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EVM Newsletter 
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Two Earned Schedule Books Released |
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Walt Lipke, the creator of the Earned Schedule method of EVM schedule analysis has completed a book by the same title. The book is available in paperback and as a download and will be available from outlets such as Amazon in late January or early February. The paperback price is $36 (USD) while the download is available at $14 (USD)
Measuring Time: Improving Project Performance Using Earned Value Management
by Professor Mario Vanhoucke; publisher Springer Science + Business Media. This book documents the 2008 IPMA award winning research on Earned Schedule. The book provides background in EVM and then the research performed thousands of simulated projects
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2010 EVP Exam Dates |
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AACEI has published their 2010 EVP exam dates. Non-US dates are within a week or two of US dates. Listed are the exam date, the deadline for discounted applications, and the final date for applications. Exams are generally held nationwide (US). The exam on 6/26 is only held in Georgia, US.
Exam: 3/6
Early Discounted: past
Deadline: past
Exam: 6/26 (Georgia only)
Early Discounted: 4/13
Deadline: 4/27
Exam:7/10
Early Discounted:4/27
Deadline:5/11
Exam: 11/6
Early Discounted: 8/23
Always check with AACEI for revised dates and application information |
US DoD Proposes DFARS Payment Withholding Clause for Business Systems Deficiencies |
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DoD is proposing to implement compliance enforcement mechanisms
in the form of a business systems clause which includes payment
withholding that allows administrative contracting officers to withhold
a percentage of payments, under certain conditions, when a contractor's
business system contains deficiencies.
The clause requires firms to certify that there are no major defects in accounting; purchasing; estimating; and property, earned value and material management systems.
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  Greetings..
Happy New Year to all of you. Here it is the middle of January already and everyone seems back in full swing. Hopefully if EVM is part of your job you took the time during the end of last year to think more about the holidays and family less about work stuff. That would be a good thing. After all EVM is only work stuff. Let's keep this in perspective.
This January issue is a little light Of course, being electronic means you can't weigh it. The end of the year is a period of vacations and business shutdowns. Not a lot to report. There is Tidbit #6 which suggests six actions necessary and sufficient to perform EVM, at least to some extent. Of course there updates on conferences and a call for papers for EVM World 2010. There is an article and link on how to create Excel macros to reduce the size of variances (and other EVM data).
There have been some revisions to the schedule of Earned Value Training for CAMs, PMs, and EVP candidates. If the previous dates and places did not work for you perhaps these do.
There are two new books on EVM that talk about Earned Schedule Analysis, and a research award on the same topic.
One of my presentation topics for PMI Chapters, AACEi Sections, Professional Development Days, and conferences is titled "Everything I Needed to Know About Project Management I Learned in a Cockpit". As a pilot for all my adult life I am continually amazed at the parallels between running a project and flying a plane. FLYING magazine's November issue had an article on safety. It had a statement that I thought applied to our world of project management as well. Here it is.
"In aviation, there is no paradox in being cut down by a small danger after having eluded the big ones, the one that gets you is big enough."
Substitute "project management" for "aviation" and I think its true. What do you think? Send me an email.
Next month..a review of Lipke's Earned Schedule book.
Remember, if your not subscribed, you can use the link on the left to get The EVM Newsletter e-mailed directly to you. Share the news, forward The EVM Newsletter to a friend or co-worker. Just use the link below on the left panel or at the bottom of the Newsletter.
You can help make this newsletter interesting by contributing news about your activities in EVM, your company, product announcements, or your projects. Each month starts with a blank sheet, we don't make this stuff up! Send news to me at evinfo@mgmt-technologies.com
Ray Stratton, PMP,EVP
Editor |
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EVM Tidbit #6 |
You're Probably Doing EVM If You......
There is growing list of personal actions that, if you do them, "you're probably a 'Redneck'.. What about EVM? Is there a list of things that if you do them you are probably doing some form of EVM? I think so. In fact, if you don't do each one of them I claim you are not doing EVM.
1. Track performance to an approved, resource loaded schedule. (You and your stakeholders have to agree on what you are supposed to be doing, how much it should cost, and when it should be done)
2. Know the cost of resources used in completing work. (You have to collect costs in the manner in which you planned them.)
3. Estimate the work completed, independent of money or time spent. (A key item, you can not compute the work completed from the time or money spent, period. At some time we've all spent time and money and accomplished very little in the end.)
4. Quantify cost and schedule performance using the same units. (Dollars, staff-hours, Euros; you can not compute variances by subtracting dollars from days.)
5. Analyze Project Cost and Schedule Performance. (Don't stop at step #4, use the data! Compute variances and/or indices)
6. Forecast cost (Estimate At Complete) and schedule outcomes (Estimated Completion Date) using the data. (Put the data to use in forecasting and see if your going to a good place or a bad place. Take action! Remember, the "M" in EVM is MANAGEMENT.)
I think these rules apply if you are on a project of three people for three months or building an aircraft carrier. You are doing EVM if you just do these. You have data to make decisions.
