The smaller the potential upside of the project is, the more the estimates matter. Put another way: A project that promises to return USD 10 for every USD 1 in

The smaller the potential upside of the project is, the more the estimates matter. Put another way: A project that promises to return USD 10 for every USD 1 invested is still an attractive investment when the ratio is 8:1 or 7:1. This suggests that construction costs can double or triple without destroying and the investment still has a healthy return, and so an estimate really only needs to be very rough. (In fact, the act of estimating quickly adds to “construction” costs so should be kept to a bare minimum in these cases, to keep profits as high as possible.) It’s when the cost/profit ratio slips lower that estimates become more important, and ironically, waste more time and money. (Note that I’m talking specifically about estimation and not project planning… projects, especially large ones, still need plans.)