The article, How to Create a Project Budget for Your Small Business Projects (2021), written by Robert Izquierdo, who is a software systems expert, provides five simple steps to create a project budget. Firstly, it emphasizes few considerations to think about before starting to set a budget: cost estimation, budget contingency, and budget monitoring. Here, Izquierdo suggests controlling each operation during budget management. After these considerations, he proposes five steps that a project manager should take. The steps are to identify project scope, define resources, assign amounts, build the budget, and finally obtain approvals and implement. Following that, the article demonstrates an example of a successful project budget and some project management software for tracking budget plans.
I think that the article is helpful for future project managers, as it describes simple steps of what they should do and how. It is easy to understand and written in simple words. I was also interested in the author’s suggestion to build a timeline of the budget management plan via various tools. Suggested software, such as Podio and Monday.com, are well-known tools that assist managers in their work. The thing that I liked the most was the second step, where Izquierdo writes about items, such as staff, training, and sales and marketing for which most of the budget is spent. He applied his previous experience of developing software for project managers; thus, he has a vision of what project budget plans need.
However, the article may include other important aspects of setting a budget. For example, it could suggest looking at similar projects to get help in budget planning. It also could highlight the role of experts in budget management. Experts are a critical part of management, as they are experienced and know what to do with the budget. Another important thing that the article could consider is accuracy. Presenting simple steps for project budgeting should be accompanied by confirmation on how accurate the plan is made by new project managers. Izquierdo neglected these aspects, undermining the importance of check-ups. Nevertheless, the article is good for an understanding of how to set a budget.