About the EzEVM™ MS Excel Workbook Template

Why a Microsoft (MS) Excel Based Approach to EVM?

EVM is the integration of a project's cost data and schedule performance data.

Cost estimating tools and corporate financial systems are superb at estimating costs and collecting project cost data. They are typically weaker in scheduling and critical path analysis.

Project scheduling tools like MS Project and Oracle's Primavera are great at scheduling project activities, linking predecessors and successors, and performing critical path analysis. They are typically weaker in cost budgeting and collecting costs

MS Excel is the best low cost platform to integrate cost and schedule performance data. EVM data analysis is a computationally rich examination that integrates cost and schedule data. Numerous charts and graphs can provide management, stakeholders, and customers visually graphic presentations of project cost and schedule performance and likely outcomes. Numerical and statistically complex formulas can give insight to the expected best case and worst case outcomes. These EVM analysis products are consistent with MS Excel's inherent power.

Can an MS Excel based approach to EVM meet ANSI 748?

Yes.

ANSI 748 is a process focused standard that expects 32 guidelines to be followed in EVM project planning, organization, accounting, analysis, and EVM baseline management.

The guidelines are typically met through the definition, implementation, and use of EVM processes defined in an organization specific EVM System Description. Tools provide automation, data integration, data checking. and reporting. Tools are not certified, the process is. Tools may be included in the process but are not themselves certified.

ANSI 748 guidelines can and have been met using MS project and MS office tools.

Why choose EzEVM over commercial EVM software tools?

An MS Excel solution is inexpensive, intuitive, and requires little training.

There are many excellent products to serve the EVM community. Most are developed to address the complex needs of large projects in large companies that are required to meet US ANSI 748 Guidelines. These are complex tools to address a complex project or organization. Often these tools require vendor implementation effort and costs, user training, EVM system administrators, and per user license fees.

For smaller projects, smaller organizations, and internal EVM implementations the commercial EVM software tools may be too expensive and too complex for these applications.

An MS Excel based solution virtually eliminates data integration efforts and user training. There are no per user costs and no software training for users already familiar with MS Excel.

EzEVM provides complete, complex, and detailed EVM data analysis.

The power of Excel means the EVM data can be analyzed with all the tools found in Excel.

EzEVM performs all the traditional EVM data analysis. Cost Variance, Schedule Variance, SPI, CPI, EACs. All so last century!

EzEVM also performs Earned Schedule analysis and estimated completion date, a statistical (not just mathematical) forecast of best and worst case final CPI and SPI.

Questionable data is flagged for review.

"P" factor indicates if work is being done out of sequence and therefore possibly inducing risk and rework.

Rebaseline threshold analysis shows if a rebaseline may be justified.

How long does it take to implement EVM using EzEVM Templates?

Implementation has never taken more than a week. In one case EVM was implemented on 3 projects in a week. Its not ANSI 748 but does not preclude ANSI 748. Good scheduling, budgeting, and cost collection needs to be in place. We make what you already have work for EVM.

More information about the EzEVM template.

Download the white paper (no email address required) to learn more, see example outputs, licensing and pricing information.

Contact us at webinfo@mgmt-technologies.com for more information.