Part 1 – Earned Value Management System
Introduction
- Overview – purpose and scope of the classroom session.
- Review of notebook contents.
Introduction to Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS)
- The essential features of a disciplined Earned Value Management System.
- Objectives and policies of customer-implemented requirements.
- What are the benefits to the Customer?
- Why should the seller implement an Earned Value Management System?
- Who uses Earned Value?
- The evolution of Earned Value Management.
Introduction to the Earned Value Concept
- Problems with comparing plan versus actual to ascertain performance.
- Earned Value – An essential parameter.
The Brick Wall – An illustrative example of Earned Value methods.
Organization and Work Definition
- WBS defined.
- Purposes of a WBS.
- Developing a WBS for standard and non-standard systems.
- Trade-off assessments on determining the number of levels in the WBS.
- Negotiating the WBS with the customer.
- Purpose and importance of defining WBS elements.
Work Breakdown Structure Case Study #1: A concise exercise in developing a WBS considering conflicting purposes, alternative orientations and varying levels of detail.
Responsibility Assignment
- Matrixing the organization structure with the WBS.
- Essential features of a Control Account.
- Guidance in the identification of Control Account levels and contents.
- Why the Control Account is the driving factor in system cost and how to minimize this cost.
- Integrating management subsystems around the WBS and Control Accounts.
Control Account Definition Case Study #2: An exercise involving relating the WBS developed previously to the organization structure, taking into consideration the trade-offs between detailed or summary Control Accounts.
Work Teams
- Work Teams defined.
- Characteristics of a Work Team.
- The Work Team Leader.
- Why organize utilizing Work Teams.
- The Control Account in a Work Team environment.
Planning, Scheduling and Budgeting
- Planning, Scheduling and Budgeting – A three-stage iterative process.
- Proper design of a scheduling system.
- Integrating cost and schedule.
- Management philosophies on Management Reserve and Undistributed Budgets.
Measuring Accomplishment
- Description of Work Measurement classifications.
- Work Packages defined.
- Discrete Work Measurement techniques.
- Milestone Characteristics.
- Rolling Wave – How far in the future must you plan?
- Summary Planning Packages and their use.
Transmission Design Control Account Plan Case Study #3: A comprehensive, but concise, exercise involving selecting appropriate Earned Value methodologies and calculating the budget and Earned Value for a sample Control Account.
Accounting
- Why Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) is different from "actual costs".
- Structuring an effective cost control code for accumulating Actual Costs for Work Performed.
- Common problems and solutions to accumulating material costs for performance measurement.
- "Enlightened" customer requirements on material costs.
- How to identify meaningful material variances.
Analysis
- Identifying cost and schedule variances.
- Methods of portraying variances.
Variance Calculation Exercise Case Study #4: A simplistic exercise in the calculation of cost and schedule variances.
Earned Value Methods Case Study #5: An exercise involving the determination of BCWS and BCWP based on selected Earned Value Methods.
Variance Analysis Reports
- Interpreting cost and schedule variance.
- What constitutes a significant variance?
- Writing useful Variance Analysis Reports.
- Comparing past and future efficiency factors.
Variance Analysis Report Critique Case Study #6: A comparison and evaluation of alternative Variance Analysis Reports.
Estimates, Indices and Forecasts
- Developing Estimates at Completion (EAC)
- Utilization of Performance Indices
Performance Efficiency Factors and Estimate at Completion Case Study #7: A simplistic exercise requiring the calculation of past and future efficiency factors and an Estimate At Completion forecast.
Highway Case Study #8: A reinforcement of variance calculation, performance indices, and EAC analysis.
Revisions
- The importance of baseline management.
- Obtaining a balance between a firm baseline and the requirement for replanning flexibility.
- How the baseline is affected by various changes.
- Acceptable reasons for retroactive changes to the baseline.
Contract Budget Base (CBB) Log Preparation Case Study #9: A concise exercise on how changes affect the budget and how to document them.
System Development
- How to implement an EVM System.
- Cost factors to develop and operate an EVM System.
- Common problems and solutions.
The Validation Process – What to expect during the Validation Process.
Integrated Baseline Review – What to expect during the IBR Process.
The Use of Performance Measurement Data
- Definition of key data elements.
- Review of course to date.
Reporting
- What types of financial reports are required and what is their purpose?
- How to prepare and interpret the various reports.
- Reconciling funds reports with performance reports – An accuracy check.
- Differences in reporting requirements.
Top Management Use of Earned Value Data
Graphical presentations.
Part 2 – Project Scheduling
Introduction to Project Scheduling
- What is a schedule?
- Why is a schedule necessary?
- What will it take to schedule?
The Scheduling Process
- Nine steps in developing a schedule.
- Define the objective.
- Document the environment.
- Establish the key events to satisfy the objective.
- Put key events in order of occurrence.
- Determine the activities required to accomplish the key events.
- Estimate the duration of each activity.
- Establish the plan for performing the detailed activities.
- Load and level resources.
- Commitment and approval.
Project Scope Definition
- Define the requirements.
- Establish a disciplined approach.
- Define core requirement.
- Planning the program.
- Integrated product development framework.
- Integrated Master Plan (IMP)
- Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)
Network Diagramming
- Network components.
- History of PERT.
- Critical Path Method.
- Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM).
- Activity relationships (FS, FF, SS, SF).
- PERT vs. PDM/CPM.
Case Studies #1 & #2: Constructing PDM Networks
Critical Path Method
- Definitions and critical path determination.
- Determining early and late schedule dates
- Calculating and using total and free float.
Case Study #4: CPM Network Construction
Case Study #5: Date, Float, and Critical Path Calculations
Case Study #7: Float Analysis
Special Networking Considerations
- Secondary float.
- Parallel, SS/FF relationships.
- Level-of-Effort.
Case Study #8: Constructing a More Complex PDM Network
Project Modeling Techniques
- Lags.
- Directed dates.
- Hammocks, summary tasks and fragnets
Case Study #9: Use of Direct Dates
Resource Loading and Leveling
- Resource loading, profiling, and time/resource constraints.
- Resource leveling and S-curves.
Schedule Baseline
- Definition and purpose of the schedule baseline.
- Baseline development, maintenance, and revision.
Schedule Traceability
- Definitions, requirements, and methods.
Case Study #11: Vertical and Horizontal Schedule Traceability
Schedule Audit
Schedule Statusing
- Statusing techniques and results.
Case Study #12: Determining Status and Forecasting
Impact of Schedule Changes
- Routine Updates
- Formal changes and their effects
- What are informal changes and how do they infect the schedule.
Case Study #14: Analyzing Schedule Changes
Combining CPM Schedule and Performance Measurement Data
- CPM Data
- SPI and CPI Data Review
- Combining the data
Case Study #15: Control Account Analysis
Implementation
- The scheduling function.
- Calendar considerations.
- Scheduling abuses.
- The key aspects of successful scheduling.
- Final points.
Part 3 – Control Account Manager (CAM)
IBR Surveillance Discussion
The CAM IBR Surveillance Discussion is a video training aid to gain a better understanding of the process for demonstrating and explaining the use of an Earned Value Management System. It provides a realistic simulation of a typical CAM documentation review, data trace, and interview session with a government customer for an integrated baseline review (IBR), compliance review, or surveillance review. It demonstrates how a well prepared CAM successfully conducts an interview with a government customer.