Earned Value Analysis : A tool for decision-making

ATTENTION : This article is still a work in progress

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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 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 project's health. The purpose of EVA is to enable to project manager to make informed decisions based on objective results that are directly derived from the project's main performance indicators Time, Cost & Scope.

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 is now used widely through all of project management and known as the Earned Value Analysis (EVA) which further led to the practice of Earned Value Management (EVM)

Overview

EVA is a dynamic project management tool that allows a project manager to measure or forecast the performance of a project at any given time throughout the lifetime of a project. it's use of quantitative performance indicators makes it an objective tool which can be utilised in any scenario. The tool EVA is the fundamental element in the so called Earned Value Management (EVM) which is a management methodology in which a project is administered through decisions based on the results of the EVA. The methodology is widely used in the industry because of it's ability to facilitate informed objective decision-making and it's flexibility stemming from the time related inputs and outputs.

Depending on the size and complexity of the project the EVA might need different features in order to produce an adequate analysis of the project.

To perform a basic Earned Value Analysis the following features are required :

Adequate measurements from the following project indicators must be available.

• Time
• Cost
• Scope

Prerequisites for EVA

• A project plan, containing all the tasks of the project along with the time schedule (eg. Gantt chart )
• An estimate of the cost of each task within the project plan also known as "budgeted cost of work scheduled" (BCWS) or "Planned value (PV)
• An overview of the "Budgeted Cost Of Work Performed"(BCWP) or "Earned Value" (EV)

Application

When performing an EVA the following terms and definitions must be familiarised. In more specific cases eg. "EVA in Human Resource Management" more terms and definitions will be necessary to obtain the desired results.

Time of Review

The point in the total lifetime of the project at which the analysis is performed

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)

The cumulative budgeted cost that is assigned at each step or task within the project plan up until the Time of Review. (Also known as Planned Value (PV))

Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)

The cumulative value that is earned from each of the steps or tasks in the project up until the Time of Review. (Also known as Earned Value (EV) )

Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP)

The cumulative actual cost of each step or task in the project up until the Time of Review. ( Also known as Actual Value (AV) )

Cost Variance (CV)

The variance between the earned value and the actual cost of a step or task in the project plan. A positiv value of the Cost Variance suggest a favourable impact on the project, and visa versa, a negative Cost Variance suggests an unfavourable impact.

( CV = EV - AV ) or ( CV = BCWP - ACWP )

Cost Performance Index

The percentage of Earned Value over the Actual Cost.

( CPI = EV / AV ) or ( CPI = BCWP / ACWP )

Budget at completion (BAC)

The total budget of the project at the end of it's lifetime.

Scheduled Variance (SV)

The variance between the earned value and the Planned Value of a step or task in the project plan. A positiv value of the Scheduled Variance suggest a favourable impact on the project, and visa versa, a negative Scheduled Variance suggests an unfavourable impact.

( SV = EV - PV ) or ( SV = BCWP - BCWS )

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

The percentage of Earned Value over the Planned Value.

( CPI = EV / PV ) or ( CPI = BCWP / BCWS )

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