Applying earned value analysis to your project

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Microsoft Office Project 2003 You may have heard that earned value analysis is complicated. But aside from the many acronyms, it's not. And it can help you answer questions like, "Is there enough money left in the budget?" and, "Will we finish on time?" Want to know more about how Project handles earned value analysis? Read on. What is earned value analysis? What else does earned value measure? How do I interpret earned value? How does % complete versus physical % complete affect earned value? Which earned value quantities can I show or calculate in Project? Where in Project do I see earned value data?

What is earned value analysis?

At the root of earned value analysis are three fundamental values calculated for each task:

The budgeted cost of tasks as scheduled in the project plan, based on the costs of resources assigned to those tasks, plus any fixed costs associated with the tasks. Called "the budgeted cost of work scheduled," BCWS is the baseline cost up to the status date you choose. For example, the total planned budget for a 4-day task is $100 and it starts on a Monday. If the status date is set to the following Wednesday, the BCWS is $75. The actual cost required to complete all or some portion of the tasks, up to the status date. This is the actual cost of work performed (ACWP). For example, if the 4-day task actually incurs a total cost of $35 during each of the first 2 days, the ACWP for this period is $70 (but the BCWS is still $75). The value of the work performed by the status date, measured in currency. This is literally the value earned by the work performed and is called the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP). For example, if after 2 days 60% percent of the work on a task has been completed, you might expect to have spent 60 percent of the total task budget, or $60. With me, so far? Let's go on. Earned value analysis is always specific to a status date you choose. You may select the current date, a date in the past, or a date in the future. Most of the time, you'll set the status date to the date you last updated project progress. For example, if the current day is Tuesday, 9/12, but the project was last updated with progress on Friday, 9/8, you'd set the status date to Friday, 9/8. Here is one example of how to analyze project performance with earned value analysis. Let's say a task has a budgeted cost (BCWS) of $100, and by the status date it is 40 percent complete. The earned value (BCWP) is $40, but the scheduled value (BCWS) at the status date is $50. This tells you that the task is behind scheduleless value has been earned than was planned. Let's also say that the task's actual cost (ACWP) at the status date is $60, perhaps because a more expensive resource was assigned to the task. This tells you that the task is also over budgetmore cost has been incurred than was planned. You can see how powerful such an analysis can be. The earlier in a project's life cycle you identify such discrepancies between ACWP, BCWP and BCWS, the sooner you can take steps to remedy the problem.

One common way of visualizing the key values of earned value analysis is to use a chart. Start with a simple chart showing a steady accumulation of cost over the lifetime of a project:

The vertical y-axis shows the projected cumulative cost for a project. The horizontal x-axis shows time. The planned budget for this project shows a steady expenditure over the lifetime of the project. This line represents the cumulative baseline cost. After work on the project has begun, a chart of the key values of earned value analysis may look like this:

The status date determines the values Project calculates. The actual cost (ACWP) of this project has exceeded the budgeted cost. The earned value (BCWP) reflects the true value of the work performed. In this case, the value of the work performed is less than the amount spent to perform that work.

What else does earned value measure?

In addition to measuring BCWS, ACWP, and BCWP, earned value analysis measures:

Cost variance (CV)the difference between a task's estimated cost and its actual cost (the formula CV = BCWP - ACWP). Take our earlier example where the total planned budget for a 4-day task is $100 and it starts on a Monday. When the status date is set to the following Wednesday, the BCWS is $75, the ACWP for this period is $70, and the BCWP is $60. In that case, the task's CV is -$10. Schedule variance (SV)the difference between the current progress and the scheduled progress of a task, in terms of cost (the formula SV = BCWP - BCWS). In the example above, the task's SV is -$15. The cost performance index (CPI)the ratio of budgeted costs to actual costs (the formula CPI = BCWP / ACWP). In the example above, the task's CPI is about .86, or 86 percent.

The schedule performance index (SPI)the ratio of work performed to work scheduled (the formula SPI = BCWP / BCWS). In the example above, the task's SPI is .80, or 80 percent. The to complete performance index (TCPI)the ratio of the work remaining to be done to funds remaining to be spent as of the status date, or budget at completion (the formula TCPI = [BAC - BCWP] / [BAC - ACWP]).

How do I interpret earned value?

Earned value indicators that are variances or ratios can help you determine if there is enough money left in the budget and if the project will finish on time. Variances, such as a cost variance (CV), can be either positive or negative:

A positive variance indicates that the project is ahead of schedule or under budget. Positive variances might enable you to reallocate money and resources from tasks or projects with positive variances to tasks or projects with negative variances. A negative variance indicates that the project is behind schedule or over budget and you need to take action. If a task or project has a negative CV, you might have to increase your budget or accept reduced profit margins. Ratios, such as the cost performance index (CPI) and the schedule performance index (SPI), can be greater than 1 or less than 1:

A value that's greater than 1 indicates that the project is ahead of schedule or under budget. A value that's less than 1 indicates that you're behind schedule or over budget. For example, an SPI of 1.5 means that you've taken only 67 percent of the planned time to complete a portion of a task in a given time period, and a CPI of 0.8 means that you've spent 25 percent more time on a task than was planned.

How does % complete versus physical % complete affect earned value?

You can specify whether Project should use each task's percent complete value or physical percent complete value for earned value calculations related to BCWP. (Remember, other values are calculated from BCWP, so your decision affects the entire earned value analysis.)

Percent complete may be calculated by Project or entered directly by you, depending on how you track actual work. Physical percent complete is always entered directly by you. Use physical percent complete when percent complete would not be an accurate measure of real work performed or remaining. Here's a simple example of how the two values may differ: a project of building a stone wall that consists of 100 stones stacked 5 high. The first row of 20 stones can be laid in 20 minutes, but the second row would take 25 minutes because you have to lift the stones up one row higher, so it takes a little longer. The third row would take 30 minutes, the fourth 35 minutes, and the last row would take 40 minutes to lay150 minutes total. After laying the first three rows, the project could be said to be 60 percent physically complete (you laid 60 of 100 stones). However, you only spent 75 of 150 minutes; so in terms of duration, the job is only 50 percent complete. Depending on how you get paid for the workhow the value is earned (by the stone or by the hour)you may choose the percent complete value or the physical percent complete value to properly reflect this in the earned value analysis.

Which earned value quantities can I show or calculate in Project?

