| Contributor:
Stuart Manley, CHMM
Business Title: Senior Environmental Scientist Contact Information: |
| Title
of Presentation: How to Tell If Your Project is On-Schedule and
On-Budget - A Primer on Earned Value Analysis
Author: Stuart Manley Key Words: Professional Development, Project Management, Earned Value Analysis, Project Tracking, Schedule Performance Index, SPI Abstract: The are many ways to track a project in terms of the schedule and budget, but how do you know if the project is in trouble in the middle of the project when there is time to make correction? The earned value analysis is a management tool that measures progress of the project in terms of both budget and scope, giving you indications when the project is heading off-track and corrective actions are needed. The value of this method is that this analysis is done as the project is on-going, permitting the implementation of corrective actions in the middle of the project, not at the end when it is too late. This technique can also be used to forecast the total cost and completion date for the project as well. This paper will provide an introduction into the Earned Values Analysis method that integrates tracking the cost efficiency (cost performance index – CPI) along with the schedule efficiency (schedule performance index – SPI) and allows you to isolate schedule or cost variances and to make appropriate project decisions or corrective actions. At the beginning of a project, a baseline is projected for both the schedule and cost. Over time, the actual cost and time effort are tracked and measured relative to the baseline. As the project progresses and variances in the projected budget and schedule are identified, proper corrective actions can be implemented to permit the successful completion of the project. |