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O.M. Magnussen, N.O.E. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 24 (2006) 281–288 287Difference (%) from the proposedestimate30.0 %25.0 %20.0 %15.0 %10.0 %5.0 %0.0 %-5.0 %-10.0 %-15.0 %Jan-99 Jan-00 Jan-01 Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04Month of presented reportFig. 2. The difference between the projectÕs proposal and the revised estimate from the external consultant.6.3. The difference between the recommended budget fromthe external consultant and the final budget decided by theParliamentThe formal approval and resolution on budget limits foreach single project is dealt with by the Parliament. In practice,however, the Parliament accepts the GovernmentÕsproposal without changes. The project presented to theParliament is prepared by the responsible ministry basedon the information from the subordinate agency responsiblefor the day-to-day activities in the project.Table 4 shows that in 58% of the projects, the upperfinancial level decided for the project equals the total budgetrecommended by the external consultant. This meansthat in most cases, the project owners directly use the recommendationfrom the external consultant when submittingthe proposal. At least there is a strong tendencytoward this as reflected by the table. The table also clarifiesthat the recommendation can be disregarded. It must alsobe noted that in many cases new estimates are preparedfrom the project as a response to quality assurance. To givea closer illustration of how the recommendation is appliedby the project owner, i.e., the direct response to the resultsfrom quality assurance, descriptions from some of the projectsincluded in the sample are presented:‘‘External quality assurance has taken place which gives anestimate of NOK 738 million with 50% probability for budgetcompliance, and NOK 788 Million with 85% probability.Based on the quality assurance the Norwegian Public RoadsTable 4The approved budget is often based on the recommendation from theexternal consultantSanctioned budget Number of projects Per centLower than the revised estimate 7 23Equal to the revised estimate 18 58Higher than the revised estimate 6 19Total 31 100Administration has reviewed the project and presented arevised estimate of NOK 718 million.’’ ([15, p. 117], authorÕstranslation)Another example describes a case where the differencewas rather small:‘‘The quality assurance shows recommended budget numbersmarginally lower than those proposed by the Norwegian PublicRoads Administration. In the Ministry of Transport andCommunicationsÕ opinion the quality assurance confirms thatthe Norwegian Public Roads AdministrationÕs estimate is onan appropriate level.’’ ([16, p. 4], authorÕs translation)The examples illustrate how the external consultantÕsrecommendation is used by the project owner to verifythe numbers proposed by the project organisation and thatthe quality assurance could result in updated cost estimationsfrom the project organisation. It is shown that thereis no rule of thumb whether the final decision is based uponthe project organisationÕs or the external consultantÕs estimate.Each project is considered on an individual basisby the responsible ministry and the project organisation.An explanation to the observations made here can beconnected to some of the results from Olsson et al. [9]where it was concluded that the project owner particularlyfinds the quality assurance useful. The study reported inOlsson et al. [9] was based on fewer projects and did notinclude analyses of the cost estimates. The study in thispaper is a quantitative one, but it supports the results inOlsson et al. [9] because it clearly states that the externalrecommendation, at least concerning the project cost, isfollowed up by the project owner. An important conclusion,drawn from the analysis presented here, is that theinvolved ministries, being the project owners, actively usethe information provided by the external analysis in thepreparation of the project. The cost estimates are a centralpart of this information, and the fact that the project ownersin so many cases directly build upon the calculationsfrom the external consultants, is a strong indication concerningthe significance of this contribution.