Project Evaluation and Control

Chapter 13

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1. Understand the nature of the control cycle and four key steps in a general project control model.

2. Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of common project evaluation and control methods.

3. Understand how Earned Value Management can assist project tracking and evaluation.

4. Use Earned Value Management for project portfolio analysis.

5. Understand behavioral concepts and other human issues in evaluation and control.

Learning Goals

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Projects are often defined by their constraints

It is vital to make sure projects are controlled as carefully as possible. Are we: ◦ on time?◦ on budget?◦ getting results?◦ satisfied?

What clues will tell us when we are not meeting our goals?◦ These clues need to be timely and accurate

Monitoring Project Performance

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The Project Control Cycle1. Setting a Goal

4. Corrective Action and Recycling the Process

2. Measuring Progress

3. Gap Analysis of Actual vs. Planned Performance

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Budgeted Costs for Sample Project

Duration (in weeks)

Work Package 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Total

Design 6 2 8Engineer 4 8 8 8 28

Install 4 20 6 30

Test 2 6 4 2 14

Total $ 6 6 8 12 28 8 6 4 2Cumulative

$ 6 12 20 32 60 68 74 78 80 80$ in thousands

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Cum

ulat

ive

Cos

t ($

in t

hous

ands

)

The Project S-Curve

Elapsed Time (in weeks)105 45403530252015 50

20

60

40

Cumulative Budgeted Cost

Cumulative Actual Cost

$10,000 Negative Variance

Is this variance a good or bad factor?

Week 23

Actual spend $40k

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Significant events or deliverables◦ Major project happenings◦ Funding points (30% of budget expended)◦ Key dates (April 15)

Activities of “zero duration”◦ Take no time; consume no resources

Serve as reminders to check on overall project status at key points

Milestones

Milestones are events or stages of the project that represent a significant accomplishment.

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Milestone Analysis

Milestones are control devices that…signal the completion of important steps…can motivate the team…offer reevaluation points…help coordinate schedules…identify key review gates…signal when the next steps should begin…delineate various deliverables

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Milestone Activity Estimating

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Gantt Chart with Milestones

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Tracking Gantt Chart

Project status is updated by linking task completion to the schedule baseline

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Cost Control

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Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project management system that combines schedule performance and cost performance to answer the question, “What did we get for the money we spent?”

Recognizes that it is necessary to jointly consider the impact of◦ Time (schedule)◦ Cost ◦ Project performanceon current project status.

Earned Value Management

Cost

Performance Schedule

Earned Value

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All project steps “earn” value as work is completed.

The Earned Value (EV) can then be compared to actual costs and planned costs to determine project performance and predict future performance trends.

Physical progress is measured in dollars, so schedule performance and cost performance can be analyzed in the same terms.

Based on a list of 32 criteria (revised 1996)◦ http://www.acq.osd.mil/evm/ ◦a.k.a ANSI/EIA -748 EVMS 32 Guidelines

Basic Concepts of EVM

Info from http://www.earnedvaluemanagement.com/benefits.html

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Basis for Earned Value Analysis:

Budgeted cost at completion (BAC) ◦ Overall approved budget for a task.

Actual cost of work performed (AC) ◦ Total amount spent on a task up to the current

date. Percent Complete

◦ = Earned Value / BAC = EV / BAC◦ Task progress, simply the physical progress shown

by the fill of the task bar.

Earned Value Terms

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Once basis have been established, the following calculations can be performed:

Planned value (PV)◦ The point along the time-phased budget that crosses

the current date. ◦ Shows the budgeted cost of scheduled work as of the

current date. Earned value (EV) =BAC x Percent

Complete. ◦ The budgeted cost of completed work as of the

current date.

Earned Value Terms

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Variance Calculations:   Schedule Variance (SV)

◦ = Earned Value – Planned Value = EV – PV◦ The difference between what was planned to be

completed and what has actually been completed as of the current date.

Cost (Budget) Variance (CV) ◦ = Earned Value – Actual Costs = EV - AC◦ The difference between the work that has been

accomplished (in dollars) and how much was spent to accomplish it.

Performance Variance

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Earned Value Milestones

PV EV

AC

Slip

SV

Overspend CV

Scheduled Performed

Actual

Budget

Schedule

Cost

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The Schedule Performance and Cost Performance Indices (CPI) not only monitor current project performance, they can be used to predict future performance trends.

To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) ◦ = (BAC-EV) / (BAC-AC). ◦ Indicates the CPI required throughout the remainder of the project to

stay within the stated budget. Estimate at Completion (EAC)

◦ = AC + ((BAC-EV)/CPI). ◦ A forecast of total costs that will be accrued by project completion based

on past cost performance trends. Variance at Completion (VAC)

◦ = EAC – BAC. ◦ The difference between the new Estimate at Completion and the original

Budget at Completion.

Forecasting Future Performance Trends

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In a typical spend plan analysis, physical progress is not taken into account when analyzing cost performance.

Instead, a project’s actual costs to date are simply compared to planned costs, often with misleading results.

What are the benefits of using EVM?

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A task has a planned value (PV) of $1000, and actual costs (AC) of $1000.

It appears this task has perfect cost performance, and is in good shape to finish on-budget.

Example

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If physical progress is taken into account, the results may differ.

The project has spent $1000 in actual costs, but is behind schedule and has only achieved $750 of Earned Value.

This is called a cost overrun, and this project would have a Cost Variance (CV) of -$250.

Example

The team spent $1000 but are only 75% complete.

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Duration (weeks)

 Work Package 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 % Comp.

