Would you run a race and not keep time? Would you be comfortable with a hospital that didn't periodically check their patient's vital signs? So why would you attempt to manage a project without an objective method for gauging progress? Measuring progress in any form is important. It provides satisfaction and encouragement to see measurable progress being made and provides motivation to excel when we perceive we are falling behind. While a stopwatch, thermometer, or blood pressure cuff may be of little value to a project manager trying to keep a handle on their project, a work breakdown structure (WBS), staffing plan, schedule, budget plan, tracking plan and of an array project metrics are essential tools required by an effective project manager.

An earned value management system (EVMS) integrates the work scope of a project with the schedule and cost elements of the project to optimize control of the planned work. It is used as a project management early warning system, enabling managers to identify problems in their infancy when management redirection has it's greatest potential to prevent cost overruns or schedule delays.

The information you will learn to collect and examine with this system is valuable to all stakeholders in the project. As a project manager, you will appreciate the insight and control you gain over the project. Sharing this information with the team members will promote teamwork by allowing them to see how their contributions affect the bottom line (i.e., they will see the forest while they are standing in the trees). Senior management will gain confidence in your reporting since they will receive accurate and objective reports.

This training course, developed by Edwards Industries and taught by experienced project managers, will present you with a clear, comprehensive, step-by-step methodology for planning your projects and measuring and reporting performance. This course teaches you to define work and create work breakdown structures (WBS), establish budgets, build detailed schedules using our popular BMPP method, establish a staffing plan and plan baseline, and execute a comprehensive tracking and reporting process.

Students will learn how to objectively measure accomplished work for comparison to planned work and actual costs, create performance metrics like cost and schedule performance indices, and report cost and schedule variances.