Pinnacle Insights

Thank you to all of the students who submitted essays for our 2022 Project Management Scholarship. The theme this year was "Where do you see Project Management in 10 years?" Congratulations to Ken Nguyen, whose winning essay we are proud to publish below.

Projects play a critical role in the progress of a company. Their success can facilitate entry into new markets, implement cutting edge technologies, or activate long awaited operational assets. Conversely, their failure can stifle progress, aggravate timelines, disrupt strategies, or herald a firm’s disappearance altogether.  

Much has been written about how complicated and difficult Earned Value Management (EVM) can be, and a term that has grown in popularity in response to this perception is “EVM Lite.” One of the problems with the term “EVM Lite” is that it suggests a version of EVM that is incomplete in some way. 

Earned Value Management (EVM) is not a perfect fit for all types of projects. For example, short-term projects, low risk projects, or projects using agile development techniques may not benefit from a full Earned Value Management System (though they may still benefit from a scaled or tailored EVMS). But for most projects, where there is a risk to on-time, on-budget delivery, and where cost and schedule need to be managed, earned value management benefits the project greatly. 

In this last of a three-part blog series, 10 Steps to Achieving and Maintaining EVMS Validation, I will talk about proofing the Earned Value Management System, achieving acceptance, and continuing surveillance. You can read parts one and two here.

This is the second of a three-part blog series, 10 Steps to Achieving and Maintaining EVMS Validation. You can read part one here.

Once the implementation planning process is finalized, it’s time to assign staff. Assigning qualified staff to develop and support the earned value management system is critical to validation success, and this step should not be overlooked.

Achieving Earned Value Management System (EVMS) validation can seem like a daunting undertaking.