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PROGRAM 2 · FIRST-PRINCIPLE ESTIMATING

First-Principle Estimating & Planning for Delivery Excellence

Become the estimator-planner who can build, defend and govern the cost and schedule baseline a mega project is run on — from a single first-principle estimate line to a board-ready, risk-adjusted cost baseline.

Program 212 courses · Foundation to ExpertPi System v2.0 aligned
Register interestExplore the curriculum
Pi System v2.0 aligned
Master & Intermediate levels
Cost & Schedule domains
Approved by PIOTICON C&D Governance
The program

Build the cost and schedule baseline a mega project is committed to.

Estimating on a mega project fails most often at the foundation, not the formula. New estimators inherit spreadsheets they cannot defend, copy rates whose origin nobody can trace, and confuse a price with an estimate. Program 2 builds the controlled cost and schedule baseline from first principles — from a single defensible estimate line to a board-ready, risk-adjusted cost baseline.

It owns the estimating-to-baseline surface — quantities, rates, method, productivity, package cost and schedule — and hands an endorsed baseline to commercial (P3) and integrated controls (P5).

Program codeP2
Pi levelsMaster, Intermediate
Primary domainsCost, Schedule
Tier mix2 Foundation · 4 Intermediate · 5 Advanced · 1 Expert
CapstoneCross-Functional Estimate Validation (Course 12)
Hands off toCommercial & Cost (P3) · Integrated Controls (P5)
Audience

Built for the people who own the estimate and the plan.

Estimating, cost and planning professionals on mega projects — the roles that measure, price, resource, schedule and validate the cost and schedule baseline, listed verbatim from the Pi v2.0 Roles Register.

The team that turns scope into a cost and schedule baseline the project commits to.
Estimating Manager
Leads the estimating function and owns the M-320 estimate.
Estimating Team
Prepares detailed estimates; validates quantities and rates.
Cost Controller
Builds and controls Package cost estimates and budgets.
Quantity Surveyor / QS Manager
Connects quantities and rate provenance to commercial baselines.
Planning Manager
Owns the resourced master schedule and duration basis.
Planning Engineer
Resources and matures the integrated master schedule.
Planner / Scheduler
Operates crew loading, durations and package schedules.
Construction Manager
Anchors method selection and constructability.
Risk Manager
Supplies the risk inputs that drive risk-adjusted contingency.
Commercial Manager
Accountable for the estimate as a commercial commitment.
What you'll be able to do

Six capabilities a graduate walks away with.

Every outcome is a thing you'll be able to do on a real mega project — not a topic you'll have heard about.

Assemble a defensible First-Principle Cost Estimate (M-320) from controlled quantities, rates, productivity and method assumptions — traceable line by line.
Produce governance-traceable 2D/3D quantity take-offs that feed M-320 without rework, and build and govern a controlled rate library and cost database.
Convert construction method and productivity into first-principle unit rates and method-based durations that resource the Integrated Master Schedule (M-220).
Crew-load the schedule and convert quantities, productivity and crews into method-based activity durations with the correct effort-driven or duration-driven logic.
Embed constructability into the M-160 Execution Methodology and decompose a resourced M-220 into a Work Package Detail Schedule (I-220) and Package cost estimate (I-310).
Author and defend a Basis of Estimate (M-310) with risk-adjusted contingency, and carry it to a validated, approved cost baseline (M-340).
The curriculum

Twelve courses, quantities to baseline.

The sequence runs the estimating-to-baseline lifecycle: estimating fundamentals, then take-off and rate libraries, then method, productivity and durations, then package cost and schedule, then the basis of estimate and validated baseline. Course 1 unlocks every Master-level course that follows.

Tap any course to expand its detail
01P2.C01Introduction to First-Principle EstimatingFoundationCost · Estimating

Establishes the shared estimating language, the anatomy of the M-320 First-Principle Cost Estimate, and the discipline of traceability — before any take-off, rate or productivity work begins. The doorway that unlocks every Master-level cost course that follows.

Deliverables built
M-320 · First-Principle Cost Estimate (introduced)
Pi level — Master
02P2.C02Advanced Quantity Take-off Techniques (2D/3D)FoundationScope · Cost

A hands-on measurement drill: produce defensible, governance-traceable quantity take-offs in both 2D and 3D for a mega-project work package, structured so measured quantities feed M-320 directly and without rework.

Deliverables built
M-320 · First-Principle Cost Estimate (quantities)
Pi level — Master
03P2.C03Rate Libraries & Cost DatabasesIntermediateCost

Build, govern and apply a controlled rate library and cost database so that every unit rate feeding M-320 is defensible, traceable and version-controlled — the priced backbone under the estimate.

Deliverables built
M-320 · First-Principle Cost Estimate (rates)
Pi level — Master
04P2.C04Construction Methods & Productivity AnalysisIntermediateCost · Schedule

Select and document the governing construction method, convert method and productivity into defensible first-principle unit rates within M-320, and translate the resulting production rates into method-based durations that resource the M-220 schedule.

Deliverables built
M-320 · First-Principle Cost EstimateM-220 · Integrated Master Schedule
Pi level — Master
05P2.C05Resource Profiling & Crew LoadingIntermediateSchedule

Profile resources and crew-load the master schedule under process MP08 — defining the crews and equipment that method-based durations consume, so the M-220 schedule is resourced from a traceable production basis.

