Webinar – The reality check: benchmarking for increased cost confidence

According to the Iron Law of Project Management⁽¹⁾, only 0.5% of so-called ‘megaprojects’ are delivered on time, on budget, and with the expected benefits. While this surprising figure comes from tracking the world’s biggest infrastructure and construction ventures, the underlying issues – including inaccurate forecasts, optimism bias and weak early-stage estimates – can affect projects of all sizes.

Cost consultants and quantity surveyors have likely experienced the impact firsthand: shifting baselines, reworked cost plans and frustrated clients. How do we turn this around?

Join us for a practical webinar focused on benchmarking, a powerful, underused technique that compares estimates to real-world data from completed projects. We’ll show you how it provides a much-needed reality check and improves forecasting accuracy by grounding predictions in evidence rather than speculation.

What we’ll cover:

• Why projects of all sizes can fail to meet expectations
• How benchmarking helps combat optimism bias and “strategic misrepresentation”
• Common challenges cost experts face, including limited data, complex spreadsheets and time constraints
• How to simplify benchmarking to fit your workflow
• A practical walkthrough of benchmarking principles, from data collection to presentation

Whether your projects are £5 million refurbishments or £500 million redevelopments, this session will equip you with insights and tools to improve outcomes, and build greater confidence in your estimates.

Date: 5 June

Time: 11am

Register below:

^{(1) The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management, Bent Flyvbjerg (ed.)}