With Project, you can show:

Actual cost of work performed (ACWP) shows actual costs incurred for work already performed by a resource on a task, up to the project status date or today's date. Normally Project correlates actual costs with actual work. Only if you enter actual costs independent of actual work or change resource pay rates will actual cost be out of step with scheduled cost. Budget at completion (BAC) shows an estimate of the total project cost. Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) shows how much of the budget should have been spent given the actual duration of the task. BCWP is also referred to as "earned value." Note that Project calculates BCWP at the task level differently than it does at the assignment level. For best results, use the task-level BCWP values, which are the values Project rolls up to summary task and the project summary task BCWP values. This value is calculated for each individual task but analyzed at an aggregate level (typically at the project level). Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) shows how much of the budget should have been spent in view of the baseline cost of the task, assignment, or resource. BCWS is calculated as the cumulative timephased baseline costs up to the status date or today's date. (Budgeted cost values are stored in the baseline fields, or if you've saved multiple baselines, in fields Baseline1 through Baseline10.) Cost variance (CV) shows the difference between the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) on a task and its actual cost (actual cost of work performed or ACWP). If the CV is positive, the cost is currently under the budgeted (or baseline) amount; if the CV is negative, the task is currently over budget. Schedule variance (SV) shows the difference between the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) and the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS). If the SV is positive, the project is ahead of schedule in cost terms; if the SV is negative, the project is behind schedule in cost terms. Variance at completion (VAC) shows the difference between the budget at completion (BAC) and the estimate at completion (EAC). In Project, the EAC is the Total Cost field and the BAC is the Baseline Cost field from the associated baseline. Cost performance index (CPI) is the ratio of budgeted, or baseline, costs of work performed to actual costs of work performed (BCWP/ACWP). Cumulative cost performance index (CPI) is the sum of the BCWP for all tasks divided by the sum of the actual costs of work performed (ACWP) for all tasks. Cumulative CPI is often used to predict whether a project will go over budget and by how much. Schedule performance index (SPI) is the ratio of work performed to work scheduled (BCWP/BCWS). SPI is often used to estimate the project completion date. Estimate at completion (EAC) is the expected total cost of a task or project, based on performance as of the status date. EAC is also called forecast at completion, and is calculated like this: EAC = ACWP + (BAC - BCWP) / CPI. To complete performance index (TCPI) is the ratio of remaining available budget to be spent to the remaining scheduled cost as of the status date. TCPI is calculated like this: TCPI = (BAC - BCWP) / (BAC - ACWP). A TCPI value greater than 1 indicates good projected performance for remaining work; less than 1 indicates poor projected performance.

Where in Project do I see earned value data?

You can see earned value information in any sheet view by applying the Earned Value table or the Earned Value Cost Indicators table.

The Earned Value table shows you BCWS, BCWP, ACWP, SV, CV, EAC, BAC, and VAC. Use this table to see consolidated earned value information, including the key variance fields. Use EAC, BAC, and VAC to evaluate the difference between your scheduled and budgeted costs. Compare CV, which shows the difference between your budgeted and actual cost?of work, with SV, which shows the difference between the budgeted cost of work and the actual cost of work. The Earned Value Cost Indicators table shows you BCWS, BCWP, CV, CV%, CPI, BAC, EAC, VAC, and TCPI. Use this table to analyze cost variances. Check the CPI and TCPI to see how the project is progressing against its budget and how the rate of work compares with the expected rate. If CPI is less than than 1, you are getting less work per dollar than planned. The TCPI tells you how much of an increase in performance you'll need on the remaining tasks in order to keep within budget.

ACWP fields
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The ACWP (actual cost of work performed) fields show costs incurred for work already done on a task, up to the project status date or today's date. There are several categories of ACWP fields. Data Type Currency

ACWP (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When a task is first created, the ACWP field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported on the task, Microsoft Office Project calculates the actual cost of work performed (ACWP). This is the cost of actual work plus any fixed costs for the task to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the assigned resources' Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the actual work reported, fixed costs for tasks, and the status date or today's date. Project can calculate ACWP even if you do not have resources assigned. In this case, the calculations are based on progress (percentage of completion or actual work) and fixed costs to date for the task. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the two fields. Add any or all of these fields to a task view to display the resulting expense of a task based on actual work and the hourly rates of the assigned resources, along with any other costs incurred up to the status date or today's date. Example You need to report on ACWP as of last Friday. You enter Friday's date as the status date, and then review the costs on a task that has a 10-hour duration. The assigned resources earn $20 per hour, and they have reported five hours of actual work as of last Friday, and another five hours as of today. Using the status date, Project calculates that the ACWP up to last Friday is $100. If you used today's date as the status date, the ACWP would be calculated as $200. Remarks Because the ACWP information is maintained on a timephased basis, ACWP is calculated from the first actual cost entry to the status date or today's date. ACWP (resource field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated If a resource has not yet reported any work on any of the assigned tasks, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported by the resource on various tasks, Microsoft Office Project calculates the ACWP. This is the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the resource to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the resource's Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the status date or today's date. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the two fields. Add any or all of these fields to a resource view to display the resulting expense of a resource's work on all assigned tasks, based on the resource's actual work, hourly rate, and other incurred costs through the status date. Example You need to report on ACWP as of last Friday. You enter Friday's date as the status date, and then review the costs for a resource that has a cost of $20 per hour. The resource is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. You add the ACWP field to the Resource Sheet view to see how much this resource has cost up through last Friday. At the end of the

