Project costs are measured and analyzed in many ways throughout a project, from planning and design to bidding, construction, turnover, and beyond. First costs, cost-benefit, and life-cycle cost are a few examples of how a project's cost-effectiveness can be evaluated. However, the control of costs requires continual systematic cost management.

These cost management processes start with the establishment of budgets that align with scope and quality requirements and continue with milestone estimates, value engineering, and procurement strategies, and change order management through to claims avoidance and negotiation.