Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
The Earned Value Analysis conference starts in London today. What are your tips for someone who wants to get started with using EVA on projects? Saving Changes...
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Darren KosaPlanning & Controls ContractorHampshire, United Kingdom
Hi Elizabeth,
I really don’t think it's that different to how someone would go about setting up a PMO, in that:-
Before you start out on the path, you need to have a clear picture of why you are implementing EVM. What are the pros and cons? Is it a case that it's a new initiative that your organisation is trying it on to see how it fits, or is it mandated as part of the contract and will have the full backing of your executive team?
Like a Boy Scout, be prepared! The very mention of Earned Value can sometimes polarise opinion. Although its use is now more widespread, the mystique still surrounding EVM formulae and terminology may mean there is some opposition to cultural change. A few people in your organisation may have also had negative experiences of EVM and could be very vocal to start with. How would you overcome this obstacle and get them back into the fold?
Definitely undertake an organisational assessment to understand the level of Project Management maturity in your organisation. Your project management practices need to be pretty well engrained for EVM to add 'value', so if you are still trying for a consolidated approach to project delivery, then bolting on EVM and expecting projects to comply may be a step too far.
What business processes will you be able to draw upon to create your EVMS? How disparate are they? Will they easily mesh to allow a common approach to EVM? Will new processes have to be created or existing ones tailored?
What performance metrics will your organisation require for performance reporting? Will you be running the whole gamut of EVM performance reports, or do you just have to report on cost or schedule variance? Will you need to create new templates for your reports or can they be tagged onto existing dashboards? How much more effort will it take to produce these reports? Will you need to do a cost vs. benefit exercise to see which metrics your really need and which ones can be tailored out?
Will you be purchasing COTS products to help you with EVM reporting of creating your own reporting tool? Will these COTS products then need to be integrated with your existing accounting and scheduling tools?
EVM has the potential to engage a lot project staff in your organisation. Risk Managers, Change Managers, Control Account Managers, Project Managers, Programme Managers and Account Managers will all need to be taught about EVM. Whilst an Account Manager may not need the same level of training as a Control Account Manager or Project Manager, they all need some instruction on how EVM will affect their role. What initial training will need to be undertaken so that EVM is implemented smoothly and how much ongoing training will then be needed for new starters to be inducted into the organisation.
One of the most important things to concentrate on is to get buy-in and support from the organisation you report to. If the business does not see or fully understand the benefit of EVM, then there will be a lot of blank faces each time the reporting cycle comes round.
EVM is not a panacea, it is still subject to the GIGO principal. If your team does not fully grasp the scope of the project, does not baseline schedules, have a change control process worth the paper it's written on, or accurately capture costs, then the garbage fed in to your reporting tool will always result in garbage out and delivered up your reporting chain.
Don't expect the first few EVM reports to tell you much. Your EVMS will still be bedding in and your team may still be ironing out kinks in your reporting process. EVM also uses historical data to trend and then forecast performance, so there really won't be enough data available to give you meaningful performance metrics.
This is also true as you approach the latter stages of the project lifecycle. The last few EVM reports will not be of much use as at the end of the project Earned Value will always equal Planned Value. This will mean that the closer you get to completing your project, the less effective the calculations used to indicate schedule performance will become.
Although I've listed a few talking points here you can always tailor your approach to fit. But, and it's a big but, if you don't implement the basics that allow you to control scope, cost and schedule, EVM will become a pointless exercise very quickly.
EVM should not be a chore, so by providing early warning signals it should help you and your project team identify areas of concern quicker. With more time to initiate corrective actions, you should then be able to stop problems becoming issues.
I’ll take a breath now and let someone else contribute.
Earned Value Management and Analysis is best used with large projects with mature project, program and portfolio process. The benefit of EVM is provide make informed decisions regarding controlling costs, schedule, and technical risk.
I agree with Darren, an organization approach should be applied to the use of EVM.
Other thoughts?
~N. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
