Earned Value Analysis : A tool for decision-making
The Earned Value Analysis (EVA) Is a method used in Project Managment for monitoring the performance and progress of a project through a comparison of the planned project and the actual project. Measurements from the project, of the three components of the Project management triangle, Time, Cost & Scope are used as input in the analysis to create an objective estimate of the projects health.
History
The Earned Value Analysis initially named PERT/COST was first used by the US government in the 1960s as the tool was imposed onto the contractors of the US Department Of Defense as a way of standardising the performance tracking of all the departments different projects. PERT/COST generated a large discontent amongst the contractors due to it's inefficiency and was ultimately changed by the US Department Of Defense in the late 1960s. From this a new analysis arose called Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria (C/SCSC) which is the criterion based approach that now used widely through all of project management and known as the Earned Value Analysis (EVA)