| Getting Started with Earned Value Management | |
| Identify
and Organize all Project Steps First, identify all tasks that need to be accomplished and organize the tasks into sub-groups (1). Breaking down activities into the smallest possible steps makes it easier to pinpoint schedule and cost performance problems. |
Allocate the Budget
and Schedule Tasks Each activity in the project should have a planned Budget-at-Completion (BAC). All subsequent earned value calculations will be based on this amount (2). In addition to the BAC, each task should also have a specific duration (3), which provides the basis for monitoring actual costs and physical progress. |
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| Update
Task Status and Enter Actual Costs As the project progresses, percent complete for unfinished tasks should be updated and monitored (4). Earned Value (EV) is determined by relating this physical progress to the BAC. Along with task status and budget, it is necessary to maintain actual costs accrued for each task in order to calculate cost performance (5). |
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| Use the Data to Make Informed
Decisions Now that all tasks have been scheduled, and the BAC, EV, Percent Complete, and AC are known, further analysis can be performed, including schedule and cost variances, performance efficiency, and estimates-at-completion. |
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