In earned value analysis, the Estimate to Complete (ETC) is your crystal ball for what’s left to spend. It’s not the total project cost—that’s the Estimate at Completion (EAC)—but rather the expected cost from this moment to the finish line, excluding what’s already been spent. For project managers, the ETC is a vital tool, offering a clear view of remaining funding … [Read more...]
Want to unlock the secret to delivering projects on time and within budget? Earned Value Management (EVM) might just be your key. This powerful project control technique gives project managers a clear, data-driven snapshot of where a project stands—tracking both budget and schedule performance in real time. But more than that, it forecasts how those variables will … [Read more...]
The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a game-changer in project scheduling, offering a structured way to map out the flow of tasks and timelines. At its core lies the PERT chart, a dynamic visual tool that simplifies the planning and coordination of project activities, making it easier to spot dependencies and stay on course. A staple in project … [Read more...]
The true power of the earned value method lies in its ability to sound the alarm before a project veers off track. In my days at a large engineering firm, I watched countless project managers stumble into a rude awakening at the end of the monthly billing cycle, only then realizing their project was lagging. Too often, they’d brush it off, banking on a burst of … [Read more...]
In project management, accurate cost and time estimates can make or break a project’s success. Bottom-up estimating offers a granular approach to forecasting by breaking tasks into smaller components and building estimates from the ground up. In this blog post, we’ll explore how this method drives precision, fosters accountability, and empowers teams to deliver projects … [Read more...]
In yesterday's post we outlined the critical path method which is one of the professional project manager's techniques to ensuring project deadlines are met. Today we will walk through an example with a complete solution using MS Excel. Our example project is to build a new driveway. We will be hiring our friend, Jon, who is a concrete worker, and we will rent an … [Read more...]
Earned Value is a method used by project managers to calculate the current project status and predict future project performance. In this post we will outline each earned value formula. Planned Value (PV) Earned Value (EV) Actual Cost (AC) Schedule Variance (SV) Schedule Performance Index (SPI) Cost Variance (CV) Cost Performance Index (CPI) … [Read more...]
The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is an important step in project scheduling. PERT charts are a central part of any project management course. They are quick to draw and intuitive to use. How to Draw a PERT Chart There are two rules: Tasks (activities) are represented as arrows Milestone dates are nodes PERT charts are also called … [Read more...]
The real benefit of the earned value method is in the early warning signal it provides. In my previous life at a large engineering company, I saw many project managers get to a monthly billing cycle before they realized the project was behind, and even then they would rationalize it by deciding their project team was going to be more efficient in the next cycle. … [Read more...]
In its most basic form a project schedule is a list of tasks with assigned start and finish dates. It can also be a graphical bar chart produced with project management software or in a spreadsheet. In professional schedule development, a critical path analysis using a network diagram produces the critical path tasks and their floats. Since a graphical bar … [Read more...]
