EVM Performance — what each card means, and what fills it in
Where: open a project, then EVM Performance in the left menu.
What this page is for
Earned value compares three things: the work you planned to have done by now, the work that is actually done (in budget dollars), and what that work cost. The page builds all three from the project's own record: the baselined schedule and the Quantity Book. Nothing is typed in here.
One earned value, every card
Every card on the page reads the same point in time: the latest period that has started. Earned Value (EV), Planned Value (PV), the schedule variance, the S-curve and the charts all use that one point, so the same number appears everywhere it is shown. Press Recalculate EVM after a large import or a schedule change to refresh the figures.
When a card says it has nothing to measure
A new project, or one without a baselined schedule, does not get a made-up health rating. You see one of these labels instead.
| You see | On | What it means | What fills it in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not measured | Actual Cost (AC), Cost Performance Index (CPI), Estimate at Completion (EAC), Variance at Completion (VAC), and the Cost badge under Project Health | The project has no actual-cost source yet, so cost cannot be compared with earned value. | A cost source for the project. Until then, judge progress by the schedule figures. |
| No baseline yet | Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and the Schedule badge under Project Health | There is no planned value to measure the schedule against. | Schedule activities with a baseline start, a baseline finish and a budgeted cost. A P6 import with baselines brings these in. |
| Not rated | Cost Data Quality | No pay item carries a price with a recorded confidence, or the project has no pay items yet, so there is nothing to grade. | Pay items with unit prices whose source is recorded (for example, contract prices or agency average prices). The card then shows a letter grade, A to F. |
Earned value grows as quantities are posted to the Quantity Book on pay items linked to schedule activities. Each activity earns its budgeted cost in proportion to the quantity posted against the quantity planned.
Reading the index labels
When a figure is measured, the label under it follows one rule:
- CPI above 1.00 reads Under budget, exactly 1.00 reads On budget, below 1.00 reads Over budget.
- SPI above 1.00 reads Ahead of schedule, exactly 1.00 reads On schedule, below 1.00 reads Behind schedule.
The Progress S-Curve
The S-curve plots planned and actual progress as a percent of the whole budget, so it always runs from 0% to 100%. The shaded band is 10 points either side of the plan. "Latest" in the corner tells you how far ahead or behind the most recent period is.
Common questions
Why does my new project say "No baseline yet" everywhere? It has no baselined, budgeted schedule activities. Import a P6 schedule with baselines, or set baseline dates and budgets on the activities.
Why is Actual Cost "Not measured" when I have quantities posted? Posted quantities produce earned value, not cost. Actual cost needs its own source, which the project does not have yet.
Why does Cost Data Quality say "Not rated" when my items have prices? The prices have no recorded source or confidence. The grade only counts what it can see.