project, you can use the ACWP field to see how much of the budget was spent for this resource to help with cost analysis and future planning. Remarks Because the ACWP information is maintained on a timephased basis, ACWP is calculated from the first actual cost entry to the status date or today's date. ACWP (assignment field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When an assignment is first made, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported by the assigned resource, Microsoft Office Project calculates ACWP for the assignment. This is the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the assignment to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the assigned resource's Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the assignment's actual work reported and the status date or today's date. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the ACWP and BCWP fields. Add any or all of these fields to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display the resulting expense of an assignment based on actual work and the hourly rates of the assigned resources, along with any other costs incurred up to the status date. Example You need to report on ACWP as of last Friday. You enter Friday's date as the status date, and then review the costs on a task assignment that has a 10-hour duration. The assigned resource is $20 per hour, and the resource has reported five hours of actual work as of last Friday, and another five hours as of today. Using the status date, Project calculates that the ACWP up to last Friday is $100. If you used today's date as the status date, the ACWP would be calculated as $200. Remarks Because the ACWP information is maintained on a timephased basis, ACWP is calculated from the first actual cost entry to the status date or today's date. ACWP (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When a task is first created, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported on the task, Microsoft Office Project calculates ACWP. This is the cost of actual work plus any fixed costs for the task to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the assigned resources' Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the actual work reported, fixed costs for tasks, and the status date or today's date. Project can calculate ACWP even if you do not have resources assigned. In this case, the calculations are based on progress (percentage of completion or actual work) and fixed costs to date for the task. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the two fields. Add any or all of these fields to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to display the resulting expense of a task based on actual work and the hourly rates of the assigned resources over time, along with any other costs up to the status date or today's date. Example It's Friday, and you need to report on timephased ACWP for a task that has a five-day duration, scheduled from Monday through Friday of this week. The two assigned resources each have a cost of $20 per hour, and they have reported eight hours of actual work on the task through Tuesday, and another nine hours of work since then. If you want to see the timephased ACWP as of Tuesday, you enter Tuesday's date as the status date, and then review the ACWP for the task in the Task Usage view. Using the status date, Project calculates that the timephased ACWP up through Tuesday is $80 and $160 (four hours on Monday and four hours on Tuesday, cumulative). If you used today's date as the status date, the timephased ACWP would be $80, $160, $220, $280, and $340 for Monday through Friday, respectively.

Remarks Because the ACWP information is maintained on a timephased basis, ACWP can be graphed from the first actual cost entry to the status date or today's date. ACWP (resource-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated If a resource has not yet reported any work on any of the assigned tasks, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported by the resource on various tasks, Microsoft Office Project calculates ACWP. This is the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the resource to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the resource's Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the status date or today's date. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the two fields. Add any or all of these fields to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to display the resulting expense of the resource's work on all assigned tasks over time up to the status date or today's date, based on the resource's actual work, hourly rate, and other incurred costs. Example You need to report on ACWP as of last Friday. You enter Friday's date as the status date, and then review the costs for a resource that has a cost of $10 per hour. The resource is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. You add the ACWP field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to see how much this resource has cost through last Friday. You might see timephased ACWP values such as $80 (eight hours at $10 per hour) for each day cumulatively through last Friday, that is, $80, $160, $240, $320, and so on. If the resource is assigned at fewer assignment units, or has fewer actual hours of work, you might see lower ACWP values. If the resource has worked any overtime, you might see higher ACWP values. Remarks Because the ACWP information is maintained on a timephased basis, ACWP can be graphed from the first actual cost entry to the status date or today's date. ACWP (assignment-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When an assignment is first made, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) field contains 0.00. As progress (percentage of completion or actual work) is reported by the assigned resource, Microsoft Office Project calculates ACWP for the assignment. This is the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the assignment to date. By default, how and when ACWP is calculated depends on the assigned resource's Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings in the Resource Information dialog box, as well as the assignment's actual work values and the status date or today's date. If you prefer, you can have ACWP calculated based on your entries in the Actual Cost (timephased) field. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. Clear the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Office Project check box. Best Uses Use the ACWP field in conjunction with the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to compare actual to budgeted assignment costs. Use the CV (earned value cost variance) field to see the difference between the two fields. Add any or all of these fields to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display the resulting expense of an assignment based on actual work and the hourly rates of the assigned resources over time, along with any other costs. Example It's Friday, and you need to report on timephased ACWP for an assignment that has a five-day duration, scheduled from Monday through Friday of this week. The assigned resource has a cost of $20 per hour, and the resource has reported eight hours of actual work through Tuesday, and another nine hours of work since then. If you want to see the timephased ACWP as of Tuesday, you enter Tuesday's date as the status date, and then review the ACWP for the assignment on either the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. Using the status date, Project calculates that the timephased ACWP up through Tuesday is $80 and $160 (four hours on Monday, and four hours on Tuesday, cumulative). If you used today's date as the status date, the timephased ACWP would be $80, $160, $220, $280, and $340 for Monday through Friday, respectively.

Baseline Cost fields

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The Baseline Cost fields show the total planned cost for a task, a resource for all assigned tasks, or for work to be performed by a resource on a task. Baseline cost is also referred to as budget at completion (BAC), an earned value field. The timephased versions of these fields show values distributed over time. There are several categories of Baseline Cost fields. Data Type Currency

Baseline Cost (task field) Entry Type Calculated or entered

How Calculated The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of all the assigned resources plus any fixed costs associated with the task. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved. Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Resource Per Use Cost + Task Fixed Cost Best Uses The baseline cost information becomes available when you set cost information for the assigned resources and set the baseline for the task. Add the Baseline Cost field to a task sheet when you want to review total planned costs for tasks. You can review the baseline cost for the task to help set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields. Example You have a task with a 10-hour duration and a single resource assigned at $20 per hour. The baseline cost for the task would be $200. When the task is 50 percent complete, the Actual Cost field will be calculated at $100. Remarks The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box. If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect any baseline task cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the task. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values. The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change. Baseline Cost (resource field) Entry Type Calculated or entered

How Calculated The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of the resource, including scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for all work assigned to the resource. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved. Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Per Use Cost Best Uses The baseline cost information for the resource becomes available when you set cost information for the resource and set a baseline for the tasks to which the resource is assigned. Add the Baseline Cost field to a resource sheet when you want to review total baseline costs for resources. Review these baseline costs to help set your resource budget. Compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine if the task is still on track within your budget. Better yet, use the Cost Variance field to compare the two fields. Example You have a resource at $20 per hour assigned to 10 different tasks for a total of 100 hours. The baseline cost for the resource would be $2,000. Remarks The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box.

