Let's start with the absolute basics and define what schedule variance means:
- It is a calculation that measures the total project's progress and takes into account the actual progress versus the expected progress.
- In terms of the benefits, it allows project managers to quantify the project by making use of real-time data and absolute numbers.
- It can be calculated manually or by using robust project management software. ...
How do you calculate a schedule variance?
Mar 28, 2022 · Schedule variance is the calculation project managers use to determine whether a project is adhering to its financial schedule. While project managers can calculate schedule variance manually, there are many calculation softwares that can accelerate the process or manage the schedule variance in real time.
How to calculate the schedule variance?
What Is Point-in-time / Period-by-Period Schedule Variance? Point-in-time or period-by-period schedule variance refers to the difference between earned value (as observed and measured in a period) and planned value with respect to a single period. Variances of other periods, such as excesses or shortfalls, are not considered.
What does a negative schedule variance mean?
Jul 15, 2020 · Schedule variance (SV) is a calculation that measures whether a project is on track by calculating actual progress against expected progress. Schedule variance allows project managers to bring data into the conversation.
How to calculate schedule variance for the PMP Smartsheet?
Apr 06, 2022 · Schedule Variance = Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) – Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) How to use SV Whatever formula you prefer to use, the answer is going to tell you the difference between the value of the work that was scheduled and the value of the work that has actually been completed.
How do you calculate schedule variance?
The budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) measures the budget for the entire project, while the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) measures the cost of actual work done. The difference between these two numbers is the schedule variance. To calculate schedule variance, simply subtract the BCWS from the BCWP.
What is schedule variance example?
Schedule Variance represents the monetary value that the task is behind or ahead of schedule, relative to the task budget. For example, let's say the task Build Fence has a budget of $4,000 and the schedule variance is $1,000. This would represent a project that is significantly ahead of schedule.Jan 13, 2022
What does schedule variance tell you?
Schedule variance (SV) is a calculation that measures whether a project is on track by calculating actual progress against expected progress. Schedule variance allows project managers to bring data into the conversation.Jul 15, 2020
What is cost variance and schedule variance?
Cost variance is the difference of earned value and actual cost. Schedule variance is the difference of earned value and planned value. CV = EV - AC. SV = EV - PV. If cost variance is negative then the project is over budget.May 16, 2019
What causes schedule variance?
Schedule Variance (usually abbreviated as SV) is an indicator of whether a project schedule is ahead or behind. It's typically used within Earned Value Management (EVM). Schedule Variance can be calculated by subtracting the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) from the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP).Oct 18, 2018
What is schedule variance and effort variance?
Schedule variance = ((Actual calendar days – Planned calendar days) + Start variance)/ Planned calendar days x 100. Effort Variance: Difference between the planned outlined effort and the effort required to actually undertake the task is called Effort variance.Mar 18, 2022
What does variance mean in project management?
Variance is the amount of change from the original plan. In the project management context, a variance can be a problem or risk, with an impact on the schedule and budget. Calculating “Variance at Completion” (VAC) is a way for project managers to forecast cost variance (CV) at the end of the project.
What is SPI PMP?
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) Defined The SPI formula found in PMP® exam questions is grounded in the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) definition: “The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is a measure of schedule efficiency, expressed as the ratio of earned value to planned value.”
What does a schedule variance of 0 mean?
A positive schedule variance (SV > 0) indicates that the earned value exceeds the planned value in the reference period(s), i.e. the project is ahead of the schedule. If the schedule variance is 0 this indicates that that the schedule baseline is met, i.e. the earned value is equal to the planned value.
What is CV and SV?
- Cost Variance (CV): The CV is the difference between the earned value of the work performed and the executed budget (Actual Cost). CV= EV-AC. - Schedule Variance (SV): The SV is the difference between the earned value of the work performed and the planned value of the work scheduled. SV= EV-PV.May 6, 2013
What is CPI and SPI?
The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is defined as the ratio of Earned Value to Actual Cost, while the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is defined as the ratio of cumulative Earned Value to cumulative Planned Value (PMI, 2000). Both CPI and SPI are traditionally defined in terms of the cumulative values.
What does it mean if CV is positive and SV is negative?
SV is positive and CV is negative: The project is ahead of schedule but over budget. In other words, more tasks have been performed than were scheduled at this point, but the tasks that have been performed are over budget. SV is negative and CV is positive: The project is under budget but behind schedule.Feb 24, 2016
What Is Schedule Variance?
Schedule Variance (SV) is a term for the difference between the earned value (EV) and the planned value (PV) of a project. It is used a measure of...
What Is Point-in-time / Period-by-Period Schedule Variance?
Point-in-time or period-by-period schedule variance refers to the difference between earned value (as observed and measured in a period) and planne...
What Is Cumulative Schedule Variance?
The cumulative SV refers to the difference between earned and planned value over several - mostly consecutive - periods. It is either the sum of th...
How Is Schedule Variance Calculated?
You can use the following formula to calculate the schedule variance (SV) of one or several periods: SV = EV – PV, where: EV = Earned value; PV = P...
