Earned value calculations

[CWW]

I am attempting to use Project to calculate EV (BCWP & BCWS) and am
encountering the old catch 22. While progressing tasks, the resources are
applying Actual Work in the future (when ahead of schedule) and the BCWP is
Calculated up to status date. If I move Actual work to before the Status date
and rebasline it corrects the BCWP, However now BCWS is incorrect. Has anyone
encountered the same issue?

 

[Rod Gill]

Earned value makes a pretty useless report unless:

Resources assigned realistically
Baseline saved
Resources update progress accurately, preferably with a timesheet system
(updates need to be that accurate) that updates project. For example Project
Server or one of a number of companion products.

This is a training and supervising problem: VBA can't solve the problem as
the problem will change week to week if the schedule isn't updated
correctly.

 

[Joe]

I don’t understand why someone would enter actuals into the future. What
they should do is adjust the remaining hours if they are ahead of schedule.
This is what you want so that the SPI shows greater than 1.0, which shows you
are ahead of schedule.

Have the users enter their actual hours for each day and verify the
remaining hour of work for the future NEVER enter future actual hours EVER..

If you continue to let them enter hours in the future, you cannot accurately
show EVA calculations.

 

[davegb]

Your actual work can't be in the future, has to be before the status
date (normally, today's date).
I'd add one other thing to Rod's list, the burn rate on the tasks has
to be constant for EV to work, which usually means they have to be
pretty granular.

 

[CWW]

Thanks Joe, You are absolutly correct. You shouldn't take actual work in the
future. This is were my problem is. Project is duplicating actual work in the
future to match the schedule spread and will only Sum BCWP up to the Status
date and if you move Actual Work back and Baseline it changs the BCWS. any
thoughts

 

[CWW]

thanks for the reply davegb, The problem is that Project is applying the
actual work in the future. I am working a 3,000 line schedule with 2,000,000
Hr. budget, no way anyone can plan this perfectly up front so there will be
positives and negatives and should wash out (hopefully) at the end.

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

If Project is applying work in the future you';re taking the shortcut of
simply marking a task with X percentage complete without entering actual
work on the dates it occured. Updating the task with % complete using the
toolbar or the "Update Project" tools in the Tools Tracking menu the
percentage assumes the work on the task has been done exactly according to
plan. If it's antythhing else you need to post it the long way by entering
the ACtual Start date for the point in time where the work was first done on
the task and entering the Actual Duration and Remaining Duration fields or
using the Usage View and entering actual work hours on the days where the
work was done.