Depaul University

1. Depaul University Project management I - tracking status Instructor: david A. Lash

2. Intro To Tracking Status • When is The most important time In project To track progress? • Beginning? • Middle? • Towards end? • Progress measurement are tools to identify problems and determine status • Each work package is a measurable unit of progress • More work packages mean more accurate monitoring • How track few projects 6 months long each?

3. Project Tracking Common Sense • Never measure work packages percent complete with small units (e.G., 57%, 65%, 87%, etc) • About the best is 0%, 50%, 100% maybe 25, 75% • Each work package needs completion criteria and cannot be considered done until it is 100% done. • Having lots of packages with details left can cause problems • Measuring status for critical path items only can lead you astray • Tendency for non-critical path items to become critical path

4. Measuring Status (On-time Schedule?) • On repetitive tasks can use a standard measure - • Driving piles into marshy soil. • Converting hundreds of programs for 2YK readiness • Figure 11.3 (pg 250) - shows a status chart of planned development versus actual

5. Example Simple Progress Completion Chart N u m O f U n I t s Planned Actual Time

6. Measuring Cost Status • Track costs for each work package/task as they complete • Important for early determination of cost overruns • Requires task level folks to keep track • (See next slide)

7. Simple Table For Tracking Costs Budget Actual

8. Earned Value Reporting • Earned value reporting - uses costs data to get accurate costs and schedule reports. • Projects can be on schedule but over costs or • Under schedule but on costs • 5 possible combinations

9. Earned Value Reporting • Graphing the costs and schedule variance can quickly show where action is needed Project is Ahead of Schedule and under budget. Under budget Project is Behind Schedule and under budget. .D .A On schedule On Budget 10% 5% .B Behind Schedule Ahead Schedule .C -10% -5% 5% 10% Behind Schedule and Over budget. -5% Ahead of Schedule and Over budget. Over budget -10%

10. Uses For Earned Value Reporting • Can calculate the cost variance - how far off the planned costs • Can calculate the schedule variance - how far off the planned schedule

11. Calculating Cost Variance With Earned Value Reporting • How far off the planned costs are you? • Earned Value Reporting Terms: • Budgeted Cost of Work Planned (BCOWP) - The budgeted costs of tasks done • Actual Costs of Work Performance (ACOWP) - The actual costs of work done • Cost Variance (CV) - Difference between Planned costs and budgeted (CV = BCOWP - ACOWP). • Cost Variance Percent (CV%) - Cost variance divided by planned costs.CV% = CV/BCWP. • Positive is OK. Negative bad. • Estimate at Completion (EAC) - A re-estimate of complete budget • (Origin budget * ACOWP) / BCOWP

12. Calculating Cost Variance With Earned Value Reporting • Assume the following • Might represent time where 4 of 8 tasks done ACOWP = 380 BCOWP = 400 CV = BCOWP - ACOWP = 400 - 380 = 20 CV %=(COWP - ACOWP)/BCOWP = (400-380)/400=5% under • Positive means under schedule • Negative mean over schedule

13. Calculating Schedule Variance With Earned Value Reporting • How far off the planned schedule are you? • Earned Value Reporting Terms: • Budgeted Cost of Work Planned (BCOWP) - The budgeted costs of tasks done • Budgeted Cost Of Work Scheduled (BCOWS) - Planned costs of work that should have already been completed. • Schedule Variance (SV) - Difference between value of work planned and values of work actually completed. (SV = BCOWP - BCOWS). • Schedule Variance Percent (SV%) - Cost variance divided by planned costs.SV% = SV/BCWP. • Positive is OK. Negative bad.

14. Calculating Cost Variance With Earned Value Reporting • Assume the following • Suppose current month is June, then BCOWS = 600. BCOWP = 400 BCOWS = 600 SV = BCOWP - BCOWS = 400 - 600 = -200 SV%=(SV / BCOWS = -200/600 = -33% or 33% behind sched • Positive means ahead schedule • Negative mean behind schedule

15. Earned Value Graphunder budget and behind schedule especially useful for status of several projects N u m O f U n I t s BCOWP BCWS Schedule Variance Cost Variance ACOWP Time Current Date

16. Escalation Thresholds • It’s a good idea to establish “automatic” escalation thresholds (when management is interested) • Helps project manager determine proper attention to problems • Clarifies expectations to upper management • Communicates expectations to project workers • Helps with Project manager empowerment

17. Escalation Thresholds Under Budget (+) Upper mngmt Behind Sched, under budget. Senior Management Threshold . Task D . Task A . Task B . Task E Behind ( - ) Schedule Variance % . Task C Ahead of Schedule (+) Immediate Management Threshold No Escalation Immed mngmt. Behind Sched, under budget. Variance % Over Budget (+)

18. Cost & Schedule Baselines • Baseline - A comparison point • Project Baseline - The original sponsor approved project plan • Comparison between actual and planned (baseline) should be identical • Project baseline represents • a starting point for comparison with actual performance • the accepted cost-schedule-quality of project • Monitor status against baseline to determine project status • (see figure 11.9)

19. Conclusions • Four steps to keep projects on track • Monitor project - check out cost and schedule performance • Identify problem sources - What is the “true” source of the problem • Develop & implement solution • Update project plan • Techniques presented in this section give some ways to monitor projects.