Earned Value Calculator

Earned value management (EVM) compares three numbers at a status date: the planned value of the work that should be done by now, the earned value of the work that is actually done (valued at its budget), and the actual cost of that work. Together they show whether a project is over or under budget, ahead of or behind schedule, and where it is heading.

These are the same definitions Milesto uses for real projects, including when a metric is left out rather than shown as a misleading number. Money is rounded to 2 decimals and the indices to 3.

• CPI and SPI above 1 are good: you are earning more value per unit spent, or getting work done faster than planned. Below 1 means over budget or behind schedule.
• CV and SV below 0 say the same thing in money: how far over budget, or how much work behind plan, the project is.
• EAC assumes your cost efficiency so far continues to the end. It is one common forecast, not the only one, so treat it as a signal rather than a promise.
• TCPI above 1 means the remaining work has to be done more efficiently than planned to land on budget. The further above 1, the harder that is.

Budget at completion is the total approved budget. Planned % complete is how far along the schedule says the work should be on the status date. Actual % complete is how much of the work is really finished, judged by measurable progress rather than time or money spent. Actual cost is what has been spent on that work to date.

Working these numbers out by hand every week takes time. Once your deliverables have budgets and you save a baseline, Milesto calculates them from the work marked done and the costs recorded. Earned value is included on the Free plan.