estimating software applications

Estimating is a tough activity to computerise. That's because there are so many variables to be taken into account and no fixed pattern against which to match them.

Hence commercially available estimating packages are expensive and tend to be targeted at large companies, often on big-budget projects in specific sectors, like building and civil engineering.

For the SME, there is little chance that they will find an off-the-shelf estimating package that relates to their activity with a sufficiently close fit.

estimating software solutions

Our approach to developing estimating software is to work closely with our clients to build our understanding of their estimating processes, and, as we do so, to fashion and refine the software solution.

We usually use Microsoft Excel as the development tool. Because nearly everyone we work with uses Excel, this means:

No initial additional software costs
The system is very open and transparent to the user
Users familiar with Excel can contribute to development
Development tends to be very focussed, yet flexible
Changes can be incorporated with relative ease
Testing is ongoing
Training costs are virtually nonexistent
Development costs are reduced.

This evolutionary approach proves more attractive to SME clients than the formal one of composing an exact specification and agreeing it with their developer. We find that few SMEs have the time to devote to crossing Is and dotting Ts in the writing of the definitive spec.

example of estimating

Our client required an estimating package to cover:

Plant, labour and materials
Subcontractors
Margins
Discounts
Materials picking lists
Output for presentation to suppliers
Output for presentation to subcontractors.

Also, they wanted their estimating to be visually similar to the paper-based processes in which their sales staff and project managers were well versed.

Developed originally in Excel 97 in the mid-90s, we equipped the spreadsheets with toolbars, menus and macros to make the system easy to use.

We have updated this estimating system to Excel 2002 (XP) and 2003 versions.