Is it still effective after development (production only) Saving Changes...
Sort By:
Fabiano ThomePMO, Project Manager, Engineering Director, Consultant| TEMPOR FTSão Paulo, Sp, Brazil
Hello Sandra!
How are you?
What do you mean by "production only"?
Did you mean if it would make any sense to implement EVM after the deliverables would have been already handed over to operations? Saving Changes...
I mean after all the design and development reviews are complete. When the material has been purchased and the project has moved to the production line. The project has completed all design, and both preliminary and critical design reviews. There is less than one year left on the 3 year project and all that remains is to complete manufacturing based on the already approved designs. The project was not set up with EVM. Is it too late to start. Saving Changes...
Fabiano ThomePMO, Project Manager, Engineering Director, Consultant| TEMPOR FTSão Paulo, Sp, Brazil
I would say "go for it". It is never too late to improve your project management processes. Let's remember that Lessons Learned should be collected and discussed at the end of each phase / gate. So given that EVM could help improve project`s cost and schedule control processes + forecast, I would go for it without a doubt. Hope it addressed your question. At least that's how I would tackle the situation personally. Best Regards Saving Changes...
You can implement it, but you will likely find very little benefit. Influence on cost decreases greatly towards the end of a project. I don't know if this link will come across, but...
https://www.controleng.com/articles/system...project-design/
There are many versions of the systems engineering cost curve, but they all show influence dropping off early while actual costs increase later, particularly once you get into production and paper designs become physical products.
I believe EVM was first created to attempt to identify and resolve problems in the early phases of projects where the many of the costs are "baked in". You can still track the cost to plan, but you may just watch a variance that you have little ability to control. Saving Changes...
Remember that EVM can be applied to a portion of a project and not just the whole.
Kiron
...
1 reply by Fabiano Thome
Jun 04, 2020 11:07 AM
Fabiano Thome
...
Hello Kiron! How are you?
Could you elaborate more on the concept that EV should be applied to portions and not the whole project? This is the first time I hear this and got curious. Still learning here. Thanks.
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
As long as there is some work left to do, it is not too late to start EV. You need to have a WBS, a meaningful(*) schedule and a budget (estimated cost over time) as a basis. Then you must be able to track actual cost and WBS element completion.
(*) meaningful is when the activities in the schedule mostly span less than a reporting period in duration. Otherwise your EV calculation will be less accurate.
The learning is that the lifecycle (how a product is build) is separate from the how the project work is planned and tracked. The former, as we hear, can be predictive, agile, something inbetween or hybrid but the latter always is iterative (like PDCA), hence you can start with new standards like EV at the beginning of each iteration. Saving Changes...
Fabiano ThomePMO, Project Manager, Engineering Director, Consultant| TEMPOR FTSão Paulo, Sp, Brazil
Jun 04, 2020 10:53 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
...
When the project is over :-)
Remember that EVM can be applied to a portion of a project and not just the whole.
Kiron
Hello Kiron! How are you?
Could you elaborate more on the concept that EV should be applied to portions and not the whole project? This is the first time I hear this and got curious. Still learning here. Thanks.
...
2 replies by Keith Novak and Kiron Bondale
Jun 04, 2020 3:34 PM
Keith Novak
...
My employer uses a cost visualization tool that allows looking at EVM with various filtering capabilities. If the project is off plan you can drill down to see where the variance comes from. All you need is something to filter the query results, such as by manager. On a large project, some branches of the WBS might have their own cost accounting identifier so you could determine which part of the project is off-plan, such as one product feature out of many.
Jun 04, 2020 3:36 PM
Kiron Bondale
...
Fabiano -
One example could be if you are dealing with a contractor for a portion of the scope of the project and you've asked them to use EVM to report on their progress.
Another could be if there is a specific workstream where you need the benefits of EVM and where your tracking systems would support it but other workstreams are less critical and their underlying financial/time systems don't.
Hello Kiron! How are you?
Could you elaborate more on the concept that EV should be applied to portions and not the whole project? This is the first time I hear this and got curious. Still learning here. Thanks.
My employer uses a cost visualization tool that allows looking at EVM with various filtering capabilities. If the project is off plan you can drill down to see where the variance comes from. All you need is something to filter the query results, such as by manager. On a large project, some branches of the WBS might have their own cost accounting identifier so you could determine which part of the project is off-plan, such as one product feature out of many. Saving Changes...
Hello Kiron! How are you?
Could you elaborate more on the concept that EV should be applied to portions and not the whole project? This is the first time I hear this and got curious. Still learning here. Thanks.
Fabiano -
One example could be if you are dealing with a contractor for a portion of the scope of the project and you've asked them to use EVM to report on their progress.
Another could be if there is a specific workstream where you need the benefits of EVM and where your tracking systems would support it but other workstreams are less critical and their underlying financial/time systems don't.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Why do you need to use EVM? Which is the problem you will solve thanks to use it?. If not then there is no value at all. It is waste, in terms of things like Lean or quality. Saving Changes...
