The Earned Value dialog box displays when you right-click a project or WBS level in the Activity Table of the Gantt chart and select Earned Value.
You can also select a WBS level in the Gantt, click , select WBS Details, then click Earned Value.
Earned Value Tasks
Earned value is a technique for measuring project performance according to both project cost and schedule. This technique compares the budgeted cost of the work to the actual cost.
To perform an earned value analysis in the WBS Earned Value dialog box, you can select from two calculation techniques, which measure performance based on activities that are currently in progress:
- activity's percent complete
- activity's Estimate To Complete (ETC)
For detailed information about calculating Earned Value, see:
- apply a technique for computing the earned value performance of percent complete
- apply a technique for computing the Estimate to Complete (ETC)
To apply a technique for computing the earned value performance of percent complete:
The method for computing the performance percent complete depends on the earned-value technique selected for the activity's WBS.
In the Technique for computing performance percent complete section of the Earned Value dialog box, select from the following options:
- Activity percent complete - calculates earned value as a measure of the completion percentage of activities within the time frame for completion. Mark the check box to include resource curves and future bucket periods in the calculation.
- WBS milestones percent complete - calculates earned value according to weighted milestones you define in the WBS Milestones tab. In the Weight cell, enter a number that indicates the significance of the milestone relative to the others listed. As each milestone completes, the completion percentage of the WBS element is calculated based on the weight of the completed milestone compared to the remaining milestones.
- 0/100 - calculates earned value of an activity as 0% until the activity is completed, when it is calculated at 100%.
- 50/50 - calculates the earned value of an activity as 50% after the activity starts and until it ends. The earned value of the activity is calculated as 100% when it is complete.
- Custom percent complete - calculates earned value as a percentage you specify. This percentage is applied from the start to the finish of the activity. When the activity is complete, its earned value is calculated as 100%.
Your selections are saved automatically.
To apply a technique for computing the Estimate to Complete (ETC):
- In the Technique for computing the Estimate to Complete section of the Earned Value dialog box, select one of the following options:
- ETC = remaining cost for activity
- ETC = PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value)
- If you select ETC = PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value), select one of the following options:
- PF=1
- PF=1/Cost Performance Index
- PF=1/(Cost Performance Index * Schedule Performance Index)
- PF = <Enter a value for PF.>
Your selections are saved automatically.
The fundamental earned value parameters used to calculate an activity's Estimate to Complete are:
- Earned Value Cost - portion of the budgeted total cost of the activity that is actually completed as of the project data date. Computed as Earned Value Cost = Budget at Completion * Performance % Complete.
- Budget At Completion - budgeted total cost through activity completion, calculated as Budget At Completion = Budgeted Labor Cost + Budgeted Nonlabor Cost + Material Cost + Budgeted Expense Cost. It is the same as the BL Total Cost.
- Planned Value Cost - portion of the budgeted total cost of the activity that is scheduled to be completed as of the project data date, according to the baseline. Computed as Planned Value Cost = Individual resource Budget At Completion * (Data Date of current project - Baseline Assignment Start Date) / (Baseline Assignment Finish Date - Baseline Assignment Start Date), the Planned Value Cost of an activity is the sum of the Planned Value Cost of each individual resource assignment on the activity. If an activity has a resource or role assignment with manually-defined future period bucket values, Planned Value Cost is calculated using the manual assignment values.
- Actual Cost - actual total cost incurred on the activity as of the project data date. Computed as Actual Cost = Actual Labor Cost + Actual Nonlabor Cost + Actual Material Cost + Actual Expense Cost, the Actual Cost is the same as the Actual Total Cost.
You can derive an activity's Estimate to Complete and other earned value indexes from these parameters.
Controlling placement of the dialog box
You have full control of the placement of the Earned Value dialog box in the Activities page. By dragging and dropping the dialog box or using the controls available in the title bar of the dialog box, you move, dock, or reduce the dialog box to a tab that displays, by default, under or can be moved to the right of the Gantt chart or activity network diagram. See Customize activity views for more information.
Field Definitions
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- Maximize
- Maximizes the dialog box to the full area of the Activity page.
- Restore from Maximized State
- Restores the dialog box to its default size.
- Float
- Resizes and makes the dialog box able to be dragged and dropped within or outside the browser, referred to as Float State.
- Restore from Float State
- Restores the dialog box from Float State and positions it within the window.
Note: Dragging and docking the dialog box creates the same results as Float and Restore from Float State controls.
- Auto-hide
- Hides the contents of the dialog box by reducing the view to a tab. Clicking the tab restores the view of the dialog box.
- Toggle Auto-hide
- Prepares the dialog box for the Auto-hide state. This toggle serves as an state in between the tabbed state and the restored state of the dialog box.
- Exit
- Closes the dialog box.
- Previous WBS
- Moves up to the previous WBS in the Gantt chart, activity table, or activity network diagram.
- Next WBS
- Moves down to the next WBS in the Gantt chart, activity table, or activity network diagram.
- Technique for computing performance percent complete
- Provides options for computing the performance percent complete.
- Activity Percent Complete (button)
- Choose to calculate earned value according to current activity completion percentages.
- Use resource curves/future bucket periods (check box)
- Mark the check box to include resource curves and future bucket periods in the calculation of earned value using current activity completion percentages.
- WBS Milestones Percent Complete
- Select to calculate earned value by defining milestones at the WBS level and assigning a level of significance or weight to each of them. As progress occurs and you mark each milestone complete, the WBS element’s performance percent complete is calculated based on the weight of the milestone.
- 0/100
- Select to calculate earned value as 100 percent only after the activity ends.
- 50/50
- Select to calculate earned value as 50 percent after the activity starts and until the activity ends. After the activity ends, the activity's earned value is 100 percent.
- Custom percent complete
- Select to calculate earned value as a percentage you specify. This percentage applies after the activity starts and until the activity ends. After the activity ends, the activity's earned value is 100 percent.
- Technique for computing Estimate to Complete (ETC)
- Provides options for calculating the ETC of an activity, which can be computed as either the remaining total cost for the activity (Remaining Total Cost), or as PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost), depending on the earned-value technique selected for the activity's WBS.
- ETC=remaining cost for activity
Select to calculate ETC values as the remaining cost to complete an activity where:
ETC = (remaining duration of activity * applicable resource rates)
- ETC=PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value)
Select to calculate the ETC as a performance factor (PF) multiplied by the difference between the Budget at Completion (BAC) and Earned Value, as in the following equation:
ETC=PF * (BAC - EV)
- PF=1
- Select to set the performance factor to equal 1.
- PF=1/Cost Performance Index
Select to calculate the ETC as a performance factor of 1 divided by the Cost Performance Index (CPI), where the CPI = Earned Value Cost / Actual Cost. The equation can be interpreted as:
PF=1/(EVC/AVC) =
PF=1/CPI
- PF=1/(Cost Performance Index * Schedule Performance Index)
Select to calculate the ETC as a performance factor of 1 divided by the Cost Performance Index multiplied by the Schedule Performance Index (the Earned Value Cost divided by the Planned Value Cost). The equation can be interpreted as:
PF=1/(EVC/AVC) * (EVC/PVC) =
PF=1/(CPI * SPI)
- PF=<value>
- Select to calculate Estimate To Complete (ETC) values as a Performance Factor (PF) you specify multiplied by Budget At Completion (BAC) less Earned Value Cost. If you choose this option, type a factor in the PF field.