If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect any baseline resource cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the resource. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values. The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change. Baseline Cost (assignment field) Entry Type Calculated or entered

How Calculated The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of the assignment, including scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assignment. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved. Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Per Use Cost Best Uses The baseline cost information for the assignment becomes available when you have set cost information for the resource, assigned the resource to the task, and set a baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to review total planned costs for assignments. You can review the baseline cost for the assignment to help you set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine if the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields. Example $200. You add a resource at $20 per hour to a task that has a 10-hour duration. The baseline cost for the assignment would be

Remarks The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box. If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the assignment. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values. The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change. Baseline Cost (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated or entered

How Calculated As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the assignment are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields. These are the task costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assigned resources, along with any fixed costs for the task, distributed across the duration of the task. Best Uses The baseline cost information becomes available when you set cost information for the assigned resources and set the baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timesheet portion of the Task Usage view to display baseline cost information. Review the baseline cost for the task to help set your budget for the task and the project. Compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields. Example Sean and Chris are assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work next Monday through Thursday. They are both $20 per hour. This will be timephased as 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days, so the timephased scheduled cost is $80 for each of the 4 days. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this task. Remarks If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the task. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values. Baseline Cost (resource-timephased field)

Entry Type

Calculated or entered

How Calculated As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the resource are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields, which can be displayed in the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. These are the resource costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for all work assigned to the resource, distributed across the duration of the task. Best Uses The baseline cost information for the resource becomes available when you set cost information for the resource and set a baseline for the tasks that the resource is assigned to. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to display baseline cost information. You can review the baseline cost for the resource to help set your budget for the resource. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields. Example Jamie, at $10 per hour, is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. If Jamie is scheduled for 8 hours per day, the scheduled timephased cost values would be $80 (8 hours at $10 per hour) for each day worked. If Jamie is assigned at fewer assignment units, you might see lower cost values. If there is scheduled overtime, you might see higher cost values. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this resource. Remarks If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the resource. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values. Baseline Cost (assignment-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated or entered

How Calculated As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the assignment are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields, which can be displayed in the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. These are the assignment costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assignment, distributed across the duration of the task. Best Uses The baseline cost information for the assignment becomes available when you set cost information for the resource, assign the resource to the task, and set a baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display baseline cost information. You can review the baseline cost for the assignment to help you set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields. Example Sean is assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work from Monday through Thursday. Sean's standard rate is $20 per hour. This will be timephased as 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days, so the timephased scheduled cost is $80 for each day. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this assignment. Remarks If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the assignment. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

BCWS fields
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The BCWS (budgeted cost of work scheduled) fields contain the cumulative timephased baseline costs up to the status date or today's date. The timephased versions of these fields show values distributed over time. There are several categories of BCWS fields. Learn more about field categories. Data Type Currency

BCWS (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated status date.

To calculate BCWS for a task, Microsoft Office Project adds the timephased baseline costs of the task up to the

Best Uses Add the BCWS field to a task sheet to review how much of the budget should have been spent on a task to date, according to the task's baseline cost. Example The baseline cost for a task is $500 and is evenly distributed over its duration. The baseline start for the task is June 1, and the baseline finish is August 1. If today's date is July 1, then the BCWS for the task is $250, since the task should be half done. Remarks You can compare the BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the task is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields over time. BCWS (resource field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated To calculate BCWS for a resource, Microsoft Office Project adds the timephased baseline costs of the resource up to the status date. Best Uses date. Add the BCWS field to a resource sheet to review how much of the budget should have been spent on a resource to

Example Sean has a BCWS of $100 on one assigned task, $200 on another assigned task, and $50 on a third assigned task. In the Resource Sheet view, you see that Sean has a rolled up BCWS of $350 up to the status date. Remarks You can compare the BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the resource is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields. BCWS(assignment field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated To calculate BCWS for the assignment, Microsoft Office Project adds the timephased baseline costs of an assignment up to the status date or today's date. Best Uses Add the BCWS field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to review how much of the budget should have been spent on an assignment to date. Example The baseline cost for an assignment is $500 and is evenly distributed over its duration. The baseline start for the assignment is June 1, and the baseline finish is August 1. If today's date is July 1, then the BCWS for the assignment is $250. Remarks You can compare BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the assignment is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields over time. BCWS (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated To calculate timephased BCWS for a task, Microsoft Office Project adds the cumulative timephased baseline costs up to the status date. Best Uses Add the BCWS field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to display how much of the budget should have been spent on a task. Also, use this field to plot BCWS on an S-curve graph.

Example The baseline cost for a task is $500, and is evenly distributed over its duration. The baseline start for the task is June 1, and the baseline finish is August 1. If today's date is July 1, then the BCWS is $250. On June 1, the timephased value is $12.50. On June 2, the value is $25. On June 3, the value is $37.50. On June 4, the value is $50. The timephased values are shown in this manner, distributed and accumulated across the month of June, until you see the total BCWS of $250 on July 1. Remarks You can compare BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the task is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The timephased SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields. BCWS (resource-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated To calculate timephased BCWS for a resource, Microsoft Office Project adds the timephased baseline costs of the resource up to the status date. Best Uses Add the BCWS field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view. You'll display how much of the budget should have been spent on a resource to date. You can also use this field to plot BCWS on an S-curve graph. Example Sean has a BCWS of $100 on one assigned task, $50 on another assigned task, and $50 on a third assigned task. In the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view, the past four days show the timephased BCWS as $50, $100, $150, and $200. Remarks You can compare the BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the resource is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The timephased SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields over time. BCWS (assignment-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated To calculate timephased BCWS for an assignment, Microsoft Office Project adds the timephased baseline costs on the assignment up to the status date of the project. Best Uses Add the BCWS field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. This field displays how much of the budget should have been spent on an assignment to date. You can also use this field to plot BCWS on an S-curve graph. Example The baseline cost for an assignment is $500 and is evenly distributed over its duration. The baseline start for the assignment is June 1, and the baseline finish is August 1. If today's date is July 1, then the BCWS is $250. On June 1, the timephased value is $12.50. On June 2, the value is $25. On June 3, the value is $37.50. On June 4, the value is $50. The timephased values are shown in this manner, accumulated and distributed across the month of June, until you see the total BCWS of $250 on July 1. Remarks You can compare the BCWS to the BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) field to determine whether the assignment is behind or ahead of schedule in terms of cost. The timephased SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the comparison of these fields over time.

