May 2011

The EVM Newsletter™
from Management Technologies
In This Issue
Augustine's Law on Reorganizations
EVP Exam Memo Rules Change
EVMS Material Management, Last Words
Newsletter Suffers Student Syndrome
EVP Focused Organizations
EVM Not Making it to IT Dashboards
Coming Soon, EVM Practice Standard, 2ed.

Free EVM Webinar
June 1
 

$0.00

The PMI� EVM CoP is conducting a free webinar the "EVM Tini". 

In this session "Earned Value Mixology" looks at the main ingredients of a program (that uses Earned Value), notably, Budget, Schedule and Scope and, takes a light hearted look at what is Earned Value, the key elements, provides some helpful tips, benefits and some precautions.

  

 

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Quotable Quote

quill


"It's better to be the reorganizer than the reorganizee"

Augustine's Law Number XXI

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Forward to a friend 
Did you find this newsletter interesting? Forward it to a friend!
 

  
EVM Track at PMI North American Congress

The PMI North American Congress (22-25 Oct 2011, Dallas TX area) will include a track of eight EVM presentations. The PMI EVM Community of Practice (CoP) is chairing this track which will include an update on the second edition of the PMI EVM Practice Standard plus....

� Understanding the Value of Earned Value

� EVMS "Keeping it Simple and Succeeding"

� Integration of Earned Value and Risk Management Using Contingency Reserves

� Application of EVM to equipment manufacturing

� Advances in Earned Schedule and Earned Value Management

� Truth About Preparedness For EVMS Assessments

� EVM on Service Projects - An Optimized Paradigm

The EVM track will be presented on 24-25 October and is subject to change.

 

For more information visit PMI.

 

 

 


EVM3The Earned Value Management Maturity Model�
on
Books 24 x 7 
EVM3 cover
The Earned Value Management Maturity Model book is now available from Books 24x7, as well as from Management Concepts.

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AACE EVP Exam Memo Not a Must Pass
(but do real well)
Recently AACE has changed the grading rules for their Earned Value Professional (EVP) exam. Previously all four sections were averaged, but the written memo part was a must pass. Now all sections are simply averaged 
   

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EVM Schedule Adherence and CPI and SPI (t)Statistical Forecasting

The EzEVM™ workbook has provided projects and firms a low cost solution to performing EVM and refining their EVM processes.

 

The EzEVM MSExcel workbook template now includes "Schedule Adherence" and statistical forecasting of final CPI and SPI(t).

 

EVM data can be entered from any EVM software to provide these valuable analysis products as well as traditional EVM indicators.

 

 

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Topme

Greetings..

 

Welcome to the May EVM Newsletter.  

 

This month we take a final look a material and EVM. In this supplemental discussion we look at one-of-a-kind items and material drawn from the organization stock.  

 

Another FREE one hour webinar from the EVM CoP is scheduled
for June 1.

 

EVM World 2011 is over. Almost 400 hundred people attended this two and one half day event. Attendees came from as far away as Qatar and Taiwan.

 

"Everything I Needed To Know About Project Management I Learned In A Cockpit" is the title of my presentation to the Orange County (CA) PMI Chapter June dinner meeting. We've been flying for just over 100 years and it's now the safest form of mechanical transportation. Who would have thought that travelling nearly the speed of sound five miles up in the air could be so safe. If we piloted planes like we run projects I'd never leave the ground. If you are seeking a dinner or keynote speaker and this topic appeals to you please let me know.

 

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

[email protected]

Ray Stratton, PMP,EVP
Editor

Tidbit #21 Material, epilogue

     

 

In the last three issues we wrote about material and used an example of buying tires for our test vehicles. But what about one of a kind items?

Suppose your contract scope requires the purchase of a speciallumber test fixture to test your deliverable item. The purchase of this fixture is in the scope of your contract so it's part of your baseline too. (As with any material the purchasing process may or may not be part of the baseline depending on whether the labor is direct or part of the "purchasing department".) Since this is a single major item its planned use is best shown as "upon installation" in the test lab. ANSI 748 says its planned use could be "upon receipt", but not earlier. But its installation is the preferred planned use since the lab must be ready to accommodate the special test equipment and it must have arrived. If the lab is not ready or the item has not arrived then EV for the test fixture will not be earned until it is actually installed. So the PV for the fixture is more accurately placed when the fixture is planned to be installed, and not upon any prior event like receipt.

How about material from the corporate material pool?

 

Suppose we build ships. So we buy a lot of steel on overhead and just store it in the yard. Our planning shows when we need steel and we compute the PV based upon the quantity needed and the expected cost to the project when drawn from the yard. When we pull the steel from stock the project is charged for the steel we were issued. When the steel is actually obtained, how much steel we obtained (including planned scrap), and its cost is the basis for our EV and AC.

The variety and nature of project material makes it difficult to define a process for each type and use for all projects. When planning and recording the usage and the cost of material keep in mind that the goal is to use the consumption of material as a further indication of the project's progress. PV is based upon when it is planned to be used, EV is based upon when it was used, and AC is based upon the amount used (including scrap) and the actual cost. Like labor, you can use more or less material than planned and pay more or less per unit than planned. Variance analysis requires that you be able to separate cost variances into both usage and rate variances. 

 

 

 

Student Syndrome and The EVM Newsletter

 

The EVM Newsletter was initially issued around the 15th of the month. Now it's more like the 27th. This is a prime example ofstudent "Student Syndrome"; a term I first learned of in researching Critical Chain project management.

