Earned Value Analysis or EVA is the act of measuring a project based on the progress achieved compared to the planned progress and therefore the value provided or “earned” at any point in time. EVA is often seen a subset of Earned Value Management (EVM) – which is the overall method for measuring project performance and progress.
Learn More: Earned Value Analysis in Project Business Automation
EVA is a project controls procedure. It evaluates the project’s cost and time efficiency, thereby measuring project health and performance. As work is completed, the time and costs are captured and new estimates to complete tasks are generated. The result is a clear picture of how the project is progressing against the plan, whether you are ahead of or behind schedule, and whether you are under or over budget.
Learn More: 7 Project Management KPIs to Know in Real Time
4 Key EVA Metrics
Earned Value Analysis provides a common value scale to measure all tasks in a project and all project performance. Here are the 4 key EVA metrics.
- Schedule Variance (SV) – a measure of the difference between your planned progress and your actual progress to date.
- Cost Variance (CV) – a measure of the difference between your planned spend and your actual costs to date.
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI) – This is your Schedule Variance translated into an index that is easily comparable across tasks and projects. When SPI is above 1.00, you’re ahead of schedule. If it’s below 1.00, you’re behind.
- Cost Performance Index (CPI) – This is basically your Cost Variance translated into an index that is easily comparable across tasks and projects. When CPI is over 1.00, you’re under budget, and when it’s under 1.00, you’re overspending.
Earned Value Management System
EVA and EVM is best handled, as described on Wikipedia, “in a single integrated system” or an Earned Value Management System. An EVMS can provide real-time information regarding the current state of the project and accurate forecasts of the project performance.
Project Business Automation from Adeaca provides fully integrated and automated earned value management and analysis capabilities.
Learn More: Earned Value Management System