Design 6 2               100

Engineer 4 8 8 8           100

Install       4 20 6       50

Test           2 6 4 2 0

Total 10 10 8 12 20 8 6 4 2  

Cumul. 10 20 28 40 60 68 74 78 80  

Let’s relook at our project and see how we are doing in Week 30

Earned Value Table With Percentage Of Tasks Complete

$ in thousands

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 Planned @ Week 30

% Comp.

Earned Value

Design 8 100 8

Engineer 28 100 28

Install 30 50 15

Test 2 0 0

Cumul. Earned Value     51

What is the earned value of the project work done to date?

Calculating Earned Value

$ in thousands

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As of Week 30, what is the status of this project in terms of ◦ Budget?◦ Schedule?◦ Performance?

How does this compare to slide 6 S-Curve?

Project Baseline, Using Earned Value

Cumulative Budgeted Cost

Cumulative Actual Cost

$17k Shortfall

in Value Earned

(PV)

(EV)

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Steps in Earned Value Management1. Clearly define each activity including its

resource needs and budget

2. Create usage schedules for activities and resources

3. Develop a time-phased budget that shows

expenditures across the project’s life (PV)

4. Total the actual costs of doing each task (AC)

5. Calculate both the budget variance (CV) and schedule variance (SV)

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Schedule performance index (SPI)◦ =Earned Value / Planned Value = EV / PV◦ Schedule variance related as a ratio instead of a dollar

amount. ◦ A ratio less than 1.0 indicates that work is being

completed slower than planned. Cost performance index (CPI)

◦ =Earned Value / Actual Costs = EV / AC ◦ Cost variance related as a ratio instead of a dollar

amount. ◦ A ratio less than 1.0 indicates the value of the work

that has been accomplished is less than the amount of money spent.

Performance Indices

Earned Value Table- Project Mercury by June

Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Plan % CEarned Value

Staffing 8 7 15 100 15

Blueprinting 4 6 10 80 8

Prototype Development 2 8 10 60 6

Full Design 3 8 10 21 33 7

Construction 2 30 32 25 8

Transfer 10 10 0 0

Punch List 15 5 20 0 0

Σ = 118 44

 

Monthly Plan 8 7 6 17 10 55 15

Cumulative Plan 8 15 21 38 48 103 118

Monthly Actual 8 11 8 11 10 30

Cumulative Actual 8 19 27 38 48 78

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$ in thousands

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Schedule Variances for June

Planned Value (PV) 103  Earned Value (EV) 44  Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

= EV/PV = 44/103 = .43

Estimated Time to Completion= SPI ˉ ¹ X Original Time Frame =(1/.43 x 7) = 16.3 months

Schedule Variances for EVM

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Cost Variances for June

Actual Cost of Work (AC) 78  Earned Value (EV) 44  Cost Performance Index (CPI)

= EV/AC = 44/78 = .56

Estimated Cost to Completion= CPI ˉ ¹ X Original Budget =(1/.56 x $118,000) = $210,714

Cost Variances For EVM

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Completion Values in EVM

Accurate and up-to-date information is critical in the use of EVM

0/100 Rule

50/50 Rule

0/25/50/75/100 Rule

Percentage Complete Rule

See Table 13.8, page 429 for an example

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Optimistic progress reports Level of detail Process evaluation Non-technical performance measurement

Human Factors in Project Evaluation & Control

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Critical Success Factors in theProject Implementation Profile1. Project mission

◦ The purpose of the project is clear and understood by all

2. Top management support3. Project plans & schedules

◦ A detailed plan of the required stages on the implementation process

4. Client consultation◦ A key stakeholder and defines value and satisfaction

5. Client acceptance6. Personnel

◦ Right team members with the right skill sets

7. Technical tasks◦ Team with right skill sets

8. Monitoring & feedback of progress vs. initial projections9. Communication channels10. Troubleshooting and corrective action

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1. Why is the generic four-stage control cycle useful for understanding how to monitor and control projects?

2. Why was one of the earliest project tracking devices referred to as an “S-curve?” Do you see value in the desire to link budget and schedule to view project performance?

3. What are some of the key drawbacks with S-curve analysis?4. What are the benefits and drawbacks with the use of milestone

analysis as a monitoring device?5. It has been said that Earned Value Management (EVM) came

about because the Federal Government often used “Cost plus” contractors with project organizations. Cost plus contracting allows the contractor to recover full project development costs plus accumulate profit from these contracts. Why would requiring contractor firms to employ earned value management help the government hold the line against project cost overruns?

Discussion Questions

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6. What are the major advantages of using EVM as a project control mechanism? What do you perceive are its disadvantages?

7. Consider the major findings of the research on human factors in project implementation. What common themes seem to emerge from the research of Baker, Morris, and Pinto?

8. The ten critical success factors have been applied in a variety of settings and project types. Consider a project with which you were involved. Did any sub-set of these factors emerge as clearly the most important for project success? Why?

9. Identify the following terms: PV, EV, and AC. Why are these terms important? How do they relate to each other?

10. What do the schedule performance index and budget performance index demonstrate? How can a project manager use this information to estimate future project performance?

11. Suppose the SPI is calculated as less than 1.0. Is this good news for the project or bad news? Why?

Discussion Questions

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You have evaluated your project and have developed the following earned value table from your analysis:

1. Determine the project status by calculating CV, CPI, SV, and SPI for each task and for the project overall.

2. What is the analysis of how the project is doing from these indicators?

Exercise: Earned ValueManagement Calculations

Tasks EV PV AC CV CPI SV SPI

Task A 10,000 10,000 11,000 -1000 .91 0 1.00

Task B 12,000 11,000 13,000 -1000 .92 1000 1.09

Task C 9,000 8,000 8,500 500 1.06 1000 1.13

Overall 31,000 29,000 32,500 -1500 .95 2000 1.07

EV-AC EV/AC EV-PV EV/PV