Deliverables built
M-220 · Integrated Master Schedule (crew loading)
Pi level — Master
06P2.C06Activity Duration & Effort LogicIntermediateSchedule

Convert controlled quantities, productivity benchmarks and crew profiles into method-based activity durations, applying the correct effort-driven or duration-driven resourcing logic to produce a traceable duration basis for M-220.

Deliverables built
M-220 · Integrated Master Schedule (durations)
Pi level — Master
07P2.C07Constructability Integration for SchedulersAdvancedSchedule

Integrate construction methodology and sequencing constraints into the M-160 Work Packages Execution Methodology and the M-220 schedule, so the master schedule is demonstrably buildable, method-consistent and defendable before it is decomposed.

Deliverables built
M-160 · Work Packages Execution MethodologyM-220 · Integrated Master Schedule
Pi level — Master
08P2.C08Work Package Schedule Build from Master PlanAdvancedSchedule

Decompose a resourced Integrated Master Schedule (M-220) into a governance-compliant Work Package Detail Schedule (I-220), preserving master alignment and producing a schedule ready for cost loading and field execution planning.

Deliverables built
I-220 · Work Package Detail Schedule
Pi level — Intermediate
09P2.C09Work Package Cost Estimate & BudgetAdvancedCost

Build and control a Work Package Cost Estimate & Budget (I-310), reconciled against the package schedule and aggregating cleanly into the Master estimate and its Basis of Estimate.

Deliverables built
I-310 · Work Package Cost Estimate & Budget
Pi level — Intermediate
10P2.C10Basis of Estimate, Assumptions & ContingencyAdvancedCost · Risk

Author and defend a Pi v2.0 Basis of Estimate (M-310) — methodology, assumptions, exclusions and accuracy class — with a risk-adjusted contingency method that traces line by line to identified risks, reconciled against M-320 and the Package estimates.

Deliverables built
M-310 · Basis of Estimate (BoE)
Pi level — Master
11P2.C11Estimate-to-Schedule Integration & Baseline Hand-offAdvancedCost · Schedule

Integrate the cost estimate and the schedule and hand off the Approved Cost Baseline (M-340) — the controlled commitment the project is measured against — to integrated controls.

Deliverables built
M-340 · Approved Cost Baseline
Pi level — Master
12P2.C12Cross-Functional Estimate ValidationExpertCost · Int. Controls

The capstone. Cross-functional validation of M-310 and M-320 across cost, schedule, commercial and risk perspectives — releasing the validated baseline to downstream programs.

Deliverables built
M-310 + M-320 · Validated & released
Pi level — Master
What you produce

You leave with the governed Pi v2.0 cost and schedule baseline.

Real artefacts that progress from a single estimate line to an endorsed, validated baseline — the working portfolio of a first-principle estimator-planner.

M-320Estimate
First-Principle Cost Estimate
M-220Schedule
Integrated Master Schedule (resourced)
M-160Constructability
Work Packages Execution Methodology
I-220Package schedule
Work Package Detail Schedule
I-310Package cost
Work Package Cost Estimate & Budget
M-310Estimate basis
Basis of Estimate (BoE)
M-340Baseline
Approved Cost Baseline
ValValidation
Cross-functional validation pack
How it's structured

A progression of depth, tier by tier.

Tier governs depth; every course is delivered as a workshop with a structured coaching follow-up so capability sticks on the job.

Four maturity tiers
Foundation2 courses
Speak the estimate
Shared language, estimate anatomy and disciplined take-off.
Intermediate4 courses
Price & resource the work
Own rate libraries, method, productivity and durations.
Advanced5 courses
Build the package baseline
Constructability, package schedule and cost, and the Basis of Estimate.
Expert1 course
Validate & baseline
Cross-functional validation to release the approved baseline.
How it's delivered
Full-day workshop≈ 6 effective hours for the foundation drills; complex-judgement courses run case and scenario labs.
On-the-job coachingA structured follow-up that reviews a learner's first live estimate line or schedule.
Virtual / hybridSupported as two 3-hour blocks with self-paced pre-reading.
Capstone-linkedEach course feeds the Course 12 cross-functional validation capstone.
12
Courses across four tiers, Foundation to Expert
4
Maturity tiers of capability progression
8
Governed Pi v2.0 deliverables you produce
M + I
Pi levels covered — Master and Intermediate
Questions

What aspiring estimators ask first.

Who is this program for?
Estimating and planning professionals on mega projects — Estimating Managers and teams, Cost Controllers, QS Managers, Planning Engineers and Schedulers, and the construction, commercial and risk leads who work alongside them.
Do I need to take the courses in order?
Yes. The sequence runs from estimating fundamentals to a validated baseline, and Course 1 unlocks all Master-level cost work. Contextual inputs — scope and integrated coding — are inherited from Program 1.
How is the program delivered?
Foundation courses run as full-day workshops of around six effective hours; complex-judgement courses run case and scenario labs, backed by structured on-the-job coaching. Virtual and hybrid delivery is supported as two 3-hour blocks with pre-reading.
What will I actually produce?
Governed Pi System v2.0 deliverables — from the First-Principle Cost Estimate (M-320) and Integrated Master Schedule (M-220) through the Basis of Estimate (M-310) to an Approved Cost Baseline (M-340).
Is the program aligned to a standard?
Every course inherits its scope, processes and deliverables verbatim from Pi System v2.0 — its Process List, Deliverables Register, RASCQIE Matrix and Roles Register.
What happens after I graduate?
You hand a validated, approved cost baseline to commercial & cost frameworks (P3), operational risk (P4) and integrated controls (P5), and join the estimators' community of practice.
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