August 2011

The EVM Newsletter™
from Management Technologies
In This Issue
Recommended Practice on Integrated Cost & Schedule
ITT aces EVP exam
New LinkedIn EVM Groups
One More Problem with LOE
EVM Jabberwocky
NASA Rules on FFP EVM Rules
Upcoming Conferences

 

 

AACE Publishes Recommended Practice on Integrated Cost and Schedule and Monte Carlo

 

AACE has just released a Recommended Practice titled "Integrated Cost and Schedule Risk Using Monte Carlo Simulation of a CPM Model" (RP# 57R-09)

 

AACE has a family of Recommended Practices for the project planning community. These are free, however you do need to register to receive them.

 

Go to the AACE website and get your copy.

 

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ITT Aces EVP Exam

 

We do get some feedback about our onsite EVMprep workshops.

 

We conducted an on-site EVPrep workshop for ITT. Five attendees from the workshop have taken their EVP exams. It was reported to us that five passed. Five for Five!

 

We're proud of those smart and knowledgeable ITT EVM folks. Good going!

 

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Quotable Quote

quill

 

"There comes a time in all projects when it's necessary to shoot the engineers and get into production."

 

unknown (not an engineer)

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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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Yorkshire Pudding,
A Cup of Tea,

and some EVM please

A LinkedIn group has been created for those interested in EVM in the United Kingdom. This brings the count of EVM Groups on LinkedIn to at least five that I know of. Consider joining if you have interest in EVM within the UK.

 

   

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EVM Europe 2011 is LinkedIn too

And another EVM group is now on LinkedIn. The "EVM Europe Valencia 2011" group is focused on this November's EVM conference in Spain.

 

   

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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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AEP logo

 R.E.P. logo

 

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Top 

Greetings..

 

Welcome to the August EVM Newsletter. This is Newsletter #24. The second anniversary issue! What I thought would be a bi-monthly newsgram never was. August 2009 was followed by a September  EVM Newsletter, and ever month thereafter. We are approaching 2,000 subscribers. me2011

This month we discuss, again, LOE and a problem it created for me.

 

When you present your EVM data is anyone listening? This month's Tidbit is about sharing EVM data with customers and stakeholders, and getting the message across.

 

NASA publishes a new rule in EVM, ITT aces the EVP exam, and AACE looks at Integrated Cost and Schedule Risk.

 

There are two more EVM groups on LInkedIn.

 

Earned Schedule lands in Japan.

 

Our subscriber list tops 1,900. If you want to share a story or an idea consider writing 50-100 words on the subject. 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

Another Problem with Level of Effort

     

Level of Effort (LOE) is used when there are no means to measure progress or a task's contribution to the project. The task just gets credit (BCWP, EV) as each day passes.

 

And so, in an odd twist of the LOE measure I found that I was being measured using LOE too. Over the last ten years or so, with each day's passing I got one day older. This created a problem. I had an Image Variance or IV. This exceeded a reasonable variance threshold when people said, "Nice to meet you, but whose photo is that in your EVM Newsletter?"

 

So beginning with this Newsletter and elsewhere, there's a new photo. So the photo is newer, and the subject is older. Life is cruel. My old image was baselined in 2002. The Image Variance was getting larger and a new baseline had to be established. 

 

However, I'm afraid I already have a growing IV yet again. (Or is that a good thing considering that a zero variance is probably not good in this case!)

 

 

 

  

Tidbit # 24, What ARE you Talking About?

 

Are you getting your EVM analysis message across to your project stakeholders? Here's a too typical EVM review.

 

"Here's Jared who will talk about our project from an EVMsurprise perspecive".

 

"Hi everyone. From the PMB we can see at the close of the last period the BCWP or EV was $xxxx, versus a PV or BCWS of $xxxx. This represents xx percent complete using a BAC of $xxxxx while our EAC is $xxxx. VARs where CV and/or SV exceed thresholds show CA 4.5. and CA 7.3 have serious cost and schedule problems. We can move MR into these accounts and complete BCAs as needed but our TCPI sub-LRE still shows a troubled project. $xxxxx of the AUW budget has been distributed to MR, PPs, and SLPs

  

...Blah....Blah...Blah"

 

Here is what his audience heard.

 

You simply can not express your project's cost and schedule performance to a non-EVM audience in the same fashion as you would in talking about it to career "EVMers". You will lose them, put them to sleep, or have them running for the door. Fire regulations prohibit you from chaining the doors shut so that is no solution. (Principle Skinner did it, but that was on The Simpsons.) You can turn up the lighting to keep them from falling asleep. What to do?

 

You have got to change the delivery, not the message. There is no point in reciting the numbers that are on the charts anyway, your audience can read them. The key is to interpret the data. What does the data mean? What is the message? What actions might be taken to reduce negative variances or exploit positive variances. The PMI's "Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" says that Communications Planning includes how to tell your message to difference audiences. The EVP exam expects that EVPs can write a coherent memo about EVM data for non-EVM readers. As Don Hewett, creator of CBS 60 Minutes challenged his writers, "Tell me a story."

 

Are reciting the data or providing insight to the data?

 


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EVP Exam Feedback Postcards

  

We're often asked how effective are the EVPrep EVP exam preparation workshop and the EVP Study Guide. We want to knowpostcard too.

 

In the past we'd get email from some of our customers about the outcome of their exam and how our EVPrep products helped them. However this was biased. People who fail the EVP exam (over 50% per AACE) don't tend to share that news. Beginning this month buyers of our Study Guide and attendees at our EVPrep workshop will receive a postage paid (US) post card. The post card provides a way for people to tell us how they did and to what degree out products helped them. And they don't have to give their name. Once we get a reasonable sized sample we'll be in a position to answer your questions about the effectiveness of these products.

   

Earned Schedule Book Goes International

 

from Kym Henderson

 

ES JP cover

Walt Lipke's book Earned Schedule has been translated into Japanese. The translation now available on Amazon Japan with an ISBN number of 9784990587109. The translation by Kotaro Mizuno, a significant achievement in its own right, has been greatly assisted by Walt's ongoing generosity in making his materials and intellectual property freely available to the project.

    

NASA Publishes New Rule for EVM

 

NASA is issuing a final rule to delete the requiremeNASAnt for an Earned Value Management System (EVMS) on firm-fixed-price (FFP) contracts. The final rule recognizes the reduction in risk associated with FFP contracts and intends to relieve contractors of an unnecessary reporting burden.

 

It's effective July 8, 2011.

 

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
  
The following workshops are planned for the following locations:
  • Boston, MA
  • Reston, VA
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Dallas, TX
  • Columbus ,OH
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.

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

 
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 
       

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: 23-24 November 2011

WHERE: Valencia (Spain)

MORE INFO: 

http://www.evm-europe.eu/

  
EVM World 2012
WHEN: 30 May 2012 - June 2 2012
WHERE: Naples, FL
MORE INFO: PMI EVM CoP
 

AACE Annual Meeting 2012

WHEN: 8-11 July 2012 

WHERE:Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, Texas
MORE INFO: AACE, International  
  
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

Copyright 2011, 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 , EVP, and the AEP logo are marks of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, International. (AACE�).

 

The PMP, PMBOK, PMI, and R.E.P. , and the Registered Education Provider logo are
registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.