Final answer:
The cost management function is responsible for tracking and comparing costs to the project budget, often using mathematical models for cost estimation and normalization metrics like cost per thousand gallons of water for comparison.
Step-by-step explanation:
Tracking cost and comparing them to the project budget is handled by the cost management function. In design and engineering, mathematical models are frequently utilized to estimate costs for different solutions during the idea generation phase. This cost estimation involves analyzing the science behind a technique and the associated expenses for materials, fabrication or manufacturing, operation, and maintenance. These estimated costs must be standardized to enable a fair comparison between alternatives, often done through the normalization to cost per unit measure, such as cost per thousand gallons of water.