Parkinson's Law says, in effect, that work fills available time. Start on time, keep working at a pace to complete the work per the allotted time, or add features to fill any remaining time. In any case use all the time you have.

Student Syndrome is a state where, when given plenty of time to perform some task, all other tasks seem more important in the short term. When your university professor told you in February that a term paper would be do June 10th when did you start working on the paper? June 9th? And so it is with The EVM Newsletter. Another two years and The EVM Newsletter might arrive on the 35th of the month.  


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Update on Japan Relief

 japan flag

Our special offer to donate $10 from every EVP Study Guide book sold ended 1 June. Be assured that those of you who ordered an EVM Study Guide during the offer have assisted Japan in their recovery efforts via the American Red Cross. 

   
EVP Seen as Market Discriminator

 

Interest in the EVP certification continues to grow. Certifications have to grow a following to be of value. If only a very few peoplewinning have a certification there is no point in asking for certified people. If no one asks for the certification there is no point in getting one. A Catch 22.

 

But interest in the EVP is growing as organizations work toward getting their EVM staff certified. It helps enhance their staffs' career paths and can be a positive descriminator when bidding for contracts requiring EVM skill.

 

Here a short and not exhaustive list of organizations that have had on-site workshops to get their staff ready for the AACE EVP Exam.

 

  • CH2M
  • Battelle
  • Computer Sciences Corporation
  • Internal Revenue Service
  • Orbital
  • ITT
  • Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Urenco (LES)
  • URS 
  • Fluor

It's also a good list if you're not sure your EVM skills are appreciated where you are now.
   
IT Dashboard Missed EVM Data Says GAO

 

from Ecommerce TImes 

 

"OMB has directed agencies to use EVM, but many program offices in those agencies are not doing so or are not doing so effectively. Notdashboard every IT project or initiative warrants EVM, but certainly the major IT investments chosen by GAO for review do warrant it," Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president at FedSources, told the E-Commerce Times.

"GAO is correct in criticizing the IT dashboard for not reflecting EVM assessments. Based on more than two decades experience as a government IT program manager, I couldn't rely on OMB's IT dashboard to oversee or manage an IT program with confidence," he said.

"OMB must continue its journey toward improved measurement and reporting. They have indeed already made progress. Contractors could help. But improving the dashboard doesn't overcome the 'garbage-in, garbage-out' syndrome. There are contractors and tools that can help in administering an EVM, but the first step should be to train the government program managers in the practical application of EVM," he said.
 

   
PMI� EVM Practice Standard Expected at PMI NA Congress

 

The PMI Earned Value Management Practice Standard, second edition, is expected to be released at the North American Congress this October. It's a complete rewrite of the first edition, with a focus on process and includes improved graphics. According to a recent study (SeeJanuary EVM Newsletter) PMI's EV Practice Standard is the default standard for EVM, worldwide. 

 

 

Workshops EVPrep and EVM Workshops
  
Earned Value Experience (CAM) Workshop
 
You'll experience creating an earned value management baseline, determining earned value from project status, Classroomcalculating earned value management indices, and estimating final cost and completion date. This workshop is perfect for team leads, control account managers, financial and schedule control staff, project and program managers, and chief project officers.

The workshop is held throughout the year in various locations
 
Excel EzEVM™Templates may be retained by attendees to implement earned value management in their organization.

View the Earned Value Experience (CAM) workshop outline and get the registration form.
 
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 II (was part IV).

The workshop is held throughout the year in various locations.
 
This is twelve hours of mock EVP exam and discussions of correct and incorrect answers.
  
Do you have an EVP FAQ
  
Go to AACE's website for the latest information about exam dates.
View the EVPrep workshop outline and get the registration form.

Interested in an on-site workshop? Send an e-mail with your your address and the number of attendees to receive a quote.

Upcoming EVM and PM Conferences 
       
   
AACE Annual Meeting 2011 (REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW)
WHEN: 19-22 June 2011 
WHERE:June 19-22, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim CA
MORE INFO: AACE, International  

Australasian Integrated Performance Management Symposium
 (AIPMS)
WHEN: July 2011
WHERE: Canberra
MORE INFO: later

PMI North American Congress (w/ EVM track)
WHEN: 22-25 October 2011
WHERE: Dallas, TX
MORE INFO: PMI

23nd Annual Integrated Program Management Conference
WHEN: 7-9 November 2011
WHERE: Washington DC
MORE INFO: PMI EVM COP
(EVP Exam on 10 November)
  
EVM Europe
WHEN: third week November 2011
WHERE: Valencia (Spain)
MORE INFO: tbd
  
EVM World 2012
WHEN: 30 May 2012 - June 2 2012
WHERE: Naples, FL
MORE INFO: PMI EVM CoP
  


 

EVM Jobs 
Do you have open EVM positions? Reach over 1,500 possible candidates via The EVM Newsletter to help get the best people to fill your EVM positions. Send me an e-mail with the details and contact information. It will be posted in the next issue.

Do you have news to share? Send your news item and we'll review it for posting in a future EVM Newsletter.
 
Sincerely,
 
Ray Stratton, PMP, EVP
Management Technologies

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. (AACE�). The PMP, PMBOK, PMI, and R.E.P. are trademarks of the Project Management Institute.