Page 250 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Software Project Management

Notes will be able to understand whether the project is also on-budget. If it is not, you can take
corrective action. EVM principles can be extended to Forecasting, TCPI, and Variance Analysis.
EVM is an input to project performance reviews. Therefore, it is critical for you to understand
EVM formulae so that you can use them as inputs to other cost control techniques.
Earned Value Management (EVM) is a well known project management technique which
measures the integration of technical performance, cost and schedule against planned performance
within a given project. The result is a simple set of metrics providing early warnings of
performance issues, allowing for timely and appropriate adjustments. In addition, EVM improves
the definition of project scope, and provides valuable metrics for communicating progress to
stakeholders. The information generated helps to keep the project team focused on making
progress.

Forecasting

EVM provides formulae to forecast the future performance of a project. The forecast is based on the
current actual performance. As a project manager, having the ability to tell whether your project
will be delivered on-time and on-budget is critical. Let’s take an example to understand this.
Suppose you have completed 25% of your project. As per the schedule you are on track. However,
after completing 50% of the project, you realize your project is delayed. By using forecasting
formulae you can determine the degree of delay. This will also enable you to investigate the
cause of delay and the corrective action, such as Crashing, required to get the project back on
track. In addition, to the schedule delay you can use EVM Forecasting formulae to determine the
actual cost of the project on completion and take measures to rectify any anomaly before it is too
late.

To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)

If the project is delayed or over-budget, you can use TCPI to determine the project performance
required to complete the project as budgeted or estimated. TCPI also leverages the EVM formulae.

Variance Analysis

Variance analysis is the comparison of expected project performance to the actual cost performance.
This analysis helps you understand the causes of variance, if any. Preventative and corrective
actions are determined based on the variance analysis.

Performance Review

Performance reviews in projects are required to check the health of a project. This usually
involves Cost and Schedule as the main parameters to assess.

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