CPI fields
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The CPI (cost performance index) fields show the ratio of budgeted (or baseline) costs of work performed to actual costs of work performed, up to the project status date or today's date. The timephased version of this field shows values distributed over time. There are two categories of CPI fields. Data Type Percentage/Number

CPI (task field)

Entry Type

Calculated CPI is the ratio of BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) to ACWP (actual cost of work performed):

How Calculated

CPI = BCWP / ACWP Best Uses Add the CPI field to a task view to see the ratio of budgeted to actual costs. This value indicates whether you are over or under budget as of the status date. Example You expected that after two days, 50 percent of a four-day task would cost $60, the BCWP. This task actually incurs a total cost of $70 for the first two days. The task's CPI is about .85, or 85 percent. CPI (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated CPI is the ratio of BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) to ACWP (actual cost of work performed):

How Calculated

CPI = BCWP / ACWP Best Uses Add the CPI field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to see the ratio of budgeted to actual costs. This indicates whether you are over or under budget as of the status date. Example You expected that after two days, 50% of a four-day task would cost $60, the BCWP. This task actually incurs a total cost of $70 for the first two days. The task's CPI is about .85, or 85 percent for both days.

CV fields
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The CV (earned value cost variance) fields show the difference between how much it should have cost and how much it has actually cost to achieve the current level of completion up to the status date or today's date. The timephased versions of these fields show values distributed over time. There are several categories of CV fields. Data Type Currency

CV (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the task's BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates the CV for a task as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to a task sheet when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for a task. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Example Your BCWP for an assignment is $500 and your ACWP is $400. Your CV is $100, meaning you're $100 under budget.

Remarks If the cost variance is positive, the cost for the task is currently under the budgeted, or baseline, amount, and your actual costs are less than your baseline costs for the current level of completion on the task. If the cost variance is negative, the cost for the assignment is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline costs for the current level of completion on the task.

CV (resource field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the resource's BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates the CV for a resource as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to a resource sheet when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for a resource. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Example Your budgeted cost for work performed for a resource is $5,000 and your ACWP is $4,500. Your CV is $500, meaning you're $500 under budget. Remarks If the CV is positive, the cost for the resource is currently under the budgeted amount, and your actual costs are less than your baseline or planned costs for the current level of completion of the resource's work on the project. If the CV is negative, the cost for the resource is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline costs for the current level of completion of the resource's work on the project. CV (assignment field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the assignment's BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates the assignment CV as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for an assignment. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Example Your budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) for an assignment is $500 and your actual cost of work performed (ACWP) is $400. Your CV is $100, meaning that it cost you $100 less than you had budgeted to achieve the current level of completion on the assignment. Remarks If the CV is positive, the cost for the assignment is currently under the budgeted amount; your actual costs are less than your baseline or planned costs for the current level of completion of the assignment. If the CV is negative, the cost for the assignment is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline or planned costs for the current level of completion of the assignment. CV (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the task's timephased BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and timephased ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates the timephased CV for a task as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for a task. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Because timephased values for BCWP and ACWP are maintained, timephased values for CV are available.

Example Your budgeted cost for work performed (BCWP) on a task was $500, or $100 per day across 5 days. Your actual cost for work performed (ACWP) was $400, or $80 per day across 5 days. When you review timephased CV for the task in the Task Usage view, you see that it is $20 per day across the 5 days, for a total of $100 under budget. Remarks If the cost variance is positive, the cost for the task is currently under the budgeted, or baseline, amount, and your actual costs are less than your baseline costs for the current level of completion on the task. If the cost variance is negative, the cost for the task is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline costs for the current level of completion on the task. CV (resource-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the resource's timephased BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and timephased ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates the timephased CV for a resource as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for a resource. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Example Your budgeted cost for work performed (BCWP) on a resource was $5,000, or $100 per day across 50 days for all the resource's assigned tasks. Your actual cost for work performed (ACWP) was $4,000, or $80 per day across 50 days. When you review timephased CV for the resource in the Resource Usage view, you see that it is $20 per day across the 50 days, for a total of $1,000 under budget. Remarks If the CV is positive, the cost for the resource is currently under the budgeted amount, and your actual costs are less than your baseline costs for the current level of completion of the resource's work on the project. If the CV is negative, the cost for the resource is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline costs for the current level of completion of the resource's work on the project. CV (assignment-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV is the difference between the assignment's timephased BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed) and timephased ACWP (actual cost of work performed). Microsoft Office Project calculates timephased CV for an assignment as follows: CV = BCWP - ACWP Best Uses Add the CV field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to see whether you're under, over, or exactly within your budget for an assignment. You might find this useful when assessing budgetary performance in the project to date. Example Your budgeted cost for work performed (BCWP) on an assignment was $500, or $100 per day across 5 days. Your actual cost for work performed (ACWP) was $400, or $80 per day across 5 days. When you review the timephased CV for the assignment in the Task Usage or Resource Usage view, you see that it is $20 per day across the 5 days, for a total of $100 under budget. Remarks If the CV is positive, the cost for the assignment is currently under the budgeted amount, and your actual costs are less than your baseline or planned costs for the current level of completion on the assignment. If the CV is negative, the cost for the assignment is currently over budget, and your actual costs are more than your baseline or planned costs for the current level of completion on the assignment.

CV% fields
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The CV% (cost variance percent) fields show the ratio of cost variance (CV) to budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP), expressed as a percentage. This indicates the variance between how much it should have cost to how much it has actually cost to achieve the current level of completion up to the status date or today's date. There are two categories of CV% fields. Data Type Percentage

CV% (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV% is the percentage of the cost variance (CV) divided by BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed). Project calculates the CV% for a task as follows: CV% = [ (BCWP - ACWP) / BCWP ] * 100 Best Uses Add the CV% field to a task view when you want to see a percentage of how much you're under, over, or exactly on budget for the level of completion on tasks. Example Your BCWP for a task is $500 and your ACWP is $400. Your CV% for the task is therefore 20%, meaning you're 20 percent under budget for the current level of completion. Remarks If the CV% is a positive percentage, the task is under budget. If it's 0 percent, the task is right on target. If it's a negative percentage, the task is over budget. The CV% field is available by default on the Earned Value Cost Indicators table. You can apply it from the More Tables dialog box. CV% (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated CV% is the percentage of the task's timephased cost variance (CV) divided by timephased BCWP (budgeted cost of work performed). The timephased values for BCWP and ACWP make timephased values for CV% available. Project calculates the CV% for a task as follows: CV% = [ (BCWP - ACWP) / BCWP ] * 100 Best Uses Add the CV% field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view when you want to see a percentage of how much you're under, over, or exactly on target with your budget for the level of completion on tasks. Example On Monday, the BCWP for a task is $500 and the ACWP is $400. You review timephased CV% for the task in the Task Usage view and see that the CV% is 20 percent, meaning you're well under budget for the level of completion for this task. On Tuesday, the BCWP for the same task is $500 and the ACWP is $500. The CV% is 0 percent, indicating that you're exactly on target. On Wednesday, the BCWP for the task is $500 and the ACWP is $550. The CV% is -10%, indicating that the task is 10 percent over budget so far. Remarks If the CV% is a positive percentage, the task is under budget. If it's 0 percent, the task is right on target. If it's a negative percentage, the task is over budget. In addition to the timephased CV%, you can show total CV% for tasks in the timephased portion of the Task Usage view. Either add the CV% field to the current table or apply the Earned Value Cost Indicators table, in which the CV% field is included by default. You can apply it from the More Tables dialog box.

