PM War Stories #21 – Earned Value Management: Using metrics to better gauge project milestones

Download PMW_0021_EVM_and_Milestones.mp3 (27.4 MB)

With businesses around the globe experiencing the pinch of a hurting economy, project managers and PMO leaders are looking for ways to mitigate project cost overruns by carefully gauging their resources and activities at every critical milestone.  In light of this reality, measuring techniques such as earned value management have been pushed to the the top of project managers' agendas in order to assist their organizations during these volatile times.  

So what is Earned Value Management (EVM) anyways?  EVM is a technique for objectively measuring project performance by combining the measurement of project scope, schedule and cost into one single integrated metric.  Sounds like a silver bullet?  Think again.  Like most project management methodologies, without the proper stakeholder buy-in and when misapplied EVM can yield inaccurate results that can potentially derail a project's path to success.  Alternatively, since its introduction in the 1960's by the US government, EVM has had a long history of helping project managers in the private sector and government contractors in the public sector in measuring the cost and performance of their projects.  

In this episode, we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of earned value management in providing metrics to better gauge project milestones.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, the Technology Corner, we sit down with Charlene Thompson, who has over 15 years project management experience. She is the Vice President of Programs for the Kansas City chapter of PMI, and is a member of the PMI College of Scheduling. Currently, Charlene works for the EG&G Division of URS as Project Engineer for Alliant Techsystems (ATK) at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. ATK has more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and is a leading supplier of aerospace and defense products, munitions, smart weapons, propulsion and composite structures. In this episode, Charlene discusses why ATK switched from Microsoft Projects to Primavera to manage complex, long term maintenance projects at the munitions plant.

In Part 2, we will be talking to industry insider, Larry Bradshaw who has over 15 years of project and portfolio management experience. He is the founder and owner of Commonwealth Data Systems, Inc. Larry has extensive experience with IT Software Program and Project Execution as well as detailed leadership in software development, testing, implementation and support. In this episode, he will be sharing his insights and war stories around earned value management.

I would also like to remind our audience that it is not too late to sign up to receive a free copy of our upcoming Industry Report on new product development.

The industry report will provide project managers, engineers and executives insight into the technology and tools to develop, manage, design, and produce products from idea generation to commercialization. 
 
Participating vendors include Autodesk, Infor, IFS, Microsoft, Primavera, and Siemens–UGS.

The report will feature thought leadership, best practices and customer success stories in key verticals, such as aerospace, consumer goods, process manufacturing, financial services, publishing, and many others, to help project managers, engineers, and executives succeed.   

If you would like to get a free copy of the report, which will be published in January, click here to complete the registration form today.

Thanks again to our community, please keep the war stories and suggestions coming.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode - "Offroad"
2. Technology Corner - "Half Moon Bay"
3. Interview with Industry Insider - "Two Seater" 
4. The closing of the episode - "Electric Rodeo"