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(EVM-1556) Why Earned Value Metrics Sometimes Deceive Management

Primary Author: Mr. Thomas W. Jaeger EVP

Audience Focus: Intermediate
Application Type: Application
Venue: 2014 AACE International Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA

Abstract: The ultimate objective of using EVM systems on large development and acquisition projects is to capture and report accurate, reliable performance data for use by project managers and the customer in assessing project cost and schedule status. This data must be of reliable integrity to enable managers and stakeholders to identify project cost and schedule issues early and to forecast with reasonable confidence the likely project completion date and final cost. Too often the customer is surprised that their project will significantly overrun its budget or target completion date even though the EVMS data indicates the project is on budget and on schedule. This paper presents examples of actual projects of the type just described and explains why the customer was surprised by the project finishing late and/or over budget. This session is for managers and intermediate level project analysts who want to learn how to spot practices that may detrimentally impact the accuracy and reliability of the EVMS data being reported on their projects.