EAC (task field)

Data Type Entry Type

Currency Calculated

Description The EAC (estimate at completion) field shows the expected total cost of a task based on performance up to the status date. EAC is also called forecast at completion (FAC). How Calculated In previous versions of Project, EAC was equivalent to the scheduled Cost field. However, now EAC is calculated as:

EAC = ACWP + (Baseline cost X - BCWP) / CPI When a task is created, resources are assigned, and a baseline saved, EAC is the same as scheduled cost, which is the total work value multiplied by the resource cost rate. As actual work or actual cost is reported on the task, Project calculates EAC according to this formula. Best Uses Add the EAC field to a task view to display or filter for the expected total cost for the task, based on performance up to the status date. Example A task consists of 10 hours for two resources with rates of $20 per hour. At the start of the task, the cost is $200. As the resources report actual work, this figure is adjusted based on actual costs, budgeted or baseline costs, and the cost performance index. You add the EAC field to the Gantt Chart to see the expected total cost for this task. Remarks The EAC field is available by default on the Earned Value and Earned Value Cost Indicators tables. You can set one of these tables, with a task sheet displayed, in the More Tables dialog box.

Earned Value Method (task field)

Data Type Entry Type Enumerated Entered

Description The Earned Value Method field provides choices for whether the % Complete or Physical % Complete field is to be used to calculate budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP). Best Uses Add the Earned Value Method field to a task view when you need to change the basis of earned value for a set of tasks. If a task's earned value should be based on real accomplished work rather than the effort in terms of percent complete, set this field to Physical % Complete. Example Most of the tasks in your project use % Complete as the earned value method for calculating BCWP. There are about ten tasks, however, that must use Physical % Complete as the earned value method. You add the Earned Value Method field to the Gantt Chart, and then change the method for those tasks to Physical % Complete. Remarks The default setting for the Earned Value Method field is % Complete.

Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) is not affected by the setting in the Earned Value Method field because it is calculated using the status date and baseline cost values. You can also set the earned value method for a task in the Task Information dialog box. You can set the default earned value method for all new tasks in the Project Options dialog box. You can also use this dialog box to choose which of the 11 available baselines should be used for earned value calculations.

Physical Percent (%) Complete (task field)

Data Type Entry Type

Percentage Entered

Description The Physical % Complete field shows an entered percent complete value that can be be used as an alternative for calculating budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP). This field is also known as Earned Value % Complete. Best Uses Add the Physical % Complete field to a task view and enter values when the calculated percent complete would not be an accurate measure of real work performed or measured. Unlike the % Complete field, the Physical % Complete field is independent of the total duration or actual duration values used by the % Complete field to calculate BCWP. Example A project of building a stone wall consists of 100 stones stacked five high. The first row of 20 stones can be laid in 20 minutes, but the second row takes 25 minutes because now you have to lift the stones up one row higher, so it takes a little longer. The third row would take 30 minutes, the fourth 35 minutes, and the last row takes 40 minutes to lay150 minutes total. After laying the first three rows, the project could be said to be 60 percent physically complete (you laid 60 of 100 stones). However, you only spent 75 of 150 minutes, so in terms of duration, the job is only 50 percent complete. You add the Physical % Complete field to the Gantt Chart view to enter and track progress for this task. Depending on how you get paid for the work or how the value is earned (by the stone, or by the hour), you can choose the percent complete value or the physical percent complete value to properly reflect this in the earned value analysis. Remarks apply. While the default earned value method field is % Complete, you can change it to Physical % Complete for any tasks that

You can also set the earned value method for a task in the Task Information dialog box. You can set the default earned value method for all new tasks in the Project Options dialog box. You can also choose which of the 11 available baselines should be used for earned value calculations. The Physical % Complete field is available by default on the Tracking table.

SPI fields
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The SPI (schedule performance index) field shows the ratio of the budgeted cost of work performed to the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWP/BCWS). SPI is often used to estimate the project completion date. The timephased version of this field shows values distributed over time. There are several categories of SPI fields. Data Type Percentage/Number

SPI (task field) Entry Type Calculated Project calculates SPI as:

How Calculated

SPI = BCWP / BCWS Best Uses Add the SPI field to a task view to display or filter for the ratio of work performed to work scheduled. This information can help you see how far ahead or behind schedule tasks are. Example You have a four-day task, and its total planned budget is $100. After two days, the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) is $50. However, after two days of actual work, 60 percent of the work has been completed, for a cost of $60. The SPI is 1.2, indicating that you're ahead of schedule.

Remarks An SPI ratio greater than 1 indicates that you're ahead of schedule. Likewise, an SPI ratio less than 1 indicates that you're behind schedule. For example, an SPI of 1.5 means that you've taken only 67 percent of the planned time to complete a portion of a task in a given time period. An SPI of 0.8 means that you've spent 25 percent more time on a task than was planned. The SPI field is available by default on the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table. With a task sheet view displayed, open the More Tables dialog box and apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table. SPI (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated Project calculates SPI as:

How Calculated

SPI = BCWP / BCWS The timephased values for BCWP and BCWS make timephased values for SPI available. Best Uses Add the SPI field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to display or filter for the ratio of work performed to work scheduled. This can help you see how far ahead or behind schedule your tasks are on a timephased basis. Example You have a four-day task scheduled for Monday through Thursday, and its total planned budget is $100. After Monday, the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) is $25. Actual work for the task is reported on that day as 20%, for a cost of $20. Reviewing the field in the Task Usage view with the timescale set to days, you see that the SPI for Monday is 0.8 or 80 percent, indicating that the task is behind schedule. However, after Wednesday, 90 percent of the work has been completed, for a cost of $90. The SPI is now 1.2, which is displayed for both Tuesday and Wednesday in the Task Usage view, indicating that you're now ahead of schedule. Remarks An SPI ratio greater than 1 indicates that you're ahead of schedule. Likewise, an SPI ratio less than 1 indicates that you're behind schedule. For example, an SPI of 1.5 means that you've taken only 67 percent of the planned time to complete a portion of a task in a given time period. An SPI of 0.8 means that you've spent 25 percent more time on a task than was planned. In addition to the timephased SPI, you can show total SPI for tasks in the sheet portion of the Task Usage view. Either add the SPI field to the current table or apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table, in which the SPI field is included by default. With a task sheet view displayed, open the More Tables dialog box and apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table.

