Find Hours
Budget reconciliation, effort only
The one-line idea
When a new out-of-scope ask lands, find the hours you already have before asking for more.
\[\textbf{Net findable} = \big(\textstyle\sum\text{Planned} + \text{Contingency}\big) - \textstyle\sum\text{EAC}\]
- Under-run slack: planned effort you are forecast not to spend (planned − EAC, floored at 0)
- Contingency: the management reserve
Only the residual becomes a change order.
Hours / effort only. Synthetic data. We say participant, not subject.
Where the numbers come from
| Column | Source of record |
|---|---|
| Planned | SOW / budget grid in CTMS |
| Actual to date | Timesheet system |
| % complete, EAC | Your estimate + progress tracker |
| Change order | Contract: lead biostat + PM review, sponsor sign-off, SOW amended |
The tool never invents a number. You transcribe current figures in, so the reconciliation is attributable.
What to do with a new ask
The live roll-up
850
Planned
513
Spent
831
EAC
40
Contingency
59
Net findable
( 850 + 40 ) − 831 = 59 h you can redirect before a change order.
Planned vs forecast
Ask 45 h, absorbable
Ask 45 h → Absorbable internally
19 h under-run slack + 26 h contingency + 0 h residual
Contingency left: 14 h
Fully covered from what you already hold: no residual, 14 h of reserve still in hand.
Ask 90 h, change order
Ask 90 h → Change order needed: 31 h
19 h under-run slack + 40 h contingency + 31 h residual
Contingency left: 0 h
Slack and the full reserve are exhausted. The 31 h residual is genuine new scope: it goes to the change-order process. The tool drafts the hours-only note; pricing is handled downstream by the PM.
Run it / build it
- Run: Run & build the Shiny app, edit an EAC, change the ask, watch net-findable recompute
- Share: dashboard · Skim: one-pager
- File: Excel workbook
- Build: build-it walkthrough
Synthetic data. Hours / effort only. A change order is a named-human, contracted decision.