If you don't do these, there is no point in tracking management reserve, worrying about work authorizations, control accounts, WBS and OBS integration, planning packages, or variance analysis reports. Of course, just doing the six actions above won't get you an ANSI 748 EVMS, but not doing them will guarantee you won't have an ANSI 748 EVMS no matter how hard you try. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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It's True, MS Excel® Can Reduce the Size of Your Cost Variance!
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OK, so this sounds like the headline in the National Enquirer.  But we got your attention. Regardless of your use of commercial EVM tools sooner or later you are going to find EVM data on a spreadsheet. Because much of the data may come from the financial system it might be down to the penny. It's hard to squeeze financial data from a $20M project into a spreadsheet cell when the data include the cents. For most of our EVM work were happy with just the most significant digits. After all, is a CV of $23.6K any less useful than a CV of $23,573.85?
Eva Walters, EVP, with Earned Value Associates, has outlined the steps to create an Excel Macro that quickly formats spreadsheet cells to show "K" dollars. The macro is stored as a global macro so it's available in all your workbooks. Her instructions are too lengthy for The EVM Newsletter. The concept will work for other 21st century versions of Excel. Applying the macro to a cell's contents turns a CV of $23,573.85 into $23.6K. See, the CV is smaller, by 4 digits!
If you any questions about the macro or instructions contact Eva Walter
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Earned Value Experience™ (CAM workshop) and EVPrep™ Exam Prep Workshop UPDATED 2010 Schedule
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Earned Value Experience (CAM) Workshop
You'll experience creating an earned value management baseline, determining earned value from project status,  calculating earned value management indices, and estimating final cost and completion date. This workshop is perfect for team leads, cost account managers, financial and schedule control staff, project and program managers, and chief project officers. Excel EzEVM™ Templates may be retained by attendees to implement earned value management in their organization. The Earned Value Experience (CAM) workshop will be conducted in:
- Burmingham AL Mar 8-9
- Arlington VA Apr 6-7
- Denver CO Apr 13-14
- Costa Mesa CA May 17-18
EVPrep Exam Prep Workshop
The workshop covers all the topics likely covered in the exam and provides exam-like questions and workshop discussion about each question and the possible answers. This workshop also includes an EVM analysis question to help prepare you for the three page written essay in Part 4.
The EVPrep™ workshop will be conducted in
- Reston VA Feb 11-12 (REGISTRATION CLOSES JAN 29)
- Burmingham AL Mar 10-11
- Arlington VA Apr 8-9
- Denver CO Apr 15-16
- Tampa FL May 4-5
- Costa Mesa CA May 19-20
Do you have a EVP FAQ? Go to AACEI's website for the latest information about exam dates.
Interested in an on-site workshop? Send an e-mail with your your address and the number of attendees to receive a quote.
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Upcoming EVM and PM Conferences |
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24th IPMA World Congress
WHO:IPMA
WHEN: 1 -3 November 2010
EVMWorld 2010
WHO:PMI College of Performance Management
WHEN:June 2-4
WHERE: Naples, FL, USA
WHO: Deltek
WHEN: May 17-20
WHERE: Washington DC, USA
WHEN:Nov 24-25
WHERE: Belgium
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EVM Jobs |
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Edwards Project Solutions is currently looking to hire several Project Managers for positions in the MD, DC, and VA areas. Candidates with a strong background in Earned Value Management and Scheduling are encouraged to send their resume along with salary requirements to bdavis@edwps.com for consideration.
Thomas Brown of Foxwell Brown Ltd has several positions for EVM staff. Contact thomas.brown@foxwellbrown.com or 020 7993 8479 / 07952 585 386. (Please note, you must be eligible to live and work in the UK in order to be considered for the position.)
Deltek is hiring consultants (several) that
have the following  skills: · EVM Experience
· Deltek product Experience with any of the following:
- Deltek Open Plan™, or
- Deltek MPM™, or
- Deltek Cobra™
- Please contact markinfanti@deltek.com or call 714-943-8112
Edwards Project Solutions is looking for an EVM Analyst.
This position requires the candidate already hold an active TS/SCI Full Scope Poly. The work is at Ft. Meade, MD.
Experience: Three (3) years of earned value management analysis and cost performance report analysis experience. Send resume along with salary requirements to bdavis@edwps.com
TYBRIN, Nashua, NH is seeking a PROJECT CONTROL ANALYST/CAM. Must be US citizen.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has three opportunities for engineering technical Program Managers (and strong technical leaders) for ELECTRONIC WARFARE (EW) Programs. They also need a Program Administration and will consider various levels of experience. Work is in Woodland Hills, CA (LA area)
Maureen West / ATK
maureen.west@atk.com
maureen.west.atk@sbcglobal.net
1-818-342-0376
1-866-227-5446
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Do you have openings for EVM professionals? Send an email describing the position and location in 25 words or less and a link to a more complete description of the position. Back to top | |
Do you have news to share? Send your news item and we'll review it for posting in a future EVM Newsletter. Ray Stratton
Management Technologies |
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The EVM Newsletter, EVPrep, The Earned Value Management Maturity Model, EVM3, EzEVM, and The Earned Value Experience are trademarks of Management Technologies. The Earned Value Professional and EVP are trademarks of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, International. (AACEi®) |
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