SV fields
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The SV (earned value schedule variance) field shows the difference in cost terms between the current progress and the baseline plan of a task, all assigned tasks of a resource, or for an assignment up to the status date or today's date. You can use SV to check costs to determine whether tasks or assignments are on schedule. The timephased versions of these fields show values distributed over time. There are several categories of SV fields. Data Type Currency

SV (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated SV is the difference between budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) and budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS). Microsoft Office Project calculates the SV as follows: SV = BCWP - BCWS Best Uses Add the SV field to a task sheet to determine whether the task is behind or ahead of its baseline schedule in cost terms.

Example The baseline plan for the "Write proposal" task had the task scheduled to complete 50 hours of work (at a cost of $500) by June 1. However, on June 1, the percent complete on the task was only 80 percent. The BCWP for this task is $400 (80 percent of $500). The BCWS is $500. Therefore, the SV is -$100, indicating in cost terms how much the task is behind the baseline plan. Remarks If the SV is positive, the task is currently ahead of schedule in cost terms. If the SV is negative, the task is currently behind schedule in cost terms. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and CV on the same graph. SV (resource field) Entry Type Calculated SV is the difference between BCWP and BCWS. Microsoft Office Project calculates the SV as follows:

How Calculated

SV = BCWP - BCWS Best Uses Add the SV field to a resource sheet to determine whether the resource is behind or ahead of its baseline schedule in cost terms. Example Your baseline plan had Sean scheduled to complete 50 hours of work (at $10 per hour) by June 1, and Sean only had 80 percent of the work done by June 1. The BCWP for Sean's assignments is $400 (80 percent of 500). The BCWS is $500. Therefore, the SV is -$100, indicating in cost terms how much the resource is behind the baseline schedule. Remarks If the SV is positive, the resource's tasks are currently ahead of schedule in cost terms. If the SV is negative, the resource's tasks are currently behind schedule in cost terms. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and CV on the same graph. SV (assignment field) Entry Type Calculated Schedule variance (SV) is the difference between the BCWP and the BCWS. Microsoft Office Project calculates the

How Calculated SV as follows:

SV = BCWP - BCWS Best Uses Add the SV field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to determine whether the assignment is behind or ahead of the baseline schedule in terms of cost. The comparison of the two can indicate whether your tasks are behind or ahead of the baseline plan. Example Your baseline plan had Sean, at $10 per hour, working for eight hours on a task on June 1. Because of schedule changes, this assignment is now scheduled for June 2. When the status date is June 1, the BCWS for Sean's assignment is $80, and the BCWP is $0, because no actual work has been done. Therefore, the SV is -$80, indicating in terms of cost that the assignment is behind schedule. Remarks If the SV value is positive, the assignment is currently ahead of the baseline schedule in terms of cost. If the SV is negative, the assignment is currently behind the baseline schedule in terms of cost. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and CV on the same graph. SV (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated SV is the difference between BCWP and BCWS. Microsoft Office Project calculates the SV as follows:

How Calculated

SV = BCWP - BCWS

Best Uses Add the SV field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to determine whether the task is behind or ahead of the baseline plan in cost terms. Because Project maintains timephased values for BCWP and BCWS, timephased values for the SV are also available. Example The baseline plan for the "Write proposal" task had the task scheduled to complete 50 hours of work (at a cost of $500) by June 1. However, on June 1, the percent complete on the task was only 80 percent. The BCWP for this task is $400 (80 percent of $500). The BCWS is $500. Therefore, the SV is -$100, indicating in cost terms how much the task is behind the baseline plan. Remarks If the SV is a positive value, the task is currently ahead of schedule in terms of cost. If the SV is a negative value, the task is currently behind schedule in terms of cost. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and cost variance (CV) on the same graph. SV (resource-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated SV is the difference between BCWP and BCWS. Microsoft Office Project calculates the SV as follows:

How Calculated

SV = BCWP - BCWS Best Uses Add the SV field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to determine whether the resource is behind or ahead of its baseline schedule in cost terms. Because Project maintains timephased values for BCWP and BCWS, timephased values for the SV are also available. Example Your baseline plan had Sean scheduled to complete 50 hours of work (at $10 per hour) by June 1, and Sean only had 80 percent of the work done by June 1. The BCWP for Sean's assignments is $400 (80 percent of 500). The BCWS is $500. Therefore, the SV is -$100, indicating in cost terms how much the resource is behind the baseline schedule. Remarks If the SV is a positive value, the resource's tasks are currently ahead of schedule in terms of cost. If the SV is a negative value, the resource's tasks are currently behind schedule in terms of cost. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and cost variance (CV) on the same graph. SV (assignment-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated SV is the difference between BCWP and BCWS. Microsoft Office Project calculates the SV as follows:

How Calculated

SV = BCWP - BCWS Best Uses Add the SV field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to determine whether the assignment is behind or ahead of the baseline schedule in cost terms. The comparison can indicate whether your tasks are behind or ahead of the baseline plan. Because Project maintains timephased values for BCWP and BCWS, timephased values for the SV are also available. Example Your baseline plan had Sean, at $10 per hour, working for eight hours on a task on June 1. Because of schedule changes, this assignment is now scheduled for June 2. When the status date is June 1, the BCWS for Sean's assignment is $80 and the BCWP is $0 because no actual work has been done. Therefore, the SV is -$80, indicating in cost terms that the assignment is behind schedule. Remarks If the SV is a positive value, the assignment is currently ahead of the baseline schedule in terms of cost. If the SV is a negative value, the assignment is currently behind the baseline schedule in terms of cost. SV is expressed in currency units, the same units used in the CV (earned value cost variance) field. This makes it easy to plot SV and cost variance (CV) on the same graph.

