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.