Project management in the aeronautical industry has become more complex over the past few years. It is therefore becoming increasingly necessary to find indicators which simplify monitoring and allow the project manager to dedicate less time to data gathering and more to analysis and decision-making. Management by the value earned, or the Earned Value Method (EVM), is a powerful and yet simple tool that provides us with valuable information on the project’s general state objectively and in real time.
Monitoring using EVM helps us to analyse the project’s performance, revealing its current state compared to the original planning.
Monitoring using EVM helps us to analyse the project’s performance, revealing its current state compared to the original planning. It also allows us to identify and control any cost or scheduling deviations by examining the amount of value that had been added at each stage (earned value) thanks to the work done to date.
Why can EVM help us to ensure the project’s success?
- It obliges us to conduct better planning before commencing the project by assigning a budget to each task, so we can translate all the activities into a monetary value.
- It is an objective visual indicator which increases the information’s transparency, since no other interpretation is needed. As it is a numerical indicator, it allows us to conduct an analysis of trends and forecasts.
- It simplifies management and communication with stakeholders, because they only need a tool to track and monitor the project.
- It helps to identify risks right from the project’s planning stage, thereby allowing us to make adjustments to the original plan before they turn into problems.
- EVM helps the teams working on the project to be quicker, since they have to adapt the project’s state to make sure it is completed on time and within cost. It also manages to motivate the team, since the targets are defined very clearly.
To sum up, EVM is a tool which provides us with greater control over the project’s state concerning its scope, cost and scheduling. It also helps us to identify any problems early, thus enabling us to act proactively. As far as stakeholders are concerned, EVM provides them with a clearer, more transparent view of the project, allowing them to analyse whether the trend is positive or negative and take any actions needed to help meet the targets.
