Companies perform similar work all the time, whether for an external customer or bid, or an internal or capital project, it makes sense not to re-invent the wheel each time and to learn lessons from the past. Therefore it is easier and often more reliable and consistent to create estimates which are formed based on copying and changing other estimates, whether prior estimates for actual projects, templates, or actual project executions or performance history.

At the same time it is often tricky to find the best-match prior estimate, because it was done on a spreadsheet five years ago by someone you never met who probably left your company two years ago and no-one else can quite remember where it is. For this reason having a central database like iPE is valuable, as it becomes easier to search for and re-use previous estimates. You can create projects or proposals with reference to a prior proposal/project or template, or you can include a reference WBS and its estimated costs within the WBS tab of your project.

To search for a similar WBS or cost estimate, type in the name of the WBS you are searching for, and any similar prior estimates will appear in the drop down list, as shown and highlighted below.

• This is a 'federated search' which means that it can search across multiple objects (SAP project history, previous estimates, legacy SQL database of estimates etc.) and it can do a smart search such as looking for typing errors or ignoring upper/lower case
• The matching estimates which are displayed including the type of estimate, description, project name and when the estimate was for (what year) to help understand them at a glance
• If you are not sure which estimate you need to copy modify the description or click on the ADVANCED SEARCH button highlighted below

Click on the result from the list to copy it, vs. typing the rest of the new WBS description without clicking on any of the results in this drop-down list to create a new WBS without copying an existing one.

Once you click on Advanced Search you will see the popup below with the same results list plus a series of filters. Here you can:

1. Check any of the filters to include only results where system, type of estimate, site/department/location or function matches what you have checked. You can see the count of the number of search results you can anticipate with each selection
2. Modify the description which fires the search again for the new description
3. Check the circle next to the reference WBS element, BOE WBS etc. you wish to reference or copy and click the COPY button lower right.

The list of filters on the left are called 'search facets' and are configurable. Work with your implementation consultant to set up the tables and views included in the search, the filters or facets, fuzzy-search logic (dealing with typo's) and what relative weightings to apply to each filter or facet.