What is Earned Value Management
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?”
                Basic concepts of EVM:

  • 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.

  Brief History:
               Earned Value has been used since the 1960’s by the Department of Defense as a central part of the C/SCSC (Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria). Recently, the DOD revised the 35 criteria contained in the C/SCSC and produced the 32 criteria for EVMS (Earned Value Management Systems).

These criteria have since been accepted by the American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industry Association as a new standard, called ANSI/EIA 748. Now, EVM is being used in a wider variety of government contracts, and is spreading through the private sector as a valuable tool for project managers.
          Successfully Presenting Earned Value is a free e-book which will help you learn to implement and present Earned Value schedules.  It offers both an explanation of Earned Value Management principles, and step-by-step instructions.  This e-book is offered at no charge.  After reviewing it, you may be interested in downloading our Milestones Professional software.  Milestones Professional was used to produce the presentation-ready Earned Value reports shown in the e-book and can be used to make schedules in many formats, including Gantt charts, Milestone charts, Summary charts, Resource Charts and more.