Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
A Measure of Time
For on-time delivery, project managers must accurately assess schedule performance. Earned Schedule, a new twist on earned value management, uses quantitative analysis to establish overall progress or lack thereof. Here is a real-world primer, supported by helpful utilities, on Earned Schedule, what it reveals about overall schedule performance, and how specific tasks can affect it.
Vijay was worried about his project. He was two months into a six-month schedule, and a major milestone loomed next week. His boss was demanding daily updates. The vendor kept telling him that everything was fine, but some of the deliverables were overdue. Oddly, others were done early. Vijay studied the schedule, but with dozens of tasks in play, he could not get a fix on how things were going overall. He was not even sure that he was watching the tasks at most risk.
Vijay’s situation is a common one for project managers. They need to quickly and accurately assess schedule performance. Experience is a valuable guide, but it has limits: many project managers have not had time to develop their instincts, and even “old hands” can use help on unfamiliar or exceptionally large, complex, or time-critical projects.
Ideally, project managers would have access to a visual representation of schedule performance, making it easy to understand and to …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
If you can't convince them, confuse them. - Harry Truman |