Improving EVM Indices
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To all my EVM friends,
we produce all those EVM metrics and indices each month / period and they get passed on from the Planning Report to the Project Report & Board Report and are endlessly discussed in isolation. What does CPI=0.7 or SPI=0.5 really mean?
A suggestion -
We should add a superscript to say WHEN the indices was produced say (period) P3 of !7 or (month) M9 of 23
and add a subscript to say which PLANNED CURVE was used say ES=0%, LS=100% or CPN=50%
this at least would inform the discussion.
Now if I could only get Word/Excel to produce a Graphic to show you. Any software Guru's out there?
Peter
5 replies
Oldest first- 0Patrick Weaver ·
CPI and SPI are both ratios
CPI and SPI are both ratios and largely meaningless.
CPI is used to calculate the iEAC, and both can be used to compare (ie, benchmark projects). But, If you want management information the variance provide real information that people can understand.
VAC and VAC% is the headline number and if you bolt on Earned Schedule you get the forecast completion date. Then if you are running a robust EVMS (not playing around with EV in a schedule), you can also highlight the work packages with significant issues. A robust EVMS is not particularly difficult to set up and operate based on the ISO 21508 approach and should produce information that is very easy to understand and act on.
An EVMS is a performance management system, set up properly it highlights the performance of managers (good and bad) which provides the opportunity for management assistance where needed. For more on setting up a simple, robust and rigorous EVMS there’s a lot of free to use information at: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-SCH-040.php#Overview
Or you can buy my book Easy EVM for $35: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/shop-Easy_e-Books.php
- 0Patrick Weaver ·
CPI and SPI are both ratios
CPI and SPI are both ratios and largely meaningless.
CPI is used to calculate the iEAC, and both can be used to compare (ie, benchmark projects). But, If you want management information the variance provide real information that people can understand.
VAC and VAC% is the headline number and if you bolt on Earned Schedule you get the forecast completion date. Then if you are running a robust EVMS (not playing around with EV in a schedule), you can also highlight the work packages with significant issues. A robust EVMS is not particularly difficult to set up and operate based on the ISO 21508 approach and should produce information that is very easy to understand and act on.
An EVMS is a performance management system, set up properly it highlights the performance of managers (good and bad) which provides the opportunity for management assistance where needed. For more on setting up a simple, robust and rigorous EVMS there’s a lot of free to use information at: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-SCH-040.php#Overview
Or you can buy my book Easy EVM for $35: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/shop-Easy_e-Books.php
- 0Peter Holroyd ·
Patrick, Wasn't trying to
Patrick, Wasn't trying to comment on EVM methodology or how (un)helpful it us just that the output (of any index) could be more explicit if, when used in isolation you knew WHEN it was calculated and against WHICH CPN programme. So CPI = 0.8, which might give cause for concern, could be written P2 of 23 CPI=0.8 ES = 50% Which conveys much more information with very little effort. Regards Peter - 0Patrick Weaver ·
Hi Peter,A CPI of less than 1
Hi Peter,
A CPI of less than 1 is a cause for concern - it is easy to graph the CPI at each reporting period and see the trend. The same goes for SPI. But being a ratio it really tells you nothing. If you want to make management pay attention graph the variance.
A CPI of 0.8 remaining constant month on month will have a corresponding Variance that is increasing every month in proportion to the cumulative EV.
This is a core element in the effective communication chapter in my book Easy EVM: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/shop-easy-evm.php
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