EVM Calculator

EVM Calculator & Explanation (PERT Style)

EVM Calculator

Select the currency for displaying results.
Budgeted cost of scheduled work.
Actual cost of work performed.
Total planned project budget.
Use if EV is unknown. EV = BAC * %.
Budgeted cost of work performed.

EVM Results

Variances

Cost Variance (CV):
Schedule Variance (SV):

Performance Indices

Cost Performance Index (CPI):
Schedule Performance Index (SPI):

Forecasting

Estimate At Completion (EAC):
Estimate To Complete (ETC):
Variance At Completion (VAC):
To-Complete Index (TCPIBAC):

Why Use Earned Value Management (EVM)?

Theoretical Understanding:

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a powerful project management technique that provides an integrated view of project performance. Unlike traditional methods that might track budget vs. actual cost separately from schedule progress, EVM combines all three major constraints: Scope, Schedule, and Cost.

It operates on three key data points measured periodically (e.g., weekly or monthly):

  • Planned Value (PV): The budgeted cost for the work scheduled to be completed by the reporting date. “Where should we be?”
  • Earned Value (EV): The budgeted cost for the work actually completed by the reporting date. “What did we actually accomplish in budget terms?”
  • Actual Cost (AC): The actual amount of money spent to complete the work by the reporting date. “What did it actually cost?”
From these, EVM calculates critical variances and performance indices like Cost Variance (CV), Schedule Variance (SV), Cost Performance Index (CPI), and Schedule Performance Index (SPI), as well as forecasts like Estimate At Completion (EAC).

Practical Importance in Project Management:

Tracking only schedule progress or only budget spending gives an incomplete picture. A project might be on schedule but wildly over budget, or under budget simply because it’s significantly delayed. EVM cuts through this ambiguity.

Using EVM provides significant practical advantages:

  • Objective Performance Measurement: Provides quantifiable metrics (CPI, SPI) to assess how efficiently the project is using time and money relative to the completed work (scope).
  • Early Warning System: Variances (CV, SV) signal deviations from the plan early, allowing managers to take corrective action before problems become critical.
  • Accurate Forecasting: Performance indices (CPI) allow for data-driven forecasts of the final project cost (EAC), providing more realistic predictions than simple linear extrapolation.
  • Improved Decision Making: Clear performance data enables informed decisions about resource allocation, scope adjustments, or process changes.
  • Enhanced Stakeholder Communication: Offers a standardized, objective way to report project health and expected outcomes to clients, sponsors, and teams.
  • Integrated View: Directly links cost and schedule performance to the actual work delivered (scope), highlighting the true value being generated.

By using this EVM calculator, project managers, controllers, and team members can easily compute these vital metrics, gain deeper insights into project status, and ultimately increase the likelihood of delivering projects successfully within scope, time, and budget constraints.