale projects simultaneously.
• Data security and role-based access control to protect sensitive budget data.
• Responsive user interface optimized for both desktop and tablet devices.
• Performance capable of processing complex simulations and data updates within seconds.

Implementation of this platform is expected to significantly improve budget accuracy and control in public sector construction projects. Key impacts include more reliable cost forecasts, a reduction in manual data entry errors, enhanced stakeholder collaboration, and a decrease in project overruns. The automation of government index integration will enable real-time scenario adjustments, leading to better decision-making and resource allocation across multiple multi-year projects.