SV Percent (%) fields

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The SV% (schedule variance percent) field shows the ratio of schedule variance (SV) to budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS), expressed as a percentage. The timephased version of this field shows values distributed over time. There are several categories of SV Percent (%) fields. Data Type Percentage

SV Percent (%) (task field) Entry Type Calculated Project calculates SV% for a task as follows:

How Calculated

SV% = (SV / BCWS) * 100 Best Uses Add the SV% field to a task view when you want to see a percentage of how much you're under, over, or exactly on target with your schedule for the current level of completion on tasks. Example The schedule variance for a task (the difference between budgeted cost of work performed and scheduled) is $50. The budgeted cost of work scheduled is $500. Your SV% is 10 percent, meaning you're 10 percent ahead of schedule for the current level of completion on this task. Remarks If the SV% is a positive percentage, the task is ahead of schedule. If it's 0 percent, the task is right on target. If it's a negative percentage, the task is behind schedule. The SV% field is available by default on the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table. With the Task Sheet view displayed, you can apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table in the More Tables dialog box. SV Percent (%) (task-timephased field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated SV% is the task's timephased schedule variance (SV) divided by the timephased BCWS. The timephased values for SV and BCWS make timephased values for SV% available. Project calculates the SV% for a task as follows: SV% = (SV / BCWS) * 100 Best Uses Add the SV% field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view when you want to see a percentage of how much you're under, over, or exactly on target with your schedule for the current level of completion on tasks. Example On Monday, the schedule variance for a task (the difference between budgeted cost of work performed and scheduled) is $50, indicating you're $50 under budget. The budgeted cost of work scheduled is $500. Your SV% is 10 percent, meaning you're 10 percent ahead of schedule for the current level of completion on this task. On Tuesday, the SV for the task is $0. The BCWS for this day is $500. The SV% is 0 percent, indicating that you're exactly on target. On Wednesday, the SV for the task is -$10, and the BCWS for this day is $400. The SV% is -2.5 percent, indicating that the task is 2.5 percent behind schedule so far. Remarks If the SV% is a positive percentage, the task is ahead of schedule. If it's 0 percent, the task is right on target. If it's a negative percentage, the task is behind schedule. In addition to the timephased SV%, you can show total SV% for tasks in the sheet portion of the Task Usage view. Either add the SV% field to the current table, or apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table, in which the SV% field is included by default. With the Task Usage view displayed, you can apply the Earned Value Schedule Indicators table in the More Tables dialog box.

TCPI (task field)

Data Type Entry Type

Number Calculated

Description The TCPI (to complete performance index) field shows the ratio of the work remaining to be done to funds remaining to be spent, as of the status date. How Calculated Microsoft Office Project calculates TCPI as:

TCPI = (BAC - BCWP) / (BAC - ACWP) Best Uses Add the TCPI field to a task view to display or filter for the ratio of remaining available budget to be spent to remaining scheduled cost. This can help you see whether you're likely to have excess funds for the task, run out of money, or be right on target. Example You have a task with a baseline cost (BAC) of $200, BCWP of $125, and ACWP of $150. The TCPI is 1.5, indicating poor performance up to the status date. This means that to complete the project within budget, performance will need to improve. Remarks A TCPI value greater than 1 indicates a need for increased performance for the remaining work of the project in order to stay within budget (so you may need to give up some quality); less than 1 indicates performance can decrease to stay within budget, thus creating opportunities to increase quality or profit.

VAC fields
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The VAC (Variance At Completion) field shows the difference between the BAC (Budgeted At Completion) or baseline cost and EAC (Estimated At Completion) for a task, resource, or assignment on a task. There are several categories of VAC fields. Data Type Currency

VAC (task field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When a baseline is set, the VAC field for the task contains $0. The scheduled cost for the task and the budgeted cost for the task at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as progress is reported on the task, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for the task. This includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the task to date. Project calculates VAC as follows: VAC = Budgeted At Completion (baseline cost) - Estimated At Completion Best Uses Add the VAC field to a task sheet view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget when the task is completed. Example The budgeted cost for a task is $500 because you had originally estimated that it would take the assigned $50-per-hour resource 10 hours to complete. If the resource takes only five hours to complete the task, the budgeted cost is $500 and the estimated cost is updated to $250. Therefore, the VAC shows $250, indicating that you're projected to be under budget on the task by $250 at the completion of the task. Remarks If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the task is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work or assigning another resource with a lower cost rate for remaining work on the task. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the task is currently under budget. VAC (resource field)

Entry Type

Calculated

How Calculated When a baseline is set, the VAC field for the resource contains $0. The scheduled cost for the resource and the budgeted cost for the resource at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as the resource reports progress for any assigned tasks, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for all the resource's assignments. This includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the resource to date. Project calculates VAC as follows: VAC = Budgeted At Completion (baseline cost) - Estimated At Completion Best Uses Add the VAC field to a resource sheet view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget for a resource when all assigned tasks are completed. Example If your budgeted cost for a resource is $5,000, and your estimated cost is $4,000, your VAC is $1,000, meaning costs for this resource's assignments are projected to be $1,000 under budget at the completion of the all the resource's assignments. Remarks If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the resource is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work for certain assignments or assigning another resource with a lower cost rate for remaining work on assignments. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the resource is currently under budget. VAC (assignment field) Entry Type Calculated

How Calculated When a baseline is set and an assignment is first made, the VAC field for the assignment contains $0. The scheduled cost for the assignment and the budgeted cost for the assignment at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as the assigned resource reports progress, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for the assignment. This value includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the assignment to date. Project calculates VAC as follows: VAC = Budgeted at completion (baseline cost) - Estimated at completion Best Uses Add the VAC field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget for an assignment when it will be completely finished. Example If your budgeted cost for an assignment is $500 and your estimated cost is $400, your VAC is $100, meaning you're projected to be $100 under budget at the completion of the assignment. Remarks If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the assignment is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work for the assignment or assigning a resource with a lower cost rate to it for the remainder of the task. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the assignment is currently under budget.