How Is the Period-by-Period Schedule Variance Calculated?
The calculation of the period-by-period or point-in-time schedule variance follows the previously introduced basic formula: SV(period) = EV(period)...
How Is the Cumulative Schedule Variance Calculated?
For the cumulative schedule variance, the basic formula is used with input values for multiple periods: SV(cumulative) = EV(cumulative) – PV(cumula...
What Is the Meaning of the Calculated Schedule Variance Values?
Similar to other variance indicators in project management, the schedule variance comes with three potential value ranges that have their own respe...
What is schedule variance?
The schedule variance is a key success measure in both the variance analysis as well as in the earned value management methodology as defined in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (source: PMBOK ®, 6th edition, ch. 7.4.2.2 Data Analysis, p. 261-264).
What is the planned value of a budget?
Planned value is the part of the budget that is allocated to the amount of work that should have been completed in a period or several periods.
Can PV and EV be denominated in the same unit?
Both parameters must be denominated in the same unit – typically a currency unit (like $) or man-days – and refer to the same period (s). You have probably noted that both the EV and the PV definitions imply two options: they can either refer to a single period or multiple periods.
Why is schedule variance important?
Why Schedule Variance is Important. Knowing whether a project is ahead or behind schedule and over or under budget is a core responsibility of a project manager. Project managers are trusted by their teams and by their companies to stay in control of projects because of the following reasons: Project delivery affects the bottom line.
When you set a cost rate for each person, and that person logs time on their tasks, the software will
When you set a cost rate for each person, and that person logs time on their tasks, the software will automatically organize the data in the dashboard. The same goes for non-human resource costs—the data rolls up into the dashboard for easy viewing.
What is a project manager?
Project managers are responsible for tasks across every part of a business. They have to schedule work, manage people, manage budgets and wrangle technology—just to name a few. If you had to boil it down and define the core function of a project manager in just one sentence, it would be something like, “Project managers ensure work is finished on ...
What is a project dashboard?
The project dashboard is just one small piece of the software suite offered by ProjectManager.com. The software is used by thousands of teams and companies including NASA, Volvo and Bank of America for project planning, collaboration, monitoring and reporting.
What happens when a project slides off the rails?
If projects slide off the rails and delays happen often, teams are likely to lose morale and motivation. Teams are the happiest when their hard work pays off at the end of a project. However, when a project stalls or a project never seems to finish, team members begin to lose faith.
Can you crunch numbers by hand?
Although the calculation is simple, it can rapidly become a tedious task to crunch the numbers by hand, considering the calculations should be re-crunched every day as the project changes . On large projects, keeping track of thousands of data points becomes impossible.
Schedule Performance Indicator
Schedule Performance Indicator (SPI) is an index showing the efficiency of the time utilized on the project. SPI can be calculated using the following formula:
To Complete Schedule Performance Indicator
To Complete Schedule Performance Indicator (TSPI) is an index showing the efficiency at which the remaining time on the project should be utilized. It can be calculated using the following formula:
What is schedule variance?
Definition: Schedule variance is the difference between the actual time it has taken to get to a point on a project vs the planned time to get to that point on a project.
What is SV in project management?
Schedule Variance (SV) indicates how much ahead or behind schedule the project is. It measures whether a project is on track by calculating actual progress against expected progress. SV is used by the Program Manager (PM) and program personnel to determine how best to utilize their remaining resources.
What does a TSPI value mean?
TSPI value greater than (≥) 1: indicates the project team can be lenient in utilizing the remaining time allocated to the project. TSPI value less than (≤) 1: indicates the project team needs to work harder in utilizing the remaining time allocated to the project.
What does a SPI less than 1 mean?
SPI value less than (≤) 1: indicates the project team is less efficient in utilizing the time allocated to the project. 4. To Complete Schedule Performance Indicator (TSPI) CPI is an index showing the efficiency at which the remaining time on the project should be utilized.
What is Schedule Variance?
Schedule variance (SV) is a calculation that measures whether a project is on track by calculating actual progress against expected progress.
How to Calculate Schedule Variance
To calculate schedule variance, subtract the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) from the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP). All values used will be a monetary figure (USD, GBP, etc.). Here’s the formula:
Why Schedule Variance is Important
Knowing whether a project is ahead or behind schedule and over or under budget is a core responsibility of a project manager. Project managers are trusted by their teams and by their companies to stay in control of projects because of the following reasons:
Using A Project Management Dashboard To Calculate SV
Although the calculation is simple, it can rapidly become a tedious task to crunch the numbers by hand, considering the calculations should be re-crunched every day as the project changes.
ProjectManager.com Dashboards for Schedule Variance
ProjectManager.com’s software was designed by professional project managers after they noticed a need for better tools on their own projects. When managing any project, particularly large ones, a PM’s time is best spent moving work forward—not running equations all day.
ProjectManager.com Is the Best Scheduling Software
The project dashboard is just one small piece of the software suite offered by ProjectManager.com. The software is used by thousands of teams and companies including NASA, Volvo and Bank of America for project planning, collaboration, monitoring and reporting.
